Rate The Last Movie You Saw

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FM%2FMV5BNTVkODg5NGYtZDg4ZC00YmQ2LWJkMzQtOGVlZTNiNzA5NTZhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjU4Nz U2OTA%40._V1_.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=3eba0133143eadd33a52bd1040231bb5a0ffbb57ba5246144a5164e1c4b6a0c1&ipo=images

Yours for the Asking, 1936

Johnny (George Raft) runs an underground casino in Miami, where he meets down-on-her-luck socialite Lucille (Dolores Costello). Johnny convinces Lucille to run a casino out of her mansion, but Johnny’s pals worry that mingling with high society people will ruin Johnny. In order to tempt him away, they hire con artists Gert (Ida Lupino) and Dictionary McKinny (Reginald Owen).

An incredibly engaging cast lends plenty of crackle to a story that slightly underwhelms.

3

FULL REVIEW (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=68091&page=35)

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fprod-images.tcm.com%2Fv5cache%2FTCM%2FImages%2FDynamic%2Fi215%2Fladyandthemob1939_1024x767_07012013121038 .jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=ad8f89436425747b76dbd3f8dfcd8ae5e523cac846ae4704a0b18ad74aa9d170&ipo=images

The Lady and the Mob, 1939

High society dame Hattie (Fay Bainter) goes to the dry cleaners and is shocked to see that the fees have increased. Upon investigation, she learns that her dry cleaner and several other local businesses are being extorted by the mob. Incensed, Hattie is joined by her soon to be daughter in law, Lila (Ida Lupino), as she becomes more and more determined to get to the bottom of who is leading the extortion scheme.

This is a goofy crime comedy that never rises above its premise, but commits enjoyably to the wacky story.

3

FULL REVIEW (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2524812#post2524812)

[Brody At Amity]

5 out of 5 - haunting, poignant, deeply moving; featuring brilliant performances, some gorgeous cinematography, and sparkling writing.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZDU2ZjBlOTUtMTIzMC00OWI0LTg2OTAtZmUxYTE2MzdhNzZlXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg

[Brody At Amity]

0 out of 5 - absolute garbage.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYmYxYmNhY2UtMmUxNC00NGMwLTk2YzQtZmRmM2FlZWZkNTU1XkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg

[LChimp]

https://cdn.posteritati.com/posters/000/000/073/981/flow-md-web.jpg

Flow - (2024)

Not sure I got the ending, maybe it's one of those "it's not the destination, it's the journey" things. But yeah, it's a pretty cool movie, great animation and the communication between the characters is awesome (love the capybara).

[Fabulous]

Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)

2.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/evVZLJRqXlDEsZqa2QLg4uFyGNA.jpg

[Gideon58]

Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)

2.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/evVZLJRqXlDEsZqa2QLg4uFyGNA.jpg

Gave this the same rating you did.

[Gideon58]

https://i0.wp.com/www.thejudyroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Summertime-Lobby-7.png?fit=901%2C711&ssl=1


2nd Rewatch...Judy Garland gives one of her loveliest performances in this musical remake of The Shop Around the Corner. Garland and Van Johnson play antagonistic co-workers in a music store who have no idea that they are secret pen pals madly in love with each other. Garland offers three of her strongest vocal performances in this film with "Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland", "I Don't Care", and "Play that Barbershop Chord." Veterans Buster Keaton, SZ "Cuddles" Sakal, and Spring Byington offer solid support as fellow music shop employees. The film was re-imagined as a Broadway musical in 1963 called She Loves Me starring Barbara Cook and Jack Cassidy and was remade again for the screen in 1998 as You've Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. BTW, that baby that Judy and Van hold up at the end of the movie is 2 year old Liza Minnelli, making her film debut. 3.5

[Stirchley]

0 out of 5 - absolute garbage.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYmYxYmNhY2UtMmUxNC00NGMwLTk2YzQtZmRmM2FlZWZkNTU1XkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg

Well alright then. :p

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91xFt8ofaAL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg


3rd Rewatch...Another comic book hero franchise was initiated with this big budget adventure starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, a nerdy high school student who gets bitten by a radioactive spider, turning him into the Stan Lee superhero. Maguire brings a nice everyman quality to the character and Willem Dafoe steals every scene he is in as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. Sam Raimi's direction includes excellent utilization of his big budget. 4

[mplo]

Ohhh, yes!

I saw my all time favorite movie, the old, original 1961 film version of West Side Story, on Netflix, on a great big TV, at the house of some longtime friends in Boston's Jamaica Plain section. It was a beautiful rendition of it, and we had a great Chinese food take out supper, and good conversation afterwards. Our holiday celebration took place on the Saturday afternoon/evening prior to Christmas, and it was well worth it. Since there was a great deal of snow on the ground, which made parking more difficult, I took a Lyft to my friends' house and back home, which was good, because there was no parking, due to most people staying inside due to a lot of snow on the ground. We had lots of fun.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BODY2YWYwM2YtZTVlNC00MjgyLTgzYTgtNmFmYWE5ZmY1MDM5XkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg



4

[*Sky*]

Persona (1966) - Ingmar Bergan: 6.5/10
https://66.media.tumblr.com/95d36adae9ba35892adef8f44b902f0c/tumblr_n89a777H3r1t0b1clo1_400.gif

[Mr Minio]

Wicked (2024)

https://i.imgur.com/9FPi0Vx.jpeg

Wicked is so bad that after watching it I picked up my guitar and instantaneously came up with some black metal riffs as an antidote. I'm a terrible player who can't even keep up the rhythm, but I'm still creating better (if generic) art than this.

There's something really, REALLY wrong with the way this film looks. The kitschy sunrays shining through made me apologize to Kawase because whatever she did in Radiance was much better. The clinical look with digital blurriness does not make a single frame stand out. Some shots are plain and disgustingly ugly, and I've developed a high tolerance for bad cinema, mind you. But one needs to keep their standards.

Hollywood musicals of the 1930s-1950s, as much as I dislike some of them, always had utmost precision in their choreography and Technicolor beauty. Then you had the majesty of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire who were able to sell you their art in one longish take. Yes, I talk about dancers because film is a visual and kinetic art. The camerawork in Wicked is largely uninspired and doesn't let us observe the characters in long takes. Yes, there are a few moments where you could say the takes were somewhat longish (I'm really stretching the definition of longish here), but there's absolute chaos in the choreography of these shots. There's no sense of blocking either. Everybody seems to go in a random direction while the camera sweeps pointlessly. It's that in-the-middle muddle that makes you forget every scene right after you saw it. And there wouldn't be anything wrong with that if it were a fun cookie-cutter film like those American Film Noirs made in the 40s (they made them with their eyes closed but now they can't do it even if they try) or the Hong Kong madness of the 80s & 90s (incidentally, it's cool to see Michelle Yeoh still acting, but it's concerning she picks films so damn bad).

Even if you look at the Somewhere Over the Rainbow scene in The Wizard of Oz, that's just Judy Garland. The camera focuses on her at all times. Yes, they use insert shorts, but that first shot is at least 45 seconds. The framing is thought-over, camera movements subtle but precise. You get the feeling that you're watching a planned scene in the medium of art known as film. And then you have a newer film, Johnnie To's Office, a Brechtian musical with Cheng Siu-Keung's slick cinematography by way of precise camera movements, blocking & framing. It's technically impeccable and To's auteurship is evident, so it's a pleasure to witness.

But Wicked? Sure, we get a once-in-a-blue-moon (pun intended) shot of a silhouette in the limelight dancing next to the castle miniature and all that, but it's not like Paco and the Magical Book doesn't have a hundred shots like that. The difference is Nakashima knows how to utilize digital, kitsch, and artifice while simultaneously tugging at your heartstrings. Meanwhile, Wicked uses CGI monkeys-turn-some flying freaks in yet another failed attempt at nothingness.

When the supposedly incredible "defying gravity" moment came, the camera started rotating around them like in Hitchcock's Vertigo or Fassbinder's Martha but then the damn cut happened way too fast and there was more dialogue. This is the equivalent of cutting back to the male actor's face in a culmination of a porn scene. Fiyero's bisexual faux-bravado notwithstanding, you just don't deny the once-given promise like that. You cannot defy gravity if you're pulling the viewer down the earth every time they start to levitate one inch over the ground. And then, when the actual culmination comes, it's chaotic and nauseating. This has nothing on Kiki's Delivery Service. The overhaul of fugly special effects makes the whole sequence less impressive than the incredible flight scene in Murnau's Faust, a film made almost 100 years before Wicked.

I think the success of films like these is the sign of a culture that wholly lost its sense of aesthetics and good taste. It's not that the mainstream audience has ever had a knack for challenging or artistic cinema. It's that the creators of commercial stuff used to know a thing or two about the art of filmmaking. And if they didn't, they bothered to at least try. Even cheap Hong Kong films full of toilet humor can build an atmosphere using music and light that far surpasses anything in Wicked. But nowadays, the creators just don't care because they know it will sell anyway, so why bother?

But what about the songs and singers? I don't know the original musical stage play. I don't care about getting to know it. I didn't like the songs, but the singers are OK, I guess. I hated the visuals with its obnoxious color grading. The Hollywoodish blandness of Wicked made it one of the worst films I've seen in a while.

In this review, I'd rather talk about other films because I think that whoever reads this will profit much more from getting to know those better films than if I were to just bash this film (which I did anyway because how couldn't I?!).

No tokenism is going to help you if you lack a basic grasp of beauty. And once you wash your film out of color and emotions like that, you have nothing left. This is unacceptable.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ef/To_Live_Poster.jpg
By IMDb, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3661831

To Live - (1994)

This is the fifth film in the Zhang Yimou boxed set I have - it walks a fine line between glorifying China's communist odyssey and criticizing the disasters it visited upon the nation, but when summed up it's not really a political film. It's a film about life, and family. In that, spanning the decades as it does, the film really is triumph of epic proportions on a really small scale. Xu Fugui (Ge You) is a gambling addict who has lost his entire fortune, and Jiazhen (Gong Li), pregnant with a small daughter to look after, leaves him - meaning Fugui must start from scratch. During his adventures alone he takes up puppetry as a form of work and becomes embroiled in the bloody civil war from which the communist revolutionaries come out victorious. Once home again, after the birth of his son, the family must endure the hardships and tragedy life often brings to those downtrodden, but also appreciate the joy of living, of being loved and of loving. Shot in a very straightforward manner, it's the characters and performances which carry the film and they ended up getting under my skin - in a good way. Ge You and Gong Li are very much on song, and the movie often seems epic in the way it recreates Chinese history as this family bears witness to the good times, bad times and madness. Zhang Yimou still seems to love the colour red - or perhaps he uses that to appease his political masters. Either way, it's hard not to fall in love with the characters in this film, even if Xu Fugui gets off to the shakiest of starts. Are they really zealous in their love of Mao, or is it just the way they must behave in this kind of society? It's not a question To Live really sets out to answer, and I'm happy with that.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/29/All_the_Right_Moves_Poster.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from Twentieth Century Fox., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6219688

All the Right Moves - (1983)

Kids bullied by all the jocks in high school will absolutely hate this movie - and Stefen Djordjevic (Tom Cruise) really doesn't do all that much to endear himself to the audience for most of All the Right Moves' running time. He's a B-student and a talented football player in this kind of ordinary coming of age tale. Chris Penn is in this - I enjoyed seeing the very young version of this actor, and Craig T. Nelson looks like he's in it for the paycheck as Coach Vern Nickerson - a tough-as-nails drill sergeant of a coach. Dummies are spat, girls get pregnant too soon, kids are told they're "off the team!" and immature pranks abound. Stefen has to prove his character to earn forgiveness and just when I thought the movie was about to get going the credits were rolling.

5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2f/Stakeoutposter1987.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/1987/stakeout.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12494221

Stakeout - (1987)

Men who leer at women while they think they're safely having a shower - after watching a young Tom Cruise try to force Lea Thompson to have sex with him, that's just what I needed. Without such scenes, Stakeout would be a sweet love movie wrapped up in a buddy cop thriller/drama/comedy. Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez do have some chemistry here (the two really project the sense that they've been partners for a while) but overall this is a well made albeit basic mainstream movie that just happened to have been a big hit in '87. Love interest Madeleine Stowe would go on to play a great part in Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys. Watching this, it's fine - slick and entertaining. Another stepping stone for Forest Whitaker, who has a small role. I didn't think it was all that funny, but it moves at a brisk pace as our cops watch the house of an escaped convict's ex-girlfriend. Detective Chris Lecce (Dreyfuss) needs an ethics refresher course, as he falls in love with and manipulates the woman they're watching while at the same time endangering just about every character in the film. Oh, the things we do for love...

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/57/Dersiebentekontinent.jpg
By May be found at the following website: http://www.sinepil.org/imaj/queennothing/12278.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30622445

The Seventh Continent - (1989)

This was Michael Haneke's feature debut. Chilling. It gives us a definite clue as to what we might expect from him in the future, and that hard-hitting edge continued to keep audiences aghast and riveted as his career continued. Full review here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2524868#post2524868), in my watchlist thread.

8/10

[I_Wear_Pants]

I watched Dark Knight Returns Part 1 tonight. It was all right. I loved the ending though. Overall I was a mite disappointed, I'm sad to say. Part 2 looks better though. I think I'll wait until tomorrow to watch it though. I'm so tired and I don't want to be awake much longer tonight. The collection isn't due back for over three weeks so time isn't an issue.

[StuSmallz]

Persona (1966) - Ingmar Bergan: 6.5/10
https://66.media.tumblr.com/95d36adae9ba35892adef8f44b902f0c/tumblr_n89a777H3r1t0b1clo1_400.gifWow, that low? I mean, I didn't like it as much as I was "supposed to" either, but I still gave it at least an 8.5.

[AlinaDavis]

The Lake House - 4/5

[chawhee]

Half Nelson (2006)
https://cps-static.rovicorp.com/2/Open/Sony%20Pictures/Half%20Nelson/_derived_jpg_q90_584x800_m0/half_nelson_posterart.jpg
4
I feel like I'm rating this slightly higher than I should, because this movie doesn't really say much transparently through dialogue. However, the themes are palpable, and the cast is brilliant.

[Brody At Amity]

5 out of 5 - great cast (Redford and Hoffman, of course, but also Martin Balsam, Jason Robards, and Jack Warner too). Despite the information overload it keeps you gripped, and its a great time capsule into investigative journalism (https://www.top10films.co.uk/73488-top-10-thrilling-films-about-newspaper-reporters/) in the seventies.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/all_the_presidents_men_still.jpg

[Thief]

BARNYARD OLYMPICS
(1932, Jackson)

https://i.imgur.com/m6DNmQD.jpeg


"It’s a brilliant gag cartoon: it’s fast, consistent and exciting, and without doubt one of Mickey’s finest."



That's how an online critic describes this early Mickey Mouse short, and he's not that far off. As the title implies, Barnyard Olympics follows a series of sports events set in a barnyard-like environment. We have boxing, wrestling, diving, and even a marching band. The main event, however, is this heptathlon-like cross country race where competitors have to run, row, cycle, and much more.

I had already seen most of this short at some point long ago, but especially as my kids watched it. They really enjoy most of Mickey stuff, including the early ones, and this was no exception. Like the quote above, it is full of fun visual gags and jokes from start to finish, starting with a fun one as the camera pans across the "stadium" and two characters break the fourth wall as they notice the "camera".

Grade: 4


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2525361#post2525361)

[Marco]

Cleanskin (2012)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/09/Cleanskin_FilmPoster.jpeg
This was a nice edgy thriller following a British Islamic terrorist cell. After semtex is boosted from the Secret Service Ewan (Sean Bean) is tasked with finding the explosives. This is made more difficult as the man he is searching for is a "cleanskin" i.e has no history with the police and is not on the security service's. Ash's radicalisation is shown in flashbacks which are effective. The acting is good, the story is sturdy and I was amazed to find out this was a £2M production as it certainly doesn't show.
3

[Marco]

0 out of 5 - absolute garbage.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYmYxYmNhY2UtMmUxNC00NGMwLTk2YzQtZmRmM2FlZWZkNTU1XkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
I've never heard of it or watched it but am now strangely compelled to see if it is as bad as described:D I may come back with a good old Scottish "pure pish" rating.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fa.ltrbxd.com%2Fresized%2Fsm%2Fupload%2Fl3%2F24%2Fvo%2F6j%2Fmysterians-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg%3Fv%3Dcffa882add&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=0af4b880cc5eb9cee61ba50de37263fc6310635f7d6f3c9357651485698f8eb2&ipo=images

The Mysterians, 1957

Following a festival, a destructive earthquake strikes and, on investigation, an even more destructive robot emerges. The robot is controlled by an alien race called the Mysterians who originate from a hidden planet in the solar system. Friends Atsumi (Kenji Sahara), Hiroko (Momoko Kochi), and Etsuko (Yumi Shirakawa) end up enmeshed in the drama when their friend Shiraishi (Aihiko Hirata), who first theorized about the existence of the Mysterians, ends up joining them. The Mysterians are demanding a share of the Earth as well as a share of the Earth’s women. Can humankind marshall the resources to fight the powerful invaders?

Engaging set-pieces and a fun cast can’t quite overcome a disjoint story.

3

[Fabulous]

To Die For (1995)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/dSfhlkQFj2ezX9ehWJgI2hqzLUK.jpg

[Allaby]

The Baby-Sitters Club (1995) I really liked all the main girls. There were some cute, fun moments, but I think the story should have focused more on friendship and babysitting and less on romance/boys. This is one of the few films that I think could actually benefit from a remake. The Netflix tv show was pretty good, but I think they should do a new film that focuses more on the girls babysitting and less on romance. 3.5

[gbgoodies]

The Lake House - 4/5


I love The Lake House. :up:

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3e/Fair_Game_Poster.jpg
By The cover art can or could be obtained from IMP Awards., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28795706

Fair Game - (2010)

In 2003 a coalition of nations led by the United States invaded Iraq on the pretext that they were developing weapons of mass destruction. Those in charge of policy in the U.S. were determined to carry out this invasion, and if the threat Iraq posed wasn't really all it was cracked up to be, it was happening anyway. The resultant controversy and fiasco became one of the biggest stories of the decade, and became part of our cultural landscape with an endless series of books and movies related to the experience just starting to gather a little dust on shelves now that some time has passed. Fair Game is based on the true story of Valerie Plame, whose husband Joseph C. Wilson wrote a story in The New York Times which revealed that one of the justifications for the war was categorically untrue. This irked the White House, and in a stunningly petty move information was leaked revealing Valerie Plame's status as CIA operative - destroying her career and putting her life in danger. This film is a dry recounting of the tale featuring Naomi Watts as Valerie and Sean Penn as Joseph C. Wilson, and is your usual David and Goliath kind of narrative-driven movie where relationships are tested and the president's men fought via the media and congress itself. Joseph C. Wilson's book "The Politics of Truth" is as relevant as ever during today's craziest of crazy goings on.

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cc/Juliet_of_the_Spirits_poster.jpg
By https://www.movieposterdb.com/giulietta-degli-spiriti-i59229/6c201865, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7630208

Juliet of the Spirits - (1965)

It's easy to see how Juliet of the Spirits kind of carries on where Fellini's 8½ left off. I know virtually nothing of Fellini's films beyond this point in his career, but I'd sure like to see more of his visionary output. Full review here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2525610#post2525610), in my watchlist thread.

8/10

[stillmellow]

I Saw the TV Glow

This really spoke to me. It's certainly not going to 'click' with everyone, but I think everyone can understand the pressure on us all to hold parts of ourselves back, and pretend to be something we're not. For some people the pressure is just far more soul crushing.

It's not perfect, with uneven performances, and a few infuriatingly unclear moments, but overall it's quite good.

I can't really explain more of the movie without spoiling it, but i will say that it only dips into fantasy and horror a few times. Mostly it's about the way we remember the past, and the cost of suppressing who you really are.

"A-"

[I_Wear_Pants]

Okay Dark Knight Returns Part 2 sucked. I really strongly disliked it. Nothing about it worked for me. Holy crap what a bad movie. I know that's probably unpopular. It's honest though. I really didn't like it at all. Barf.

[Fabulous]

eXistenZ (1999)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/7uKTs2Rtkja0vGJCHqR18LsGY2j.jpg

[Gideon58]

I love The Lake House. :up:

Hated The Lake House

[Gideon58]

To Die For (1995)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/dSfhlkQFj2ezX9ehWJgI2hqzLUK.jpg. Love this movie…my favorite Nicole Kidman performance

[LeBoyWondeur]

The Hunger Games (2012)

A mildly entertaining film based on a popular series of novels I wasn't aware of at that time.
It focuses on the adventure rather than the dread, and the whole world around it - especially from a mass entertainment point of view - lacks a satirical bite.
At the 100 minutes mark I felt I had seen enough and really struggled to make it to the end.

I've read reviews saying "move over, Harry Potter".
I don't think so!

5/10

[Thief]

NOSFERATU
A SYMPHONY OF HORROR
(1922, Murnau)

https://i.imgur.com/90nopuB.jpeg


"Beware that his shadow doth not burden your dreams with horrible fears."



The film follows Orlok's attempt to move to London prompting real estate agent Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) to be sent by his employer to close the deal. In the process, Orlok becomes obsessed with a picture of Hutter's wife, Ellen (Greta Schröder), which leads him to trap Hutter in his castle as he tries to make his way to Ellen, leaving a trail of death on his path.

This is probably my second or third watch and I think the film fared a lot better now than it did the first time. Back in the day, I really didn't like how the character of Hutter is portrayed as well as the overacting excesses of the times. However, I've always found the figure of Count Orlok to be striking, iconic, and menacing. That remains true nowadays, along with the eerie atmosphere and the effective way that Murnau mounts the rising tension as the film progresses. My feelings towards Hutter warmed a bit this time around, probably a result of being more accustomed to the films and acting of the era than I was 10-15 years ago.

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2525739#post2525739)

[Sedai]

Lady Bird
Gerwig, 2017

3

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/splash_ladybird-2017.jpg?w=1500&h=844&crop=1

I saw this back in 2017, and I recall liking it. Holds up fairly well, but for some reason the editing was sort of annoying me this time with its sort of rapid-fire bouncing about. Some well done scenes, nonetheless - one scene with Danny is particularly heartbreaking and remained effective on this second viewing. The comedy was still landing pretty well and I like Saorise Ronan, but I am unsure this will stand the test of time.

[ueno_station54]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/4/8/3/2/2/48322-practical-magic-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=5994b961f2
its got too much going on and as a result can't keep a consistent tone but when it clicks it is pretty magical.
3.5

[Marco]

First Reformed (2017)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/84/First_Reformed.png
Watched the Card Counter a couple of weeks ago so I think this brings me up to date with Shraders (even seen Mishima and Patty Hearst, 2 of the harder ones to find). Anyway this is the story of Rev. Toller who is despairing in his personal life and widerly for Earth. This is brought to a head when a young couple call for his chaplaincy skills as the father of their unborn baby thinks it's unfair to bring life into such a troubled world. From there we follow the morose cleric (who may have cancer and is an alcoholic) on the 250th year re-consecration of the building. That's precisely where it all starts getting loopy with dream (?) sequences and a bomb vest that the Eco warrior made before his own suicide. Ultimately I don't know what Schrader was trying to say and, while the performances are great, it's all a bit of an ungodly (see what I did there) mess.
2.5

[Thief]

I really loved First Reformed. Easily on my Top 5 of a very strong year. Here is a link (https://letterboxd.com/thief12/film/first-reformed/) to my review on Letterboxd.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOTE5MDUxZDUtZWZmZC00NDVmLWFhOGQtNWI2YTc4NzY3MGQ0XkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg


1st Rewatch...Bryan Singer (Bohemian Rhapsody; Superman Returns) directed this stylish and imaginative crime drama that borrows from other films but has enough originality to it that you almost don't notice. It's the story of a quintet of career criminals who are lured into going after a $91 million dollar drug shipment by an enigmatic criminal mastermind named Kayser Sose. Christopher McQuarrie's Oscar-winning screenplay is just complex enough that complete attention is required from the viewer without making us giving up on trying to figure out what's going on. The brilliant ensemble cast includes Giancarlo Esposito, Chazz Palminteri, Dan Hedaya, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollak, Benecio Del Toro, Gabriel Byrne, and the one man acting class offered by Kevin Spacey as Verbal Kint that earned him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. 4.5

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71ObfHHaz2L._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg



Umpteenth Rewatch....This delicious black comedy from 1985 still holds up thanks to a delicately crafted screenplay and splendid direction from Susan Seidelman. Rosanna Arquette put herself on the Hollywood map playing Roberta, the bored New Jersey housewife married to a hot tub salesman, who loves to read the personal ads and has become obsessed with the adventures of a wild girl named Susan (Madonna) and when she learns Susan is meeting her boyfriend in New York, Roberta decides she has to cross the bridge to meet her, which sets off quite the adventure for the two ladies. To say anymore would spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but I will tell you that this is one of those movies that is so intricately put together that if you are interrupted, make sure you pause it because if you miss five minutes of this movie, you will be confused. Arquette lights up the screen as Roberta and Madonna is Madonna, but I loved Mark Blum as Roberta's jerk of a husband and I didn't realize until this watch, that the emcee at the dingy nightclub is played by John Turturro. If you've never seen this, treat yourself. 4

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71-uqd7BRsS._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg


Umpteenth Rewatch...Okay, I don't want to overstate this for younger MoFo's who may have never seen this instant classic from 1980, but it might be one of the funniest movies ever made. In the tradition of some of Mel Brooks' finest work, this film is a lampoon of the airport movies in general and the movie Zero Hour in particular. The story finds a former war pilot named Ted Stryker (Robert Hays) having to take over in the cockpit of a Chicago bound plane when the entire flight crew is downed by food poisoning. This film is rich with outrageous set pieces and elaborate jokes that are set up with rich detail and they come at a fast and furious pace. I don't want to give away too much, but I do love the plight of Lt Hurwitz, the Captain Oveur encounter with little Joey, and the complete breaking of the fourth wall with a certain basketball legend. Lots of familiar faces pop up along the way, including Julie Hagerty, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, and Barbara Billingsley. Classic comedy that still brings the laughs after 45 years. 4

[Marco]

I really loved First Reformed. Easily on my Top 5 of a very strong year. Here is a link (https://letterboxd.com/thief12/film/first-reformed/) to my review on Letterboxd.
Great review, I agree about the Oscar.

[ueno_station54]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/1/5/8/9/9/9/158999-red-spirit-lake-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=92bd93c8dc
horrendous vibes (complimentary)
4

[Thief]

NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE
(1979, Herzog)

https://i.imgur.com/xEvh77M.jpeg


"Death is not the worst. There are things more horrible than death."



In 1979, Werner Herzog decided to bring back the source elements from Bram Stoker, character names and other story elements, in his remake called Nosferatu the Vampyre. However, he also decided to strip the titular character of most of its menace and threat, presenting him as a lonely "sad sack".

It might sound like a slight on the film, but it is an interesting re-interpretation of a character that seemed otherworldly and foreign. Like I said above, Orlok was built as a menacing figure and bringer of death. To have him instead as a mournful and pensive creature tormented by what he is, is definitely an interesting spin. This is also heightened by Klaus Kinski's performance in the lead role.

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2525790#post2525790)

[*Sky*]

Wow, that low? I mean, I didn't like it as much as I was "supposed to" either, but I still gave it at least an 8.5.
Yes, though I appreciated certain stylistic and artistic choices as well as the actors' performances, especially Bibi Andersson's, I found the film's openness to interpretation and the way it was portrayed unconvincing.

[*Sky*]

Padre padrone (1977) - Paolo & Vittorio Taviani: 7.5/10
https://www.filmfestival.be/volumes/fiona/_800x800_crop_center-center_82_none/a4613f2c-3d8c-45c2-8991-64a5bbe1f0b7.jpg?v=1724081765

[Corax]

NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE
(1979, Herzog)

https://i.imgur.com/xEvh77M.jpeg




In 1979, Werner Herzog decided to bring back the source elements from Bram Stoker, character names and other story elements, in his remake called Nosferatu the Vampyre. However, he also decided to strip the titular character of most of its menace and threat, presenting him as a lonely "sad sack".

It might sound like a slight on the film, but it is an interesting re-interpretation of a character that seemed otherworldly and foreign. Like I said above, Orlok was built as a menacing figure and bringer of death. To have him instead as a mournful and pensive creature tormented by what he is, is definitely an interesting spin. This is also heightened by Klaus Kinski's performance in the lead role.

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2525790#post2525790)

I'm not afraid of Orlock or Dracula, but I would be terrified to at the mercy of the hospitality of Klaus Kinski as a guest in an isolated location. Seriously.

[SillyMonkichi]

Last watched Napoleon Dynamite and I’d rate it 9/10. I love it so much and how it literally has no purpose but new stuff is happening every other scene and all the song choices throughout the movie r wonderful( ^ω^ )

[Takoma11]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/4/8/3/2/2/48322-practical-magic-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=5994b961f2
its got too much going on and as a result can't keep a consistent tone but when it clicks it is pretty magical.
3.5

Practical Magic is a wacky movie and kind of dumb, but also a movie I absolutely love.

First Reformed (2017)

That's precisely where it all starts getting loopy with dream (?) sequences and a bomb vest that the Eco warrior made before his own suicide. Ultimately I don't know what Schrader was trying to say and, while the performances are great, it's all a bit of an ungodly (see what I did there) mess.
2.5

I think that what you're seeing in the second half is a moral awakening (you can decide if you agree with that morality or not). I thought it was an incredibly powerful film, anchored by a fantastic performance from Ethan Hawke.

[ueno_station54]

Practical Magic is a wacky movie and kind of dumb, but also a movie I absolutely love.
on a rewatch i think i'll probably love it too.

[ueno_station54]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/tq/ip/el/3z/l9hrvXyGq19f6jPRZhSVRibTMwW-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=91141e41b0
had never seen any of these but this has a vibe and the ending almost made me cry
3.5

[Takoma11]

on a rewatch i think i'll probably love it too.

I like how it goes between more subtle magic---like the kind of stuff that could just be power of suggestion---and very overt stuff like "Oh yeah and they can kind of fly."

[ueno_station54]

I like how it goes between more subtle magic---like the kind of stuff that could just be power of suggestion---and very overt stuff like "Oh yeah and they can kind of fly."
the umbrella scene at the end might be my favourite depiction of magic in a film. just enough to fill you with wonder.

[matt72582]

I am typing this before I finish it, but I'm watching the movie Wanted Dead or Alive, which is a somewhat-continuation of the show with Steve McQueen, .


I watch this show every night before bed.

[I_Wear_Pants]

I watch this show every night before bed.

That's some dedication. I had all three seasons at one point, although the packaging sucked, and then I lost the DVDs. It's a great show. I wish I could find it...

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/71/Shanghai_Triad_poster.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12261188

Shanghai Triad - (1995)

With Shanghai Triad (the 6th film in my Zhang Yimou/Gong Li boxed set) we return to the kind of filmmaking which makes use of florid and creative cinematography, and the film looks more beautiful than I really anticipated. The story is fairly conventional, and unfolds from the point of view of young Tang Shuisheng (Wang Xiaoxiao), who has arrived in Shanghai from his home in the country to take up a post as Xiao Jinbao's (Gong Li) servant. Xiao Jinbao is the mistress of crime boss Tang (Li Baotian) - otherwise simply referred to as "The Boss". He's guided by his uncle, Liu (Li Xuejian) and chafes at all of the demeaning roles he has to take on serving Jinbao, who is cruel to all of those who work for her, and especially Shuisheng. The narrative feels familiar, but what's a little unusual is what we focus on - Tang's mistress and the servant/master relationship. As the film continues Jinbao evolves and becomes more sympathetic - we learn more about her, while at the same time we see that life in such an organisation as Tang's is cutthroat and there is plenty of blood spilled. The machinations between rival gangs leads to trouble for all the characters involved in this story. Gong Li sings in this one, and the music has a Chinese flavour that makes all of those interludes a lot of fun. It took me back to the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which is set during the same period, and takes place in the same location - a Shanghai nightclub which crime bosses frequent. The big difference is the gravity and tone, along with Zhang Yimou's artistry.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/71/71_Fragmente_einer_Chronologie_des_Zufalls.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13401515

71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance - (1994)

We're told at the outset our destination in 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance - a young man is going to shoot up a bank full of customers before turning the gun on himself. The film then focuses on the lives of those who will end up in the wrong place at the wrong time - and these various scenes are often interrupted by real-life news reports detailing violence around the world, along with Michael Jackson's child abuse-allegation ordeal (his first). As always, Michael Haneke probes at the ordinary person's propensity towards senseless violence, and also our ability to insulate ourselves from consciously acknowledging it or engaging with it. Despite that, and despite all our attempts to avoid it, the only thing separating us from experiencing it directly is pure chance. Haneke includes certain scenes where some young men mess around with a puzzle game where fitting pieces together form different shapes - and of course the first thing we think of are the fragments we're being provided with and the different ways we can piece them together to produce different results - all interpretations equally valid. The main aim is to piece together a crucifix - but whichever way you put this film together, there's a sense of our interconnectedness and the governing principle of the universe we live in : chaos.

7/10

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/66/The_Crow_2024.jpeg/220px-The_Crow_2024.jpeg

2.5

SF = Z

Viewed: Blu ray



[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

[Brody At Amity]

2 out of 5.

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/yMYWof3EvC7ckpVBAs0oQVWed7k.jpg

[stillmellow]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYjBkOWUwODYtYWI3YS00N2I0LWEyYTktOTJjM2YzOTc3ZDNlXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg


Mufasa


A lazy, uninspired prequel with a protagonist that's absolutely perfect to an annoying degree. It actually made me sympathize with Scar by the end, and not in a way the Movie intended.


They have greatly improved the CGI faces, making them far more expressive than the original, which is a plus.


Is still a "Meh" at best.

[Takoma11]

the umbrella scene at the end might be my favourite depiction of magic in a film. just enough to fill you with wonder.

Yes. It's the kind of moment that, as an adult, you would think you must be misremembering.

[ueno_station54]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/t0/tb/2g/l9/fkURS96D2ceuocZIBuyiIBGHilF-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=b0636fd518
this shit absolutely rips when dudes are getting blasted and sucks ass whenever anything else is happening.
rating_2_5

[*Sky*]

The Pillow Book (1995) - Peter Greenaway: 7/10
https://64.media.tumblr.com/1cca5fb874dac89c3ff8f6c1ec800abf/tumblr_mux5wjkb1G1rhc9quo4_500.gifv

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3d/The_Way_to_the_Stars_VideoCover.jpeg
By The cover art can be obtained from Amazon.com or United Artists., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32134835

The Way to the Stars - (1945)

File this one in the "way better than I thought it would be" basket - it asks the question, "is it right or okay to get married and have children while fighting in a war that might see you dead any day?" Peter Penrose (John Mills) is a pilot flying in a bomber squadron where he meets and befriends David Archdale (Michael Redgrave), but it's 1940 and much is short-lived despite revelry and romance. There's poetry and an influx of American bomber pilots who culturally change the tone of the film despite the questions it asks staying pertinent. It's not so much a war film as a drama, but it really gets to the crux of the love and loss which made life such a different prospect back then. Very well written - Terence Rattigan adapted his own play, "Flare Path". Seems like Twelve O'Clock High pinched it's opening from this underseen gem.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a4/Ned_kelly_ver4.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16922286

Ned Kelly - (2003)

Despite being an Australian I'm no expert on famous bushranger and outlaw Ned Kelly - but he's a big deal here, a legend comparable perhaps with John Dillinger in America? Kelly is romanticized to such an extreme that it's hard to say how good or bad he really was, and it's nearly impossible to tell truth from legend regarding the specific incidents which led eventually to him shooting dead three policemen - but of course in Gregor Jordan's bombastic and melodramatic feature he's a hero and man of the people. The film's climax seems like it must be absolutely fictional, and various reviews have described it as such. Despite featuring Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Naomi Watts and Geoffrey Rush there's something really trashy about this bombastic modern western edition (the first ever multi-reel feature film was The Story of the Kelly Gang - it opened on Boxing Day, 1906) of the never-ending series of films made about this man. I would have loved less artifice, dramatic score and excess - and I would have especially loved something less black and white. Nuance or an examination of the complexity and less mindless boring "entertainment" that makes a mockery of us all. There's enough to Ned Kelly to do that.

5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/17/Onoda_%E2%80%93_10%2C000_Nights_in_the_Jungle.jpg
By PIB, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69309967

Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle - (2021)

This 167-minute film about a Japanese soldier left over from the Second World War who had been left defending an island, isolated from the world, thinking that the war wasn't yet over for three decades was fascinating and emotionally compelling in many different ways, and I enjoyed it immensely. Full review here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2526216#post2526216), in my watchlist thread.

8/10

[Long_Lankin]

My last movie was Wicked. I'd never seen the broadway show, so I wasn't on the hype train but I was interested and I ended up really enjoying it. I'd give it a solid 8/10.

[stillmellow]

The Lure


https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/02/01/arts/01LURE/01LURE-superJumbo.jpg


The consensus on Rotten Tomatoes sums it up best:


"The Lure adds a sexually charged, genre-defying twist to
well-established mermaid lore, more than overpowering its flaws through
sheer variety and wild ambition."


👍

[Fabulous]

Marathon Man (1976)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/t8QXvagtK0KRoyDZgPQWoQcM1La.jpg

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/60/Longlegs_film_poster.jpg/220px-Longlegs_film_poster.jpg

3.5


SF = Z

Viewed: Blu ray


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

[Fabulous]

Sometimes a Great Notion (1971)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/oh7hi0AyTw3V3ZigGDiL3Dq2eXy.jpg

[Thursday Next]

Better Man (2024)


https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSfEz8xVLz3wj-zLhMuukF3qr8ain6p4H28MpzXI7r5Yg&s


This one really surprised me. I didn't have much interest in a biopic of a 90s pop star I was never a fan of, but it was not what I expected: really well filmed, irreverent, sweary, uses the songs well and blends biography with fantasy to show the main character's state of mind. It's like Rocket man with more than a dash of The Wall.


Oh, and the lead is a monkey. Full on planet of the apes.


It does get a little sentimental at times and there's the inherent bias and insular focus of being one person's point of view on themselves...but then that is the scope of the film, how he sees himself, and it doesn't pull it's punches with drug use, mental health or unreasonable behaviour.


4

[cricket]

The Bikeriders (2023)

3-

https://themoviemylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-09-at-19.58.42.png?w=672&h=372&crop=1

Biker film that I felt borrowed heavily from better films. It quickly reminded me of Goodfellas, with the narrating girl attracted to the rebel, who is part of a dangerous group, and they quickly get married and face the issues that come with that lifestyle. The movie has its own Benny Blanco from the Bronx character (Carlito's Way), and as the leader, Tom Hardy seems to be channeling Don Corleone. It all adds up to just an ok film, probably because the subject matter interests me. I was almost one of them as I ran with a group called The Mercenaries back in the early to mid 90's. Things happened and my life went in a different direction. If Martin Scorsese directed this, it would've turned out awesome. As is, I'll forget about it's existence in a few days.

[SpelingError]

This Sporting Life (1963) - 4

Frank Machin makes for the most complex character I've seen Lindsay Anderson create so far. While his bitter personality and his treatment of Margaret makes him far from likable, dismissing him as abusive would be missing his various nuances. Instead, one gets the impression he genuinely does care for Margaret and has good intentions (with his numerous assertions of his love for her). He just frequently lacks an understanding of how to interact around her and the roughness he displays during his rugby matches tend to spill over outside the pitch. Due to that, the film could be seen as a breakdown of toxic masculinity, but Frank's failure to realize this behavior is exactly what Margaret is pushing back against is what conflicts everything. Margaret recognizes he wants to help her take care of herself and her children but first wants him to better himself before she welcomes him with open arms. Though the non-linear angle was dropped after the first third, cross-cutting Frank's early scenes with him undergoing dental surgery due to a sports injury made for a great juxtaposition since they say all that needs to be said about the roughness of his sport and the negative influences it has on his relations outside of the pitch. Even with the other rugby matches depicted, Frank's aggressiveness (often elbowing and punching other players) further helps to bring insight to why he acts the way he does off the field. Phenomenal final scene, by the way. Ultimately, as pathetic as he was, I still held out a bit of sympathy for him since the rare, tender moments of Frank bonding with Margaret's children show he's capable of controlling himself in the right setting.

[ueno_station54]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/1/3/2/8/2/7/132827-terminal-usa-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=98dcd1e706
the sets and lighting and camera work are all so cool i don't know why i didn't quite love it.
3.5

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kaijubattle.net%2Fuploads%2F2%2F9%2F5%2F7%2F29570123%2F708446739_orig.png&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=253e32952c4a413a14dcf1d911faa72e49a5a2033fdfbb2785eaf93d377a0cf8&ipo=images

Varan, 1958

Two scientists venture into a remote region of Japan to study rare butterflies, but are killed by a strange earthquake. Yuriko (Ayumi Sonoda) is a reporter and also the sister of one of the scientists, and she goes to investigate what really happened, along with scientist Kenji (Kozo Nomura). Disregarding the warnings from locals, the group goes into the mountainside and discovers a prehistoric creature called Varan. The military must scramble to contain and defeat the monster.

A cool monster design and likable protagonists can’t lift this above feeling like Godzilla-lite.

3

FULL REVIEW (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2526403#post2526403)

[Raven73]

Borderlands
4/10.
Yet another example of how video games are not good source material for movies.

https://resizing.flixster.com/o2GTGKciY5Mj_MtUyEY34WNAZLo=/fit-in/352x330/v2/https://resizing.flixster.com/-XZAfHZM39UwaGJIFWKAE8fS0ak=/v3/t/assets/p26542700_k_v10_ab.jpg

[Torgo]

The Bikeriders (2023)

3-

https://themoviemylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screenshot-2024-05-09-at-19.58.42.png?w=672&h=372&crop=1

Biker film that I felt borrowed heavily from better films. It quickly reminded me of Goodfellas, with the narrating girl attracted to the rebel, who is part of a dangerous group, and they quickly get married and face the issues that come with that lifestyle. The movie has its own Benny Blanco from the Bronx character (Carlito's Way), and as the leader, Tom Hardy seems to be channeling Don Corleone. It all adds up to just an ok film, probably because the subject matter interests me. I was almost one of them as I ran with a group called The Mercenaries back in the early to mid 90's. Things happened and my life went in a different direction. If Martin Scorsese directed this, it would've turned out awesome. As is, I'll forget about it's existence in a few days. That's cool about your biker history. Despite the Goodfellas similarities, I really enjoyed it, especially for the interview format and soundtrack. Also, if they gave out acting Oscars for single scenes, Michael Shannon would win it. My only worthwhile complaint is that the Midwestern accents are comically exaggerated.

You know what, besides some crappy MST3K biker movies, it's the only big budget one I've seen. I guess I should continue with...The Wild One?

[Mr Minio]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/1/5/8/9/9/9/158999-red-spirit-lake-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=92bd93c8dc
horrendous vibes (complimentary)
4 One of the best "scuzzf*ckcore" movies!

[cricket]

That's cool about your biker history. Despite the Goodfellas similarities, I really enjoyed it, especially for the interview format and the soundtrack. Also, if they have out acting Oscars for single scenes, Michael Shannon would win it. My only worthwhile complaint is that the Midwestern accents are comically exaggerated.

You know what, besides some crappy MST3K biker movies, it's the only big budget one I've seen. I guess I should continue with...The Wild One?

Besides Easy Rider most of the biker films I remember as crap, including The Wild One. An exception is Psychomania but I haven't seen it since I was a kid. I'm originally from Chicago and I agree about the accents.

Oh and Stone Cold was good fun.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FM%2FMV5BZjg0Y2JiZmEtZDg4OC00Mjc4LWJhMTktNjM0MTBkNjRkNTZjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTc2OD ExOTk%40._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=26968af25034ab3a7f9d647f775b5172fe4004ad07f6a888874ace4ac86ed945&ipo=images

Atragon, 1963

An undersea empire called the Mu emerges from the depths of the ocean to declare war on the land. The best hope for the people on the surface is a long-lost Japanese naval captain named Jinguji (Jun Tazaki) who is rumored to be developing the ultimate submarine, the Atragon. Photographer Susumu (Tadao Takashima) and Jinguji’s estranged daughter Makoto (Yoko Fujiyama) set off on a mission to find the captain and convince him to help defend Japan and the rest of the world.

Winning special effects get bogged down by a slog of a story.

3

FULL REVIEW (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2526498#post2526498)

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fd/Curseofgoldenflower.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8065249

Curse of the Golden Flower - (2006)

The seventh film in my Zhang Yimou & Gong Li boxed set, and perhaps one of the most beautiful-looking films I've ever seen in my life. The art department, production designers and costume department deserve the highest praise for turning the Chinese palace in this movie into an impossible wonderland sparkling with colour and bright inventive imagination. Truly incredible. I'm a big fan of House of Flying Daggers, so I had a feeling Zhang Yimou's martial arts phase might suit me. The story is epic, tragic and Shakespearean - with no regard given whatsoever to your normal Hollywood-type modern narrative style which filmmakers from many countries kind of imitate. There's danger and intrigue amongst Emperor Ping's (Chow Yun-fat) royal family, and the film starts with the revelation that he's in the process of slowly poisoning his wife, Empress Phoenix (Gong Li) - the rest is so spoiler rich I can't divulge a thing. Overall, I enjoyed the story, performances, sets and costumes more than the action - but things do get a little Lord of the Rings in scope battle-wise. A huge Chinese film - the most expensive made at the time. Overall, I was dazzled by this beautiful jewel of a movie and my rating reflects the impression it left on me.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/37/The_Paperboy.jpg
By May be found at the following website: http://laskakumbuka.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/PsterdeThePaperboyfilmecomZacEfronNicoleKidmanMatthewMcConaugheyeJohnCusackDivulgao.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35981805

The Paperboy - (2012)

Has it really been nearly 13 years since The Paperboy came out? I remember seeing this way back then, but it still feels like yesterday. This film is disgusting - and I kind of mean that as a compliment. The Paperboy sinks deeper than a Floridian gutter and I can't imagine Pete Dexter's novel being any more lurid or unwholesome as this movie is. I've always really liked it one hell of a lot though, despite it's lousy reputation. It's a real crime thriller involving reporter Ward Jansen (Matthew McConaughey) as he investigates the possible innocence of the grimy and awful Hillary Van Wetter (a devilish John Cusack), who has been sharing his story in love letters to the trashy Charlotte Bless (Nicole Kidman) - a fan of writing men in prison. Along for the ride is Ward's brother, Jack (Zac Efron), who falls in love with Charlotte, and his colleague Yardley Acheman (David Oyelowo) - a British black man who has trouble with just about everyone because of 60s racist attitudes, and because he's a hothead. Narrating is the Jansen's maid, Anita Chester (Macy Gray). It doesn't get any darker or any more slimy, but I reckon crime thrillers should get as down and dirty as The Paperboy, at least on occasion. It fits the lurid tone so many great crime novels wear as a badge of pride, so is a true adaptation perhaps.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/40/Poster_of_The_Music_of_Chance_%28film%29.jpg
By Derived from a digital capture (photo/scan) of the Film Poster (creator of this digital version is irrelevant as the copyright in all equivalent images is still held by the same party). Copyright held by the film company or the artist. Claimed as fair use regardless., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30945999

The Music of Chance - (1993)

I threw this on as a late night throwaway, thinking that I'd see the first half hour or so and go to sleep. I mean, I must of bought it for a reason, but the DVD is distributed by Payless/Destra Entertainment - the cheapest and most rubbishy DVD label there is. TV movies and public domain films is their usual fare, so I thought this would look and play like junk - but I got hooked. Jim Nashe (Mandy Patinkin) picks up a beat-up and bloodied card player, Jack Pozzi (James Spader) and buys into a situation that soon becomes quite bizarre. Also featuring M. Emmet Walsh, Charles Durning and Joel Grey. It's the surprises you get plot-wise that made this so interesting, so I can't reveal more except to say that if you think you've seen everything, you should perhaps give this a go. Durning is fantastic, as is Spader - and the only thing which really put a crimp in my joy at having come across this by accident is the ending, which just seems like a really abrupt and unimaginative full stop to a narrative that had been promising much more. Otherwise, this would have had a slightly higher rating. Paul Auster's novel (on which this is based) obviously had a lot of meaning to it - and that carries through here.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/52/Mask_of_zorro.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/1998/posters/mask_of_zorro_ver2.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1896413

The Mask of Zorro - (1998)

Like going to Burger King, you get exactly what you expect when you watch The Mask of Zorro - it's made by the pros and the budget is pushing $100 million in 1998 dollars. You've got Anthony Hopkins anchoring as Don Diego de la Vega - the first Zorro, which is good. There's Antonio Banderas as Alejandro Murrieta - the second Zorro, and Catherine Zeta-Jones in her big breakout role. Sword-fighting, decent action and a thundering score. My only problem is, I've never been all that interested in Zorro - so while I gave this film the opportunity to make me more interested in this fictional character, it still ended up failing to do just that. There was nothing in it that I haven't seen too many times already - and perhaps I'm too old now to get carried away with the whole action-adventure vibe. Or perhaps it's just that this film was "big budget ordinary".

6/10

[I_Wear_Pants]

That's Desperado Outpost finished. It's awesome. What an enticing film. I loved the mystery and suspense, as well as the war action. What a smashing film. I found it at Rare Films and More and purchased a download of it. It's also available via disc, if that's how you want to roll. I loved the film and am so glad I watched it.

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cb/Alien_Romulus_2024_%28poster%29.jpg/220px-Alien_Romulus_2024_%28poster%29.jpg

3.5

SF = Z

Viewed: Blu ray


Meh, I don't get the hate towards this one.


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

[Fabulous]

The Color Purple (1985)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/rhMpAPvoy1beXd8gA6CvYoCSztj.jpg

[ueno_station54]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/8l/jd/rr/y2/vGBtnm9clhAjLp3D3dky7zFTQBA-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=bd854b595a
2.5


https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/5/1/5/1/4/51514-men-in-black-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=b5749570bd
3

[Marco]

The Music of Chance - (1993)

I threw this on as a late night throwaway, thinking that I'd see the first half hour or so and go to sleep. I mean, I must of bought it for a reason, but the DVD is distributed by Payless/Destra Entertainment - the cheapest and most rubbishy DVD label there is. TV movies and public domain films is their usual fare, so I thought this would look and play like junk - but I got hooked. Jim Nashe (Mandy Patinkin) picks up a beat-up and bloodied card player, Jack Pozzi (James Spader) and buys into a situation that soon becomes quite bizarre. Also featuring M. Emmet Walsh, Charles Durning and Joel Grey. It's the surprises you get plot-wise that made this so interesting, so I can't reveal more except to say that if you think you've seen everything, you should perhaps give this a go. Durning is fantastic, as is Spader - and the only thing which really put a crimp in my joy at having come across this by accident is the ending, which just seems like a really abrupt and unimaginative full stop to a narrative that had been promising much more. Otherwise, this would have had a slightly higher rating. Paul Auster's novel (on which this is based) obviously had a lot of meaning to it - and that carries through here.

7/10
Caught the Music of Chance on BBC2 about 20 years ago and never seen it again but I recall it being one of the most oddly threatening films I've seen. Then read more Auster and realized that's his stock in trade.

[Stirchley]

104356

So lame. Bailed out.

[Brody At Amity]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cb/Alien_Romulus_2024_%28poster%29.jpg/220px-Alien_Romulus_2024_%28poster%29.jpg

3.5

SF = Z

Viewed: Blu ray


Meh, I don't get the hate towards this one.


[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
I really enjoyed this one. I think my expectations were low. It surprised me. Probably my fav Alien film since Aliens.

[Brody At Amity]

5 out of 5 - a re-watch of this classic.

https://www.orsonandwelles.co.uk/cdn/shop/products/Psycho-1960-UK-Quad-Style-B-film-movie-poster_1200x.jpg?v=1571438565

My list of the best Hitchcock movies (https://www.top10films.co.uk/5396-top-10-alfred-hitchcock-films/).

[Gideon58]

https://www.tvguide.com/a/img/catalog/provider/2/2/2-b7d340267c5b1c109a90e6624626fd90.jpg



1st Rewatch...For my money, Elvis' best film. Set in New Orleans, Elvis plays Danny Fisher, a hot-headed high school dropout who works as a busboy at a nightclub called the Blue Shade, owned by gangster Maxie Fields (Walter Matthau) until Danny is offered a job as a singer at a club owned by Charlie LeGrande (Paul Stewart). Maxie then decides he wants Danny back and is willing to pimp out his mistress (Carolyn Jones) to do it, while Danny only has eyes for a pretty waitress (Dolores Hart). This film is way better than most of Elvis' films because it has a solid story, as opposed to a typical Elvis musical, where the plot is centered around Elvis's songs. The melodrama is anchored by a director with a lot of experience in the genre, Michael Curtiz, who directed the 1942 Best Picture Casablanca and directed Joan Crawford to her Oscar in Mildred Pierce. This film proves what kind of movie career Elvis might have had if he had worked with more A-list directors. Matthau is properly menacing as Maxie Fields, as is Vic Morrow as his flying monkey, but the real scene stealer here is Jones as the pathetic Ronnie, a performance that should have earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination. 4

[Gideon58]

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/v~sAAOSwE4hduzv~/s-l400.jpg



2nd Rewatch...The enchanting Judy Holliday is the whole show in this engaging screen version of Garson Kanin's Broadway play, where Holliday was wisely finally allowed to reprise her Broadway role. She plays Billie Dawn, the not-as-dumb-as-she-might-appear mistress to a junk tycoon named Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford) who brings her to Washington DC where he plans to purchase a couple of US congressmen. Since Billie's signature is on a lot of his paperwork, Harry decides she requires some refining and hires a young writer named Paul Verral (William Holden) for the job and you can probably guess the rest. This movie is all about Holliday and a brilliantly crafted performance that defined the cinematic dumb blonde forever. She did it so brilliantly that she actually won the Oscar for Best Actress of 1950, beating out Bette Davis for All About Eve and Gloria Swanson for Sunset Boulevard (which also featured Holden and earned him an Oscar nomination the same year). Broderick Crawford, fresh off his Oscar win for All the King's Men is kind of one note as Brock, but Holliday is so entertaining you don't care. The film was remade in 1993 with Melanie Griffith, John Goodman, and Don Johnson taking on the Holliday, Goodman, and Holden roles, respectively. This is definitely a case of "Stick to the original."
3.5

[Gideon58]

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


1st Rewatch...One of Clint Eastwood's most underrated directorial efforts actually played much better for this review upon rewatch. This docudrama stars Oscar winner Tom Hanks as Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, a veteran airline pilot who, on January 15, 2009, was flying a disabled airliner and had to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 people on board. However, this film is not so much about what Sully did, which had him hailed as hero all over the world, but how what happened affected his life and how transportation authorities did their best to somehow blame Sully for what happened while the rest of the world was showing their gratitude. Eastwood's direction is meticulous as Hanks is beautifully understated as the title character. Upping my original rating. 4

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51s9uxPLZKL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg


1st rewatch...The late Doris Day officially became a movie star with this rowdy musical western where she plays a sharpshooter and saloon owner who hasn't discovered her inner girl yet and her relationship with Wild Bill Hickock (Howard Keel), who has buried his real feelings for her because she acts like a man. The film features a terrific score including one of the biggest hits of Doris' recording career, "Secret Love", which won the Oscar for Best Original Song of 1953. Daytime fans might recognize the actor who plays Calamity's first crush, Danny Gilmartin...it's Phillip Carey, who played Asa Buchanan on One Life to Live. Lots of fun from start to finish, and, according to every interview she ever gave, Doris' favorite film she made. 4

[Gideon58]

The Color Purple (1985)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/rhMpAPvoy1beXd8gA6CvYoCSztj.jpg

Why only 3 1/2?

[Marco]

Master Gardener (2022)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Master_Gardener_%28film%29.jpg
OK, another Schrader. A meticulous horticulturist spends his and his teams proudly tending the expansive private gardens of a dowager. He is then basically ordered to accept and train the dowagers one living relative, a young bi-racial woman. This is all going swimmingly but both have issues they have hidden, he is an ex White Power henchman who has recanted and sold out his former comrades and she is mixed up in drugs. The budget was small for this one and the acting good but, 'k me, it is slow and ponderous. The relationship is a lot better and likely before the sudden jolt to getting together and wanting to be acknowledged as man and wife. The "baddies" seemed contrived and were more figures of fun rather than bad-asses, difficult to see them holding a corner without someone just walking up and relieving then of their gear. The threat of the pruning shears was unintentionally hilarious. This was a bit rubbishy all round.
1.5

[Tycoon]

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


1st Rewatch...One of Clint Eastwood's most underrated directorial efforts actually played much better for this review upon rewatch. This docudrama stars Oscar winner Tom Hanks as Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, a veteran airline pilot who, on January 15, 2009, was flying a disabled airliner and had to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 people on board. However, this film is not so much about what Sully did, which had him hailed as hero all over the world, but how what happened affected his life and how transportation authorities did their best to somehow blame Sully for what happened while the rest of the world was showing their gratitude. Eastwood's direction is meticulous as Hanks is beautifully understated as the title character. Upping my original rating. 4

It's a good movie but there isn't much to say about this story honestly.
Even if I enjoyed it, I was sometimes bored during the film.

[Stirchley]

It's a good movie but there isn't much to say about this story honestly.
Even if I enjoyed it, I was sometimes bored during the film.

Not the greatest movie ever made for sure.

[ueno_station54]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/5/0/8/7/7/3/508773-franceska-finger-nailz-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=4d78abfa91
this certainly wasn't good but it was unlike anything i've ever seen before so that's something i guess. idk why its over 3 hours, nothing happens but its chill and the french canadian accents add to the vibe.

3

[Nephilim]

https://www.imdb.com/es-es/title/tt4441280/?reasonForLanguagePrompt=browser_header_mismatch

The Corpse of Anna Fritz.

Really liked it. Though... it was weird none of the characters tried to come up with an answer or theory as to how the hell she opened her eyes in the morgue. An explanation was missing, don't you think?

[matt72582]

Pirosmani - 7/10


https://youtu.be/OnzjKLDBKXo

[Allaby]

Jacquot de Nantes (1991) Directed by Agnès Varda and based on the life of her husband, Jacques Demy. This is beautifully filmed and lovingly made. I especially liked the alternating use of black and white and colour. Performances are good too. Some wonderful moments. Streamed on Criterion Channel. Well worth checking out. 4

[Thief]

THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER
(2023, Øvredal)

https://i.imgur.com/5TW1611.jpeg


"We’re a doomed crew, Mr. Clemens, on a doomed ship. We no longer plot our course; the devil below does... and we all know where he plans to deliver us. To hell, Mr. Clemens. Each of us, one by one."



The Last Voyage of the Demeter takes those brief passages blowing them up to full feature length. The main focus of the story is on Clemens (Corey Hawkins), an African American doctor that earns a spot on the ship as a deck hand. As the ship sails, they stumble upon some of their unique cargo whose plan is to "feast upon the hordes of England".

This is one of those films where you know more or less what's going to happen, which diminishes the thrill and tension of the events. Regardless of that, the film is good enough to still keep us engaged with effective performances, solid dialogue, and good overall production values. There is some dodgy CGI here and there, but not enough to be an issue.

Grade: 3


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2526770#post2526770)

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1b/August_rush_poster.jpg
By Impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12606154

August Rush - (2007)

You might be looking for a modern updating of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist - one where Oliver is a musical prodigy, searching for his real mother and father. You might be even more interested when you find out that Robin Williams is playing the Fagin role (in this film he's called "Wizard", and instead of having his boys pick-pocket they busk to earn him money for their keep.) But unfortunately this film is so schmaltzy and cloyingly sentimental that you might be like me and get completely turned off. In this film music is the magic that young Evan Taylor (a very young Freddie Highmore) sees all around him in every chinkle of a fence and slap of a foot hitting pavement. Classical musician Lyla (Keri Russell) and rock band singer Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) conceive him during a night of passion, and now it's up to Evan to use music to bring the three of them back together - Lyla being lied to by her father about her baby dying in childbirth, and the two lovebirds losing touch as the young boy grows up in an orphanage. Terrence Howard appears briefly as Evan's orphanage counsellor. It's all presented to us as magic, fate and the almost supernatural power of music and the universe to bring people together. I can only endure so much of that, and although Williams tries gamely to lift this one out of the doldrums there's simply no way to avoid feeling like you're being talked to by a new age enthusiast on Diazepam.

4/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/da/The_ghost_breakers.jpg
By Internet Movie Poster Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8039595

The Ghost Breakers - (1940)

The Ghost Breakers is probably the most well-rounded Bob Hope film I've seen so far, because it offers so much more than simply it's star attraction spouting one-liners. Good stuff. Up there with My Favourite Brunette. Full review here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2526772#post2526772), in my watchlist thread.

7/10

[LeBoyWondeur]

104367

This film from 1970 has been on my watchlist for a long time but the DVD was always hard to get for a reasonable price.
Imagine my delight when, today, I stumbled upon a good quality upload on youtube.
However....*cue ominous music*

Goodbye Gemini has all the right ingredients in (mostly) the right place, it's even got Michael Redgrave and Alexis Kanner. What could possibly go wrong?
It's based on a novel but apparently some changes were made. Now I'm not sure if the film would have been much better if it had been more faithful to the source, and it's also possible that they didn't change enough.
Either way, it doesn't satisfy on any level - it's not creepy enough, it's not ethereal enough, it's not sleazy enough, it's not funny enough. Just a few glimpses here there to show us the "what could have been".

Perhaps it could have been better made as a limited series, something in the style of Bouquet Of Barbed Wire.
Oh well, at least I can take it off the list now.

3/10

[I_Wear_Pants]

Tonight I watched Batman Assault on Arkham. It's a great one. I really liked this film. Sure the film isn't perfect and a mite messy in spots. Overall though it was really well done and quite good. I dug it plenty. It focused more on the villains than Batman, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially since they did a good job with it. I will never watch the live-action Batman films. The animated ones are usually great though. Next up I have Killing Joke, so far as Batman goes.

[StuSmallz]

I Saw the TV Glow

This really spoke to me. It's certainly not going to 'click' with everyone, but I think everyone can understand the pressure on us all to hold parts of ourselves back, and pretend to be something we're not. For some people the pressure is just far more soul crushing.

It's not perfect, with uneven performances, and a few infuriatingly unclear moments, but overall it's quite good.

I can't really explain more of the movie without spoiling it, but i will say that it only dips into fantasy and horror a few times. Mostly it's about the way we remember the past, and the cost of suppressing who you really are.

"A-"Ooh, a friend of mine actually interviewed the director of that recently, if you're interested.

[Thief]

LOS REYES MAGOS
(2003, Navarro)

https://i.imgur.com/35bK5ZG.jpeg


"An incredible force is about to emerge, and only with the powers of the treasures will I be able to destroy it."



Los Reyes Magos (or The 3 Wise Men) is a Spanish animated film that follows the titular characters as they're on the way to visit baby Jesus. In the process, they are joined by a young man, Tobias, and a young revolutionary, Sarah, as they set out to face the wrath of Herod and his evil counselor, Belial.

There are good things and bad things to this film. Overall, the animation is pretty decent and the character design is solid, even if at times some of them look like characters from other animated films. The film plays more like an action/adventure film and there are some thrilling setpieces in the midst of it all. However, it feels so removed from what we usually associate with the Three Wise Men story that it kinda feels off.

Grade: 2


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2526876#post2526876)

[Thief]

SQUARED
(2017, Leech)

https://i.imgur.com/EzgeGwy.jpeg


"You really got our s-h!t together. You're a better me than me."



Squared is a 5-minute short from director/writer Tony Leech. It follows Karen (Summer Perry) as she gets a mysterious call one night. I stumbled upon this short as I was exploring Leech's filmography for some reason, and thought I'd give it a shot. With that brief runtime, there's not a lot that can be said without spoiling it.

Grade: 3


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2526883#post2526883)

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTk5NzI5OTA4MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNjc4NTM3MjE@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg


1st Rewatch...a darkly unhinged performance by Bill Murray makes this film rise above a rather mundane storyline. Murray effectively channels Jack Nicholson here playing Vincent McKenna, an alcoholic gambler and womanizer who owes money to everyone and is having a relationship with a Russian pregnant stripper (Naomi Watts) who becomes an unlikely mentor to the son of a single mom (Melissa McCarthy), in the middle of a nasty divorce, who move next door to him. Murray somehow manages to make a very unlikable character totally likable and McCarthy scores definitely cast against type. 4

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81tFwn4I2-L.jpg


2nd Rewatch...This movie gets better with each re-watch. A ferocious performance from James Franco in the starring role that should have earned him an Oscar nomination, anchors this biopic about Tommy Wiseau, an eccentric filmmaker who, after spending years trying to find success as an actor, decides to finance and direct his own movie called The Room and giving the lead to Greg (Franco's brother, Dave), a struggling actor he met in an acting class in San Francisco. The Oscar nominated screenplay keeps Wiseau shrouded in mystery throughout the film and there is one cringe-worthy scene after another here...that scene where Tommy auditions for Judd Apatow in a crowded restaurant is a heartbreaker as is the premiere of the movie where the audience starts laughing at the movie, which was not Tommy's intention. The Franco brothers work really well together and Seth Rogen steals every scene he's in as Sandy, the script supervisor for The Room. A uniquely intense film that stays with you as the credits begin to roll and you see footage from this movie played side by side with actual footage from The Room. 4

[Gideon58]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/A_Star_Is_Born_%281937_film_poster%29.jpg


1st Rewatch...The original version of this classic romance set against a show business backdrop is starting to creak around the edges a little, but it's still very easy to see why this film has inspired three remakes (so far). Janet Gaynor plays Esther Blodgett, a girl from the midwest who moves to Hollywood to become a movie star who gets a leg up when she meets alcoholic movie star Norman Maine (two time Oscar winner Fredric March), whose career slides into the bottle while Esther becomes a major star named Vicki Lester. The film definitely has some dated elements after all these years, but it's worth a look for no other reason than the dazzling performance by March as Norman Maine, which should have won him a third Oscar. 3.5

[Marco]

The Secret Scripture (2016)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fe/The_Secret_Scripture_%28film%29.jpg
Emotional drama from Jim Sheridan. This used time cuts very well as Rose is shown in the present (Vanessa Redgrave) and the circumstances which lead to her imprisonment and torture (ECT) played by Rooney Mara. It's a great cast and the story bumbles along but a coincidence makes it not a satisfying conclusion for me. And kinda with that the impact of the film is compromised into melodrama. Still, pretty watchable.
2.5

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjI2NzNjMDAtMjI3NC00YzJhLWIyYTktNzZhMzg0MmRkNDM3XkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg



3

[stillmellow]

Ooh, a friend of mine actually interviewed the director of that recently, if you're interested.


Yes I would! Is there a link to the interview?

[*Sky*]

Blood Simple (1984) - Joel Coen: 8/10
https://oldmoviesaregreat.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/blood-simple-review-1xxx.gif?w=678&h=354

[Jeff]

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/0ZdI2ctIys3SG4MwrPsR8fVJuPL_lqGc7fO6QnGe5GYbL9V1PSlsrGMGCynzDxtwZg7M2azTL7wU9pEkoR9Qrtci_x154wzrqAIk ePdhVn_aHgOYLlervqcSSdlY4hKj_lOu-fgr5NRBZu24nMjduO4tIX7G2lZ5rw

9/10 -- Bresson is a director whose work i deem for myself to be grown into, because so far all i can cling to are surface, and notional aspects, in that of tone, style, and time period. The use of sound, and how for me it heightens a sense of realism, underlines it. As for tone, the seriousness, and the lack of emotion on display, which at this time is brought to my awareness the misconception Stoicism has, that emotions are suppressed. If it were so, there'd be usual a breaking point. .... i get that narratively is about environmentalism, and these are teenagers figuring out what sort of world this is, if there's any complex relationship information going on, it often goes right over my head, but it's pretty plain that these people are not having the time of their lives in this story, directed by one of the Gods of cinema. I'm not sure if it should be mentioned in the same breath as his earlier work, and of his last film L'argent, because the connection between sorrow over the environment and ending one's life as a viable cause to a cinematic act is something i feel estranged to. If i felt more love towards mother earth i'd then give it a perfect score.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/90/Coming_Home_2014_poster.jpg
By http://movie.douban.com/photos/photo/2181153128/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42116974

Coming Home - (2014)

The 8th and final film in my Zhang Yimou/Gong Li boxed set had me wandering around the room with tears in my eyes - such is the emotional impact of the very sad and melancholic Coming Home. It takes aim at the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the long-term devastation it wrought among ordinary, innocent families. Lu Yanshi (Chen Daoming) has escaped from the labour camp he was sent to for no other reason than being an "intellectual" and desperately tries to meet up with his beloved wife Feng Wanyu (Gong Li), but their indoctrinated daughter Dandan (Zhang Huiwen), cruelly manipulated by the authorities, has other ideas. Leap forward a number of years, and the madness has ended. Lu is allowed to come home, but when he finally gets to greet his wife he finds her the victim of severe mental deterioration, and she no longer remembers who he is - forcing Lu to invent new identities and try all kinds of methods to reach the only woman he'll ever love. Gone is Zhang Yimou's newfound flair for visual spectacle, but Coming Home isn't depressing, despite it's spartan, colourless features. Instead it's a deeply sad meditation on loss, damage and the irreparable consequences of persecution and cruelty. It made me reflect a lot on my family, and loss - familial love and security is so important, so to lose that certainly hurts. It's sweet though - the small victories, and resolute strength of will when it comes on never giving up on your loved ones will shine through, and hope comes to the fore quite often. A fine way to finish off this 8-film voyage through Zhang Yimou's work.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/06/Haunted_honeymoon.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from Orion Pictures., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10520591

Haunted Honeymoon - (1986)

I've avoided this Gene Wilder-written & directed comedy for such a long time now, pretty much aware of it's PoS status and not really attracted to it at first glance anyway. I decided to check it out, just because I got curious. For the first third or so, I thought it was going to prove to be a hidden gem, and that perhaps it was an ill-regarded movie that clicked with me for some reason. I was finding it uproariously funny and clever! The cast! Wilder and Gilda Radner. Jim Carter as a Dracula-like magician seemed a perfect fit. Bryan Pringle as Pfister, the butler, was killing it. I love Jonathan Pryce, and Ann Way is such a precious character actress to add fun to proceedings. It was all working so well. Wilder's secret trysts with ex-girlfriend Sylvia (Eve Ferret) were a riot. He plays Larry Abbot - a performer on radio who is so affected by bouts of fear that a group of family and friends decide to try a technique which involves scaring him so much during a pre-wedding weekend that it'll desensitise him. Dom DeLuise plays Aunt Katherine Abbot, and gets some great deadpan lines. Then everything simply falls apart - there's too much going on, and none of the comedy gets to breathe at all. Wilder tries to spread everyone so thinly - generous to a fault, but it means nobody really has time to develop well-measured comedic moments. The film collapses under it's own weight, and the whole thing is a mess - no longer funny, and simply scatterbrained. Jim Carter just goes missing, Pryce is wasted and Pringle is used too much - diluting his effect as the ugly, overbearingly frightening butler. The frenetic slapstick antics aren't funny, and the carefully worked out comedy falls victim to rushed attempts at bombast servicing a scattered and tangled plot. This could have been good, but something bad happened during this film's production and/or post-production.

4/10

[Jeff]

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/f6/91/71/f69171d233a14cedce4f8b9461b40970.jpg

Malina, Werner Schroeter's 1991 psychological drama of falling apart internally was one of the best first watches ever for me, and i think perhaps that even a normal person would find it hard to follow, so if you wanna feel what normal movies feel to me, watch this, a sense of being lost in a world of mind numbing aloofness, of regret and delusion, of going down with the good ship sanity, in a blaze of passionate but not cringy sentimentalism. Malina is a challenging watch even now, but it's a part of the roots of my film journey, which i feel has been at a standstill for a few years now. The suffering artist theme done the way i like, i give it a 10/10 score.

[Fabulous]

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

4

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/xarA1q7NcqPVXD2gOKslUeynqRD.jpg

[StuSmallz]

Yes I would! Is there a link to the interview?
Yup; here you go: https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/interview-jane-schoenbrun-on-i-saw-the-tv-glow/

[Sedai]

Last Stop in Yuma County
Francis Galluppi, 2024

3

https://www.theepochtimes.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F05%2F18%2Fid5652866-THE-LAST-STOP-IN-YUMA-COUNTY-18-1080x475.png&w=1200&q=75

A fairly well-made little thriller that spends most of its run time in one location. There are plenty of nods to other (better) films, such as Terrance Malick's Badlands, and there is quite a bit of Tarantino worship here. Unfortunately, it lacks the inventive dialogue and memorable characterizations of Tarantino's films, so in the end it just comes across as sort of a low rent knock-off. It's well made and showcases some technical skill, but doesn't really contain any surprises as everything plays out pretty much as you would expect. It wasn't a bad film, but most likely won't make my Top 10 of 2024.

[xSookieStackhouse]

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

4

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/xarA1q7NcqPVXD2gOKslUeynqRD.jpg

is that david bowie documentary?

[Stirchley]

is that david bowie documentary?

it’s a movie.

[Stirchley]

104388

Mikey Madison excellent in this over-long comedic movie. Raised in LA, but manages a Brooklyn accent very well. Loads of f-bombs & extreme nudity. Didn’t think much of the lead Russian actor who over-acted in the extreme.

[Thief]

LONGLEGS
(2024, Perkins)

https://i.imgur.com/NGTOo5c.jpeg


"I am done. But I won't only be in here. I'll be a little bit of everywhere. Waiting in the wings. In the father's wings."



Set in the mid-90s, Longlegs follows Lee Harker (Maika Monroe), a young FBI agent that is tracking down a serial killer that's murdering entire families in Oregon. Harker is incredibly skilled as an investigator, but is a bit of an introvert and socially awkward. This might come from her religious upbringing, which has led to a strained relationship with her mother Ruth (Alicia Witt).

Perkins showed a lot of promise with his debut film, The Blackcoat's Daughter. This one has a similar eerie and dreadful vibe. His direction is very impressive with some nice framing and patient camera work, all of which contribute to an atmosphere of uneasiness that just gets under your skin from the very first scene, which is our introduction to the titular serial killer.

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2527091#post2527091)

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjk2NWE2MTktMGEyMS00NjI3LWE5ODQtMzNkN2YzZWE3ZjIyXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg



1st Rewatch...Vincente Minnelli directed this stylish melodrama about a soldier/writer named Dave Hirsh (Frank Sinatra) who returns to his hometown and attempts to mend the broken relationship with his brother (Arthur Kennedy) while pursuing a romance with an icy schoolteacher (Martha Hyer) and keeping a pathetic floozie named Ginny Moorhead (Shirley MacLaine) at arm's length after she followed him home. Sinatra offers one of his strongest performances and works well with Dean Martin as Bama Dillert, Dave's gambling buddy who never takes off his hat, but MacLaine totally steals the show here in a performance that earned her her first Oscar nomination. 4

[Darth Pazuzu]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0c/Babygirl_%28film_poster%29.png/220px-Babygirl_%28film_poster%29.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1a/LastShowgirlPoster.jpeg

September 7, 2025
BABYGIRL (Halina Reijn / 2024)

September 14, 2025
THE LAST SHOWGIRL (Gia Coppola / 2024)

I have to say that my last two visits to the local theater have been pretty rewarding. I really enjoyed these films a great deal. Granted, I don't really have much to say about them, because frankly I've become rather fatigued at the prospect of trotting out yet more redundant synopses or offering up an all-out unpacking of every single movie I see at the local theater on this particular site. (Nothing personal, you understand.) But I will just say that I liked both films a lot, and I thought that Nicole Kidman and Pamela Anderson were both very impressive in the leads. (Kidman is never a surprise in this regard, but I found Anderson's performance very powerful and affecting.)

The thing that struck me the most about Babygirl was how weirdly sympathetic the character of Samuel was, as well as the subtlety of Harris Dickinson's performance. He's one of those "X-ray mind" characters that in a more conventional film could quite easily tilt into out-and-out villainy. (Other examples of this type would include Hannibal Lecter and the outlaw Ben Wade in the 3:10 to Yuma movies.) Samuel is obviously quite immature, and of course part of the tension surrounding the character's affair with Kidman is whether or not he'll spill the beans on that relationship. He could do so at any time, of course, but there is a strong ambiguity about his motivations. First of all, would he actually go that far? Is he exercising this power over Kidman because he's an immature brat, or is it that in his unfiltered perceptions he senses that on some level Kidman wants him to hold this power over her and merely obliges her out of an instinctual empathy? There's a lot of food for thought here, and any two people going to see this film could walk away with two completely different takes on the story, characters and subject matter. And frankly, that's how more movies should be.

I just turned 51 last year, and believe me, the older I get, the more strongly I identify with a character like Shelly Gardner, the aging Vegas showgirl played by Pamela Anderson. Because the older you get, the more it seems like the rest of the world completely passes you by, and everything you've come to know and believe (or tell yourself) about life, politics, art, entertainment or even simple aesthetic sense seems to become less and less valid. When we're young, we think we know where it's at, what's hip or what's cool, what's beautiful, and then as time marches on and younger people come along with far different ideas, it all seems to become less relevant. And that's just the non-physical side of the aging process! Gia Coppola's film - and Kate Gersten's script - perfectly capture this sense. As with Babygirl, the filmmakers have taken a much less traveled route, because this could just as easily have turned into some kind of post-Sunset Boulevard "aging diva" melodrama and over-egged the pathos. But this movie manages to keep things real, and it never seems like the movie is ridiculing or even pitying its main character. (Once again, kudos to Anderson!) Even Jamie Lee Curtis as Shelly's older waitress friend and former colleague Annette, as gaudy and blowzy a relic as she is, still feels very real and relatable when she could just as easily have been made into a grotesque.

Weirdly enough, while watching The Last Showgirl, I was sort of reminded of Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler (2008), another slice-of-life approach to the tale of an aging, over-the-hill entertainer. One might say that Aronofsky's own female counterpart to that movie was 2011's Black Swan, but that one was a bit more fantastical and hallucinatory and dealt with creative demons in the world of ballet, which was a much more "high art" realm. Granted, The Last Showgirl is much less high-stakes, life-or-death than either of those Aronofsky films, but I was strongly reminded of The Wrestler and felt like it explored very similar territory.

Well... That certainly went on a lot longer than I thought it would! :lol: (It always does. Once I get rolling it's hard to stop, no matter how often I tell myself I'm going to keep things brief.)

P.S. The movies I'm most looking forward to seeing in the future:
Presence / Black Bag
Back-to-back collaborations between director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter David Koepp! (And anyway, how could I possibly resist a movie that shares its title with the most underrated Led Zeppelin album?) :up:

[Darth Pazuzu]

And my latest news on the home video front...

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71MLiHJQFoL._AC_UY218_.jpg

Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino / 2009)

A major milestone here: Quentin Tarantino's first Arrow Video title! :D Yeah, I already got the DVD and the Blu-ray for this, but I figured this brand spanking new 2-disc 4K UHD version - which dropped just yesterday - simply had to be worth a triple-dip. And you know what? It was! The picture quality looks absolutely gorgeous, and it's got a new commentary (from Tim Lucas) plus a number of extremely informative video essays and featurettes. I would highly recommend it, but I would advise getting it through Barnes & Noble, as Amazon seems to have already sold out of this one! :eek:

As much as I genuinely love Inglourious Basterds, It's always put me in a kind of weird moral and ethical quandary in terms of how to regard it. And believe me, it's got nothing to do with its hyper-violent, action/exploitation approach to World War II, the Nazis and the Holocaust. That I'm cool with! Without giving spoilers to those who haven't seen the movies, I'll just say that my problem with Inglourious Basterds is the same one I've got with Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood from 2019. Granted, I understand that we're dealing in the realm of fiction here, no matter the extent to which it deals with real people and events, and a fair amount of license should be granted. Even in the case of "true stories," characters and events are always being either compressed or newly created outright. But I do think that playing too fast and loose with history, to the point of completely changing the outcome (or even simply the nature of the outcome), is questionable at best, and perhaps even dangerous at worst, given how many impressionable dolts there are among the American populace. (Not necessarily a 2024 election dig here, but y'know, if the shoe fits...) Granted, Tarantino is a very intelligent creative force, and I'm inclined to give him a bit of leeway here because his intentions are good. Part of his agenda here would seem to be in cutting historical and cultural boogeymen like Adolf Hitler and Charles Manson down to size, disempowering them (or people like them), making them look small and pathetic, and giving greater agency and humanity to their victims. (This issue is dealt with in a few of the new video essays on the new Arrow release.) But I still tend to think that such an out-and-out, blatant change of history is generally ill-advised unless you've got a plutonium-powered flying DeLorean or a starship making a slingshot around the sun to put it in a more fantastical context.

[stillmellow]

Yup; here you go: https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/interview-jane-schoenbrun-on-i-saw-the-tv-glow/


Thank you! That was really deep and beautiful. I personally can only claim to catch a glimpse (being non-binary) of the scariness that trans people face every day.

[Thief]

ANTES QUE CANTE EL GALLO
(2016, Cruz)

https://i.imgur.com/pMbQl2v.png


Carmín: "Did you see the Virgin?"
Grandma: "...no"
Carmín: "I knew it."
Grandma: "So if you knew why did you ask?"
Carmín: "It's just that it would've been cool if a miracle happened."



Antes Que Cante el Gallo is basically a coming of age film for Carmín. Early in the film, we see her get her first period; but that's the least of her worries. The film opens with her mother breaking the news to her that she's moving to the US to look for better opportunities, forcing Carmín to stay with her strict grandmother, who also has to learn to handle an angsty teenager. To complicate things, Carmín's father Rubén (José Eugenio Hernández) has just been released from prison and has come to live with them again.

This is my second watch of this film and even though I loved it the first time, it undoubtedly improved for me. There is some really impressive work here, both technically and story-wise. From the gorgeous direction from Arí Maniel Cruz and the cinematography from Santiago Marí Benet to the music from Eduardo Cabra. From the nuanced and layered script from Kisha Tikina Burgos to the complex relationships portrayed between the three leads.

Grade: 4.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2527140#post2527140)

[Fabulous]

Smoke (1995)

4

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/dkg2DcGg6cjDia20yLWDaNLBRIb.jpg

[iluv2viddyfilms]

El Sur (1983, Erice) - C+

[Thief]

DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
(2025, Cruz & Martínez)

https://i.imgur.com/Rh4HVKc.jpeg


"Seguimos aquí..."



In this short, co-directed by Arí Maniel Cruz and Benito Martínez Ocasio (Bad Bunny), our lead character reminisces about the past and ways to hold on to that past, and the ways we were, while the Puerto Rico around him is changing. The situation presented in his way to the bakery and inside might be a bit exaggerated (but not that much), but there are always good people, millions of Puerto Ricans, that against all changes, come up front and say "we're still here..."

Grade: 4


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2527250#post2527250)

[Fabulous]

True Stories (1986)

4

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/lhuqyVPpbsenpQfNYF2JGJotAfl.jpg

[Brody At Amity]

4 out of 5

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61ZAGwKuwOL.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/jj0SG0Rn/to-catch-a-thief.jpg
By Copyrighted by Paramount Pictures, Inc.. Artists(s) not known. - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048728/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25318671

To Catch a Thief - (1955)

That was all very nice. Cary Grant - charming, handsome and debonair no matter what he wears, and nearly as tanned as he was in An Affair to Remember. That guy took sunning himself to a whole new level. Hitchcock managed to capture some stunning scenery and make it all look like it was incidental to what was going on. The story was fine for what it was. I never ended up being able to make much of a connection with Grace Kelly. The biggest drawback to this whole attractive-looking, well-filmed and made movie was how little else I found to it. The suspense, considering this is Hitchcock, was lacking a little. I had more fun listening to Grant deliver his lines. A fine piece of work though, no matter how great it is as a whole.

6/10

https://i.postimg.cc/rsNFc9Lk/liv-and-ingmar.jpg
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25318671

Liv & Ingmar - (2012)

Watching Liv & Ingmar kind of reminded me about my relationship with my ex-partner, except for the fact that I'm not a world-renowned filmmaker. It's a special kind of thing to have, and I think it's a good thing to have a documentary that explores this kind of relationship. They're hard to find. For those really interested in Ingmar Bergman, Liv Ullmann, their films and love in general. Helps to have Ingmar Bergman's films to use to express emotions and events - although I'm not a huge fan of when documentaries use films in that manner.

6/10

[Thief]

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
(1968, Kubrick)

https://i.imgur.com/NZnXOrW.jpeg


"Now I'm sure you're all aware of the extremely grave potential for cultural shock and social disorientation contained in this present situation... if the facts were prematurely and certainly made public without adequate preparation and conditioning."



This is probably watch #10, give or take, so if you want a proper review you can check my previous one here (https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/2224826-2001_a_space_odyssey.html). For now, I'll just add that watching this in theaters was as spectacular as I expected it to be. Amazing experience!

Grade: 5

[Sedai]

Super / Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Ian Bonhôte & Peter Ettedgui, 2024

4_5

https://i0.wp.com/abstractaf.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Christopher-Reeve-.png?fit=816%2C459&ssl=1

When I was seven years old, my parents brought me to see Superman: The Movie at the cinema. This was just a year after Star Wars, when the pop culture surrounding blockbuster fantasy or adventure films was at its apex, so the hype and anticipation were palpable, affecting all but the stodgiest of people. My mother was a huge sci-fi and adventure fan, even if her husband at the time (my step-father), didn't have much interest in films of books of that nature. Alas, even he was excited to see the film, because Superman was one of the few exceptions, with him having grown up as a big fan of the original television show. He had even admitted to having a Superman comic book collection when he was a kid.

In those days, you would get tot he theater as early as possible, only to be greeted with a line going all the way around the building and sometimes over into the strip mall parking lot next door. This was certainly the case here, as my parents wanted to see the film on one of the larger screens in Tucson at the time, which was the El Dorado theater.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT_OUcv8GAdOeUE0D2ULmAcvXFeY8mXLx4VHw&s

Pretty sure that pic was taken during the initial Star Wars run, but you get the picture. I hated this process, and this was always the case for the massively hyped flicks back then. Alas, we finally made it in, and plopped down in our seats, which were fairly close to the front. The film started and the credits seemed to go on forever. People started cracking jokes that the credits would end up being longer than the film. Then... we saw a man fly. I recall the theater erupting into cheers many times during the film. Christopher Reeve's undeniable charisma just absolutely captured everyone in the theater. He was Superman.

This documentary celebrates the life and accomplishments of this remarkable man. The film wisely explains his tragic accident early, and then uses archival footage to fill in the periods of his career and later activism instead of attempting to build tension over time leading up to his accident, which I think would have been in poor taste. The film does a good job of portraying the gravity of his injuries and its effects on his family and friends, not to mention himself, while still managing to highlight Christopher's indomitable will and resilient spirit.

As one world expect, there are some truly heartbreaking moments here as his family describes the trials and tribulations of the years post-accident. Watching their father struggle to survive through the years as his hope for a recovery began to dwindle, all the while tirelessly advocating for his foundation for research into spinal injuries, something they continue to do to this day. While Reeve played a hero on screen, I was struck many times by his wife Dana's herculean constitution and dedication: A true hero if I have ever seen one. Anyone who knows the recent history of the Reeve family knows Dana's sad fate as well, which only heightened the sense of sadness as I watched.

This was a difficult watch, but it ended up being one of my favorite films of the year; it's too bad it received such a limited release. Track it down and watch it if you can. As I said, it's not an easy watch, but watching this film is of course nothing compared to the struggles faced by the Reeve family during the years following Christopher's accident. While it is an overall sad film, I also found parts of it quite uplifting, and I came away understanding that while Mr. Reeve played Superman on screen, he was truly also a super man.

[Gideon58]

Super / Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Ian Bonhôte & Peter Ettedgui, 2024

4_5

https://i0.wp.com/abstractaf.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Christopher-Reeve-.png?fit=816%2C459&ssl=1

When I was seven years old, my parents brought me to see Superman: The Movie at the cinema. This was just a year after Star Wars, when the pop culture surrounding blockbuster fantasy or adventure films was at its apex, so the hype and anticipation were palpable, affecting all but the stodgiest of people. My mother was a huge sci-fi and adventure fan, even if her husband at the time (my step-father), didn't have much interest in films of books of that nature. Alas, even he was excited to see the film, because Superman was one of the few exceptions, with him having grown up as a big fan of the original television show. He had even admitted to having a Superman comic book collection when he was a kid.

In those days, you would get tot he theater as early as possible, only to be greeted with a line going all the way around the building and sometimes over into the strip mall parking lot next door. This was certainly the case here, as my parents wanted to see the film on one of the larger screens in Tucson at the time, which was the El Dorado theater.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT_OUcv8GAdOeUE0D2ULmAcvXFeY8mXLx4VHw&s

Pretty sure that pic was taken during the initial Star Wars run, but you get the picture. I hated this process, and this was always the case for the massively hyped flicks back then. Alas, we finally made it in, and plopped down in our seats, which were fairly close to the front. The film started and the credits seemed to go on forever. People started cracking jokes that the credits would end up being longer than the film. Then... we saw a man fly. I recall the theater erupting into cheers many times during the film. Christopher Reeve's undeniable charisma just absolutely captured everyone in the theater. He was Superman.

This documentary celebrates the life and accomplishments of this remarkable man. The film wisely explains his tragic accident early, and then uses archival footage to fill in the periods of his career and later activism instead of attempting to build tension over time leading up to his accident, which I think would have been in poor taste. The film does a good job of portraying the gravity of his injuries and its effects on his family and friends, not to mention himself, while still managing to highlight Christopher's indomitable will and resilient spirit.

As one world expect, there are some truly heartbreaking moments here as his family describes the trials and tribulations of the years post-accident. Watching their father struggle to survive through the years as his hope for a recovery began to dwindle, all the while tirelessly advocating for his foundation for research into spinal injuries, something they continue to do to this day. While Reeve played a hero on screen, I was struck many times by his wife Dana's herculean constitution and dedication: A true hero if I have ever seen one. Anyone who knows the recent history of the Reeve family knows Dana's sad fate as well, which only heightened the sense of sadness as I watched.

This was a difficult watch, but it ended up being one of my favorite films of the year; it's too bad it received such a limited release. Track it down and watch it if you can. As I said, it's not an easy watch, but watching this film is of course nothing compared to the struggles faced by the Reeve family during the years following Christopher's accident. While it is an overall sad film, I also found parts of it quite uplifting, and I came away understanding that while Mr. Reeve played Superman on screen, he was truly also a super man.

I forgot I watched this a couple of weeks ago. So sad.

[honeykid]

For now, I'll just add that watching this in theaters was as spectacular as I expected it to be. Amazing experience!
That's interesting, as I'd have thought falling asleep in those chairs woulld've been very uncomfortable. My neck would've been killing me when I woke up. :D

This was just a year after Star Wars, when the pop culture surrounding blockbuster fantasy or adventure films was at its apex, so the hype and anticipation were palpable, affecting all but the stodgiest of people.

How ya doing'? :D

Even as a kid I had no interest in this.

[mrblond]

Du levande [You, the Living] (2007)

Written and Directed by Roy Andersson

The second movie of the Swedish absurdist black comedy-drama trilogy, first film being Songs from the Second Floor (2000).
These films are absolute cult, I can say. Roy Andersson has created an unique series. It is very depressing and very funny at the same time, that's a crazy thing.
4+
8.5/10
104399

[Thief]

That's interesting, as I'd have thought falling asleep in those chairs woulld've been very uncomfortable. My neck would've been killing me when I woke up. :D


Oh, they were comfy chairs ;)

https://i.makeagif.com/media/6-09-2023/tU4fpD.gif

[*Sky*]

Belle de Jour (1967) - Luis Buñuel: 7.5/10
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a0/97/e9/a097e962c6d15d22fe92e747925c6aa7.gif

[Siddon]

https://fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/15222653/The-Room-Next-Door-.jpg


The Room Next Door (2024)


On one hand this is a lesser Almodovar film a fairly big dip in quality and scope from Parallel Mothers one of my favorite films of 2021. On the other hand this film elevated the 4 actor in a house indie genre we've seen over the last decade. This is a small film that could have been shot during COVID but is greatly elevated by all of Almodovar's bells and whistles.


The basic plot is a writer (Julianne Moore) finds out her old friend (Tilda Swinton) has cancer and they reconnect and reminisce in New York City. The film is in essence a mediation on death but it's also filled with so much life. While the film is Oscar bait it's short run time and effective use of tension over "big acting scenes" really elevate the work. If you've seen early Bergman films, or lesser Allen films you understand what you are getting here but Almodovar makes it his own.



The film starts with flashbacks and then peels it away to a suspenseful third act. You have this conflict in the film where you are constantly wondering if something is going to go wrong. And because you are left waiting for that twist a film that's a hangout film just allows it's runtime to fly by. It's not a top five Almodovar for me and it won't be your favorite of his works but it's still very good and worth seeking out.


4_5

[Jeff]

https://resizing.flixster.com/-XZAfHZM39UwaGJIFWKAE8fS0ak=/v3/t/assets/p165776_p_v8_aa.jpg

10/10 -- this is going to prove to be one of the best watches this year, and the best in a long time, so many little touches that would be missed if you blink, in fact things are missed when blinking, blinking is usually needed to keep the eyeballs moist, but that is just the amount of lavish artistry put into it.

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/608dfe2b1aa87260966bfacf/1665104685814-IBLIVJ02G376HJ8RYV2F/wings-of-desire-otto-sander-solveig-dommartin.jpg

8/10 Wings of Desire -- a perfectly lovely film, and the idea of an angel wanting to be human makes more sense now, for we humans have what angels don't have, connection in a word, other words may apply better, but it'll be what i choose now. So why don't i rate it higher than 8? It's because it's a softie film after all is said and done, it believes too highly of the human, its purpose i feel is to inject some wonder in humanity, that departs from reality too sharply, as an alternative to pessimism. When Nick Cave is first heard, i can't for the life of me hear how that sounds good, it's way too abrasive sounding. But when we next hear Nick, he and the Bad Seeds sound cool.

[Fabulous]

The Prince of Tides (1991)

3

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/cSdw3JXTsxCxMtVYoSmIerMFLu6.jpg

[Tycoon]

https://fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/15222653/The-Room-Next-Door-.jpg


The Room Next Door (2024)


On one hand this is a lesser Almodovar film a fairly big dip in quality and scope from Parallel Mothers one of my favorite films of 2021. On the other hand this film elevated the 4 actor in a house indie genre we've seen over the last decade. This is a small film that could have been shot during COVID but is greatly elevated by all of Almodovar's bells and whistles.


The basic plot is a writer (Julianne Moore) finds out her old friend (Tilda Swinton) has cancer and they reconnect and reminisce in New York City. The film is in essence a mediation on death but it's also filled with so much life. While the film is Oscar bait it's short run time and effective use of tension over "big acting scenes" really elevate the work. If you've seen early Bergman films, or lesser Allen films you understand what you are getting here but Almodovar makes it his own.



The film starts with flashbacks and then peels it away to a suspenseful third act. You have this conflict in the film where you are constantly wondering if something is going to go wrong. And because you are left waiting for that twist a film that's a hangout film just allows it's runtime to fly by. It's not a top five Almodovar for me and it won't be your favorite of his works but it's still very good and worth seeking out.


[rating]4.5[rating]

Really enjoyed it, and perfect lenght.

[Captain Quint]

Odd, I'm on a string of shorter films, under 90s mins. I don't have an issue with longer film, as long as they're good ones, but I have to admit, it's kind of nice going through a series of short pieces.

7 Days (2021) - cute covid days rom-com about two people on a pre-arranged date, organized by their traditional Indian parents, who wind up having to shelter together. 86 min - around a 3-star flick, maybe 3.5 (it's really funny at the start)

The Lady from Constantinople (1969) - 73 min Hungarian film about a lonely old woman, it's direct cinema and not plot driven - wrote about it in my review thread. 4-stars

Smiley Face (2007) - 84 min - haven't finished it yet, but Anna Faris is a force of nature in this stoner comedy, she's the reason to watch it - the rest, the story and such is "eh", which is why I haven't finished it yet... but I will, just for her.


Du levande [You, the Living] (2007)

Written and Directed by Roy Andersson

The second movie of the Swedish absurdist black comedy-drama trilogy, first film being Songs from the Second Floor (2000).
These films are absolute cult, I can say. Roy Andersson has created an unique series. It is very depressing and very funny at the same time, that's a crazy thing.
4+
8.5/10
104399

My favorite Andersson - love the dream sequence set on the train

[Sedai]

Mulholland Drive
Lynch, 2001

5

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNGU3MzhjYjUtZWZlZC00NjIyLTlkYjYtNDY0YWExNzMxZjkxXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg

It had been quite a while since I last visited this film, but it pulled me right back in all over again. Pretty much a perfect film for first frame to last, delivering a truly visceral cinematic experience. Each time I watch this film I try to focus on something different, and this time it was Watts' excellent performance and Lynch's use of color and texture. Watts attributes her time on Mulholland Drive as helping to break out of her shell, find her voice as an actor, and shatter self-imposed shackles of doubt about her ability as a performer. The rest of the cast are great, but this is Naomi's show from start to finish.

While the film is overall an unsettling experience, having seen it so many times, it puts me in an odd sort of comforted state pretty much as soon as the camera floats down over the limo accompanied by Angelo Badalamenti's score. I am immediately drawn into the film's clutches and it doesn't let go until the credits roll. Actually, not even then, as I was still thinking about various scenes, and Lynch's works in general, for a while afterward.

Truly immersive and haunting cinema. Thank you Mr. Lynch.

[Stirchley]

Three good movies.

104443
104444
104445

[Marco]

A Hole in My Heart (2004)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/14/A_Hole_in_My_Heart_poster.jpg
Probably should have seen more than Lucas Moodysson than I have already seen. I love his style and stories. This, however, is an experimental film about 2 sleazebags trying to film a cheap porn film with an aspiring smut actress. All the while the homeowner/directors disabled son is hiding in his bedroom to avoid the depravity occurring around him. It seems he in inured to his fathers pastime. The music, close ups of female genital operations and mirthless tone make this a hard one to like. Remember the director saying he wanted to alienate the viewer - worked here. though it is a brave subject matter and nihilistic to its core.
2

[*Sky*]

Paris, je t'aime (2006) - Bruno Podalydès, Gurinder Chadha, Gus Van Sant, Joel and Ethan Coen, Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas, Christopher Doyle, Isabel Coixet, Nobuhiro Suwa, Sylvain Chomet, Alfonso Cuarón, Olivier Assayas, Oliver Schmitz, Richard LaGravenese, Vincenzo Natali, Wes Craven, Tom Tykwer, Frédéric Auburtin and Gérard Depardieu, Alexander Payne: 6.5/10
https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/vuN9g00n5k1e8M-qNrRfMJ_x4Jc=/fit-in/500x261/top/filters:format_auto():upscale()/2015/05/14/828/n/1922283/73d3b6c8ffa5b9ff_tumblr_m2mxzjjnEp1qbxh0uo1_r1_500.gif

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.americancinematheque.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F03%2F21145114%2FGhidorah-HERO.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=93cf6863b1bc8402a0723bbc7e22fb3aac0332e5042e2510b944a7acc23a8564&ipo=images

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, 1964

Princess Salno (Akiko Wababayashi) is nearly assassinated en route to a conference about UFOs. She emerges later in disguise as a mysterious psychic who predicts great destruction on the horizon. Reporter Naoko (Yuriko Hoshi) and her detective brother (Yosuke Natsuki) become involved in the situation, trying to keep the mysterious woman from being assassinated by the diabolical Malmess (Hisaya Ito). But assassins are small change compared to the danger of the alien dragon creature Ghidorah who soon arrives on Earth.

This is the kind of movie that I could easily see rewatching over and over. The monster fights look really good. The whole look of the film is interesting and strange in the right ways. This is probably a close second to the original Godzilla film in terms of how much I enjoyed it.

4

This was so fun!

FULL REVIEW (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2527877#post2527877)

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/84/Quiz_lady_poster.png/220px-Quiz_lady_poster.png

3

SF = Z

Viewed: TV(BBC1)


https://media.tenor.com/tEVntYMtTt0AAAAM/quiz-girl-sun-high-watermelon-awkwafina-sandra-oh.gif


[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

[skizzerflake]

:popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:The Wolf Man - I liked it. I heard scathing comments before going...."you could find some worse ways to waste two hours, but not many that don't require a hospital visit". My local reviewers have horror movie attitudes well known to me, so I ignored their advice and saw it. Given that, yes, it IS a werewolf movie and, yes, we can pretty well anticipate what's going to happen, I thought it was quite a good addition to that hairy genre.

Mom, Pop and Daughter are driving a truck....late at night, remote area of course, and get in an accident that involves a local guy who seems to have "changed". Things go downhill pretty quickly after that. Dad gets scratched and starts to transform. There's lots of running and screaming and crashy sound FX to raise your blood pressure and Dad starts to look downright awful.

There's nothing especially surprising here. I'm not saying how it ends, but, I thought it was quite good. I'm a guy who has life long experience with the hairy undead and this WAS a good werewolf. It's not the Larry Talbot regretful werewolf, it's full bore carnivore, fierce and scary. You do NOT want to run into this guy in a remote area.

I'm not familiar with any of the cast members, but they were all good at running and screaming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAw4PH2IQgo

[LeBoyWondeur]

Death Proof (2007)

104463

Very entertaining, great action and well played by the whole cast.
It's also a very talkative film and it doesn't always work. It's fine when they talk about themselves and their boyfriends and whatnot, but in a more plot-driven scene like how to get the car for a test drive the conversation goes on forever (that's what makes it slow).
There was also less "damaged" film in the second part so that felt a bit inconsistent.
It seemed like an odd choice to turn the villain into a wimp, but since I don't see that very often I guess it is, at least, somewhat original.

7/10

[I_Wear_Pants]

I watched Fall tonight. Holy crap what a disappointment. I guess the character development was a nice idea. I just strongly disliked what they used. No I don't know how I would have done it differently. I certainly wouldn't have done that. The only good parts of the film were the premise and the ending song. I guess the main brunette being hot was nice and the acting wasn't bad. Overall I am highly disappointed. Oh well I'll move onto the next film. Keeping up with my mantra, I do not regret watching it. I am merely disappointed with what I deemed a poor film. I will, however, regret rewatching it, so I hope I don't have to ever do that.

[PHOENIX74]

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

The Last Wave - (1977)

I thought I'd watched this weird and wonderful movie a few times over the past couple of years, but there's no record on Letterboxd, so perhaps not. Anyway, just bought the combined 4KHD/Blu-Ray (one day I'll get the Criterion, and I'll have so many copies) and was in the mood for something strange and soothing. Indigenous Australian lore and mythological premonitions of an apocalypse, and at the center of it all Richard Chamberlain as David Burton, a lawyer with an unusual case involving curses and murder. Peter Weir constructs a very watery dreamscape where we're not sure what's real, and this is really a fantastic movie to get yourself wrapped up in over repeat watches - as eerie and unreal as Picnic at Hanging Rock, which takes place in an Australia haunted by a folkloric dreamtime. I'm a big fan of this one.

9/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c6/Law_of_the_Border_film_poster.png
By Yildiz Film Studios, Turkey - http://www.beyazperde.com/filmler/film-193213/fotolar/detay/?cmediafile=20090726, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66729183

Law of the Border - (1967)

This film was very nearly lost due to political upheaval in Turkey, and exists now as a pretty scratchy saved relic. Part of Criterion's/Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project, I've tried to watch it a few times but one thing or another always distracts me - and even last night I found it hard staying awake. A group of outlaw smugglers are up against border agents and one, Hidir (Yılmaz Güney) is torn between going straight (which would allow him to send his kid to school and start building some kind of firm foundation) or continuing his outlaw ways - an easier and more profitable venture. In the meantime, rivals make the profession even more deadly. It's kinda westerny and pretty rough around the edges (and features Erol Tas, from that classic Turkish film Dry Summer), but worth seeing at least once.

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/df/The_Cat_and_the_Canary_%281939_film%29_poster.jpg
By Poster - Cat and the Canary, The (1939)_01.jpg at Dr. Macro's High Quality Movie Scans, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8912992

The Cat and the Canary - (1939)

So many films that serve as vehicles for this or that comedian or comedy team only serve up a very basic template as a framework for moments of comedy to happen on, but The Cat and the Canary is another carefully crafted movie that provides more fun than a mere handful of laughs. Full review here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2527613#post2527613), in my watchlist thread.

7/10

[LeBoyWondeur]

The Last Wave - (1977)
9/10
I need to watch this again because I only remember the first and last scenes. Good to know it's avallable on DVD.

[chawhee]

Anora (2024)
https://www.slashfilm.com/img/gallery/anora-review-sean-bakers-high-stress-screwball-comedy-is-the-best-movie-of-2024-fantastic-fest/sean-baker-delivers-big-comedy-and-big-stress-1726929700.jpg
3
This didn't quite meet my expectations, as it was a mixed bag for me. The dramatic portrayals are done well at first, but they wore thin for me by the end. It certainly earns its sexy reputation in the first half of the movie, and it becomes a solid comedy in the second half.

The ending ceases the comedic tone abruptly, and it works...but it felt like a reach given the whole movie didn't try to provide much depth until that moment. It could have been more effective with its 2+ hour runtime in establishing that depth. Maybe I'm rating this a little too low, but I don't think I'll ever be drawn to watch it again or strongly recommend it to anyone.

[Tugg]

Maybe I'm rating this a little too low, but I don't think I'll ever be drawn to watch it again or strongly recommend it to anyone.
Just because others rate it higher doesn't mean you are rating it too low. (As far as I'm concerned you are rating it too high)

[LeBoyWondeur]

The Apprentice (2024)

104466

I knew beforehand that this film needn't make a lot of effort to please me, meaning that I would have liked it even if it was nothing more than a superficial trip down memory lane.
Call it cheap if you like, but sometimes it simply does the trick.
Luckily, it turns out to be much more than that, and it's actually much more than a early-Trump biopic.

The first time I heard about Trump he had already made it - it could have been the opening of Trump Tower. I guess that's what made the Europeans take notice and allowed business man Trump to cross over to pop culture as the embodiment of western culture capitalism.
Or perhaps it connected with the 1980s "greed is good" that we had already seen (and enjoyed) in hit TV series like Dallas and Dynasty.
I guess he was sort of the Randolph Hearst of our generation.

It also says a lot about going back to the roots of "the American way" and the way it affected western culture not limited to North America.
The theme of prosperity inadvertently caused some of the old-fashioned values to be reinstated, the wish to sanitise this new way of living, devoid of the shambles of the liberal 1970s.
I think this is defnitely felt in 1980s cinema and TV, the decade's grand delusion of "finally doing things the right way".
And then came AIDS, which played right into the hands of said attitude.
Oh yes, Reagan and Thatcher were the perfect players in this fantasy world.

Back to Trump, the actor reminded me of Michael C. Hall - imagine that, Dexter Morgan as president.
There are shades of the fantastic 1940s classic All That Money Can Buy.
It's also the classic tale of creating a monster that cannot be contained, but strangely enough Roy Cohn's fate in this film doesn't really feel like the comeuppance it could or should have been. I guess that's the power of cinema, they can make you feel whatever they want.

The film features two songs by spanish duo Baccara, well, actually not.
The first one is the evergreen Yes Sir, I Can Boogie, not the most original choice but somehow it always works.
The second song - and this really blew me away - is the now obscure European hit Fantasy Boy by New Baccara. One of the singers quit and then it was re-grouped with a new singer hence why it doesn't belong in original Baccara's discography.

Even if it wasn't about Donald Trump then it would still satisfy as a Harold Robbins type of drama.

9/10

[Allaby]

The Crush (1993) This was fun and entertaining, although it gets kind of ridiculous. The writing is juicy and delightfully trashy, but a little too one sided. Nick's character is portrayed as an innocent victim, even though he is significantly flawed and didn't set appropriate boundaries or make the best decisions. Adrian is portrayed as a pure villain without any redeeming elements, which isn't completely fair. I like the film, but there are some questionable implications here. I did think that Alicia Silverstone was fantastic and easily the highlight of the film. 3.5

[skizzerflake]

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

The Last Wave - (1977)

I thought I'd watched this weird and wonderful movie a few times over the past couple of years, but there's no record on Letterboxd, so perhaps not. Anyway, just bought the combined 4KHD/Blu-Ray (one day I'll get the Criterion, and I'll have so many copies) and was in the mood for something strange and soothing. Indigenous Australian lore and mythological premonitions of an apocalypse, and at the center of it all Richard Chamberlain as David Burton, a lawyer with an unusual case involving curses and murder. Peter Weir constructs a very watery dreamscape where we're not sure what's real, and this is really a fantastic movie to get yourself wrapped up in over repeat watches - as eerie and unreal as Picnic at Hanging Rock, which takes place in an Australia haunted by a folkloric dreamtime. I'm a big fan of this one.

9/10

I recall that one. I remember it being pretty good. It had the added benefit of "fulfilling" a recurring dream I had as a kid of seeing a giant wave approaching the beach I was standing on. The wave in the movie was a good replica. Fortunately that wave has not come so far when I'm on the beach.

As I recall there were similar scenes in those asteroid movies like Deep Impact.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c4/Waldo_Pepper.jpg
By IMPAwards.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5792091

The Great Waldo Pepper - (1975)

I had a good feeling about this one, and it didn't let me down - Robert Redford was pretty good picking roles for himself, and The Great Waldo Pepper suits him just fine. He plays biplane barnstormer Waldo Pepper, working his way through the U.S. as a stunt pilot in 1926, and regretful he wasn't able to see action in the First World War. The character is fictional, but the events detailing the accidents and deaths in his profession (which led to the formation of the Civil Aviation Authority) are true. The film also features Susan Sarandon and Margot Kidder, along with some aerial photography that's really breathtaking. The hair-raising stunts (and tragic deaths) really add an element of great excitement, drama and tragedy to the story. This was on a '5 Movie Pack' which I thought would be stuffed with rubbish, but this title along with a couple of others had me really curious.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/52/Music_from_another_room.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9805143

Music from Another Room - (1998)

This features a very young Jude Law, who hadn't broken through yet, and it's a vapid drama that surely wasn't going to help him. Originally set for a theatrical release, it instead ended up direct-to-video. Law plays Danny Kowalski, in love with Anna Swan (Gretchen Mol) - who by a twist of fate he happened to have helped deliver as a baby when he was only a small child. The film opens with this incident, which is weird, gross and simply all kinds of wrong (a five-year-old reaching inside as per his father's instructions, de-tangling an umbilico cord.) Danny tells his father that he'll marry that girl, but when he encounters her family again, Anna is engaged to be married to someone else. Anna's family are full of pretentious, upper-class bores - and that kills the movie for me. We're supposed to like these people, but I hated them. This also features Jennifer Tilly (as Anna's blind sister, Nina), which is nice, but the screenplay is clumsy and for the most part the movie is boring. Clunky, awkward, and with plenty of comedy which falls flat on it's face, Music from Another Room is one to avoid.

4/10

https://i.postimg.cc/XNrfC4fx/taipei-story.jpg
By Mirror Media, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43605164

Taipei Story - (1985)

This movie from Criterion and Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project comes from Edward Yang, who'd go on to win Best Director at Cannes for his 2000 film Yi Yi. It took me a long while to warm up to it - a very moody slow burn it is, but in the end I had to admit to myself that there was something there. The kind of movie you desperately want to go back to and watch again, just to soak up the amazing way it captures urban malaise and individual angst. A mournful cry in cinematic form from a modernizing city that's losing itself, it features a couple (Ah-chen played by Tsai Chin and Ah-lung played by Hou Hsiao-hsien), on the verge of an end to their relationship, and the way they both search for meaning in their lives. Muted, melancholy and very well filmed, it's a very painful and impactful piece of work that I'm glad has been held onto for the benefit of film lovers the world over. Definitely worth a look for those interested in mood, with award-winning cinematography and a pair of measured performances of note as well.

8/10

[skizzerflake]

The Room Next Door - (from Wikipedia) "Ingrid and Martha were close friends in their youth when they worked together at the same magazine. After years of being out of touch, they meet again in an extreme, but strangely sweet, situation. Ingrid, a successful author, discovers that her estranged friend Martha has terminal cancer. She feels compelled to reconnect. They move to a quiet country house where they share deep and meaningful moments about the past, present, and future. Martha wants to end her own life, and Ingrid supports her in that journey that leaves Ingrid with memories of their connection."

For me, it was just awful. I sat there, squirming in my seat, wishing this would just be over, not liking the plot, dialog or the actors. It was directed by that Spanish guy Pedro Almodovar, starring Tilda Swinton and Juliane Moore in a mainly Spanish production. I managed to stay in my seat until it was over, but damn....I don't need movies like this.

:popcorn: I gave it that because it looks nice.

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

[LeBoyWondeur]

Wonderstruck (2017)

104473

Yes, I can see why a film like this is kinda hard to sell as it often falls between two stools.
But if you stop thinking about what kind of film it is supposed to be (or why it failed to be a specific kind of film) and simply watch what happens on screen, you may come out of it feeling a little richer for it.
Naturally, Todd Haynes is the perfect choice for this somewhat problematic film because he finds magic in the most obscure but also mundane facts of life.
The way he's translated the story into film is absolutely gorgeous, and I think it still has some of his trademark offbeat approach.
Actually, it often reminded me a lot of his film debut Poison (1991).

Tonally I think it's similar to warm-hearted films like 84 Charing Cross Road (1987).
It's got a very lovely and clever soundtrack and it even made me discover Deodato's Also Sprach Zarathurstra from 1973 (I may or may not have heard it before).

I'll add one point because it's an unsung gem of a movie.
9/10

[Fabulous]

Spider (2002)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/j9LCCCMec4M3lYRKFmksfMfTVZq.jpg

[I_Wear_Pants]

I watched Visitor Q tonight. Holy crap this is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I don't know where to begin. So many terrible things happen and someone records it all and not in faux documentary style but as actual news story footage. Like he chases some woman while another man films him, the guy catches up to her, rips off all of her clothes, and molests her and chokes her at the same time, which ends up killing her, and this is all on tape. I want whoever wrote this piece of filth to be admitted because he's obviously nuts.

[Fabulous]

Georgy Girl (1966)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/vxc8mDSbABVf2mjzJ0iBycnM21n.jpg

[LeBoyWondeur]

Spider-Man (2002)

104479

My second rewatch, and hopefully not my last.
They often say, your first spider-man/batman/superman will be your favourite, the definitive version.
In my case that certainly applies to Spider-Man even though I have no idea if it captures the spirit of the classic comic books accurately.
What I love about this film is its glorious blockbuster grandeur combined with shameless, unsubtle superhero worshipping.
The special effects look dated but somehow I find it very easy to buy into the fakeness of it all. These days we've become so demanding of perfect GCI that it inadvertently creates a stress factor. "Is it going to look good enough?"

Peter and Mary Jane are perfectly loveable and wholesome - pretty much like sixties Batman and Robin - and the film unabashedly embraces its old-fashioned schmaltz.
The film makes it very easy to lose yourself in, it's almost like a love letter to classic cinema, or the way it was experienced by people who watched those films many decades ago.
There's also good humour in it, especially J.K. Simmons' character that seemed to have crossed over from The Hudsucker Proxy, and there's Mary Jane who's always in a position to plunge into scary depths. And then of course she does, hilariously.
M.J. and Spider-Man's upside down kiss looks unintentionally grotesque because his partially covered face doesn't really look like a face.

I love villains with an evil laughter but I wouldn't say that Goblin is a better villain than the ones we saw in 90s Batman. It's just that I don't care for the Batmans portrayed in those films.
Nevertheless, the friends and family connection complicates Spider-Man's situation in an interesting way.

It think the very best scene happens in Spider-Man 2.
104480
My problem with this terrific sequel is that Alfred Molina as the villain doesn't work for me at all.
Not because he's not a good actor, but...I don't know. I like Doc Ock and his tentacles but the actor himself never looks menacing enough.

Anyway, I'm going to try my first popcorn rating.
4.5

[Mr Minio]

I watched Visitor Q tonight. Holy crap this is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. It's one of Miike's best, which tells you a lot about his other films.

[Siddon]

https://www.joblo.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/the-brutalist-1024x538.jpg



The Brutalist (2024)


So the budget for this film was less than 10 million dollars...Air which took place entirely in a conference room cost 90 million dollars. Hollywood needs to open it's books because investors are getting robbed blindly. The film take zero short cuts in it's cinematography, casting, set design, score, and costuming. It is legitimately an epic a work that on the surface is compromised. On the surface this is the best film of the year and a masterpiece.


But man do I wish this film came out before the Hamas/Israel war and before Donald Trump and the immigration issue and also the Opioid crisis because this film comes at you with a social justice hammer at times when a scapal would have been much better served. But even with it's heavy handed political leanings it's still an incredible achievement.


Adrian Brody places a Holocaust survivor who is basically stranded in Pennsylvania. Taken in by his cousin who as assimilated into the American lifestyle and removed the judaiac trappings of his life. His cousin is given a job and a home in a storage closet in a small shop, One day he ends up in the employ of a wealthy dutch family. Things go right and then they go wrong and we end up with Guy Pearce's Van Buren. At first glance you expect him to be the heavy and villain of the story. Van Buren is really the force that drives the film, the boot straps ideals of Americana and the darker underbelly of the American Dream.


The film is at it's best when you are in conflict with Toth and his personal demons. The Van Buren character is a much more compelling subject and it brings into the central idea of the film...is the art dictated by the artist or the person who funds the art. Guy Pearce broke out in LA Confidential and Memento but never really became the leading man/super star he had the early promise to become. The Brutalist is really the culmination of his career.


If the Brutalist has a failure it's that it compromises itself with current issues rather than trying to touch on deeper ideas. The film feels a bit too contemporary at times which is a shame because the three hours flew by for me. When the intermission came up I was shocked at how quick the first hour and a half went. Each part of the story are equally strong hitting you with incredible visuals and a haunting score. I don't think the film is going to win best picture. It will have it's supporters and champions and I did enjoy the film and rank it highly.


4

[Allaby]

The Sandlot (1993) For me, this is overrated and relies too heavily on nostalgia. I didn't like the narration, the writing is mediocre, and the performances are just okay. A couple effective moments, but too much padding and not sufficiently entertaining or amusing enough. I think this would have been a better film if the main characters were a mix of boys and girls, or maybe just all girls. These boys were kind of annoying and not that likeable or interesting. 2.5

[Jeff]

https://i0.wp.com/www.the-pixels.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/kiki-pos_1440449334.png?resize=500%2C750&ssl=1

8/10 -- i'm very glad i tried again to watch my Studio Ghibli set, which is not an official release, this was full of heart, makes me want to watch more wholesome cartoons.

[iluv2viddyfilms]

Drunken Angel (1948, Kurosawa) - A

[*Sky*]

All About Eve (1950) - Joseph L. Mankiewicz: 8/10
https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.uoregon.edu/dist/b/17659/files/2020/05/all-about-eve-502.gif

[Jeff]

Castle in the Sky -- 10/10 -- what a magical experience, and not just because i took some gummies, this is some good stuff, how the story goes, i think the correct word is pacing, yes, pacing was top notch!

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/Waterland_%28film%29.jpg
By Derived from a digital capture (photo/scan) of the Film Poster (creator of this digital version is irrelevant as the copyright in all equivalent images is still held by the same party). Copyright held by the film company or the artist. Claimed as fair use regardless., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26549248

Waterland - (1992)

This movie, directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal (and yes, his young daughter Maggie does have a very brief appearance) has all the ingredients of what should be a pretty good film, but it's kind of poorly constructed, awfully paced and very dull visually. History teacher Tom Crick (Jeremy Irons), in the midst of a personal crisis which involves the mental deterioration of his wife Mary (Sinéad Cusack), starts to tell his bored history class (which includes a very brattish kid played by Ethan Hawke) the story of his life, with every sordid detail included. This leads to flashbacks where as a teenager he and his wife to be were involved with some bad business related to his mentally challenged older brother Dick (David Morrissey). There are some horrible moments which would have been standout shocks in a better movie, but they kind of become lost in this dark and dreary plodder which provides atmosphere but struggles to bring it's two narrative strands together with any cohesiveness. Perhaps it would be better to read Graham Swift's novel. A shame, because I think parts of this movie are brilliant. It's the whole package that lacks.

5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d0/Mystery_Team.jpg
By [1], Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32929766

Mystery Team - (2009)

I used to watch Derrick Comedy's (Dominic Dierkes, DC Pierson, and Donald Glover) sketches on YouTube in the 2000s and loved them a great deal - so when they decided to make a feature film I was definitely excited. Mystery Team ended up feeling like a feature film made by a comedy group who mainly had experience in putting together sketches - it's a little anaemic at feature length. It features Derrick Comedy's three members as friends in Senior High School behaving as if they're still six years old - since they were little they'd solved "mysteries" for a dime, but suddenly are asked to solve a double homicide when a young girl comes enquiring. Usually in over their head anyway, the trio encounter a world they're totally unfamiliar with - drug dealing, murder, sex etc. It's fun to see such a young Donald Glover strut his stuff, and the guys are funny - but this feels like a sketch stretched out to nearly 100 minutes at times, so it's spread thin. Still, I have to admit to having seen this several times, and it has some really great moments.

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6f/Poster_-_Paleface%2C_The_%281948%29_01.jpg
By http://www.doctormacro.com/Movie%20Summaries/P/Paleface,%20The%20%281948%29.htm, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34951317

The Paleface - (1948)

Very commercial and mainstream - even predictable in the way Hollywood often operates, but this film's success and colourful brightness along with Bob Hope's natural charisma and sense of humour make it an enjoyable enough watch. Full review here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2528537#post2528537), in my watchlist thread.

6/10

[Fabulous]

So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/A0fUbS4h62irZn8XjuPHRCa73WP.jpg

[ueno_station54]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/9/8/9/1/2/5/989125-babygirl-2024-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=b175884970
can't believe she spends that whole movie viewing herself as a dog and she doesn't even get clicker trained smdh
3.5

[chawhee]

Den of Thieves Pantera (2025)
https://images.thedirect.com/media/photos/denofthieves.png
3
I expected not to like this as much as the first, as it would be hard to match the great chemistry and portrayal of humanity the first one did in my opinion. This one has less chemistry and more playfulness than you would want in a gritty action movie. It still barely succeeds at being just a cool heist though.

Why does it seem to me that Gerard Butler is eating or drinking or smoking in more than half the scenes he is in...

[Tramuzgan]

Corpse Bride (2005) - 8/10


The official goth girl movie turned out to be fun, whimsical, and way funnier than it has any right to be. Every character (barring one) has his or her own charisma that gets you to pay attention. Emily especially just melts my heart. The settings are all like a halloween funhouse, it feels like they had fun with every last one of the background characters, the living ones included. The timing of the visual gags is way smoother than it usually is in these kids' movies, and that counts for a lot considering how many of them there are. Makes it way more enjoyable to hang around in this world when the script and directing, which are your portal to it, lack any awkwardness. Will definitely rewatch it at some point in the future.


The only major flaw is that whenever the villain is on screen, the quality just plummets. He's terrible.

[Sedai]

Fire Walk with Me
Lynch, 1992

4_5

https://mossfilm.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/sheryl-lee-fwwm.jpg

It had years since I saw the 1992 follow-up film to the short-lived television series Twin Peaks. Anyone who has been on this site for a decent amount of time will know I am a huge Lynch fan, even if my fervor and zealotry for his work his cooled somewhat over the years. Or at least...it had cooled. Apparently all it took was Mr. Lynch shuffling off this mortal coil for me to dive head first back into the shimmering pool of the surreal. I am working my way through his entire catalog of film in no particular order while simultaneously watching the original run of the series and also Twin Peaks: The Return.

It had been years and years since I had seen Fire Walk with Me. This film has aged like fine wine. Lynch is at the top of his game here, and combined with Lee's tour de force performance, which is easily her best work, the film had me riveted to the screen. My only nitpicks are the recasting of Donna and the absence of Sherilyn Fenn's Audrey. Both actresses still had a bitter taste in their mouth after Lynch and Frost abandoned the show in the second season to work on other projects. Even Kyle McLachlan has reduced screen time, allegedly due to the same reservations.

But like I said, this is Lee's film, and she and the rest of the cast bring it, big time. This film also contains some of the darkest and most disturbing scenes of Lynch's career, as well as an underpinning sadness for its entire run time. I watched this, and then immediately fired up the pilot of the original series; the film dovetails into the show perfectly, adding emotional impact to several of the scenes, such as Donna and James' realization of Laura's fate just before the teacher is about to announce it.

This film used to float around the middle of my rankings for Lynch's work, but this most recent viewing puts it up into my top 5.

It's been an interesting contrast so far watching these classic episodes and this film alongside The Return, which sees Lynch dialing everything he is known for up to 11, stringing together absolutely bananas scenes and just letting his creativity lead him into the darkest corners of his creative mind.

Watching all this stuff just reaffirms what I have always knows: Lynch was an absolute master of his craft.

[Takoma11]

Anyone who has been on this site for a decent amount of time will know I am a huge Lynch fan.

Will you be meditating today at noon? (Not asking cheekily, I think it's a really cool idea).

[Sedai]

Will you be meditating today at noon? (Not asking cheekily, I think it's a really cool idea).

I have never tried this!

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fasianmoviepulse.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F08%2Fmothra-vs-godzilla-tail-mothra.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=a118c1034b64dedacf39808057a4c3c126e48149e8475ed7308af5da83815289&ipo=images

Mothra vs Godzilla, 1964

After a huge storm, a mysterious egg is found floating in the ocean. A wealthy businessman buys the egg and begins building a convention center around it as a spectacle. But reporters Ichiro (Akira Takarada), photographers Junko (Yuriko Hoshi), and professor Miura (Hiroshi Koizumi) come to learn that the egg belongs to Mothra. Despite their efforts the egg continues to be held prisoner. But when Godzilla emerges from the ground and begins wreaking havoc, humankind asks for Mothra’s help to defeat the lizard monster.

The monster fight scenes are all solid, with the later addition of larval Mothra babies a particular delight. Mothra, in all her incarnations, really is the best.

4

FULL REVIEW (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2528597#post2528597)

[Takoma11]

I have never tried this!

https://www.avclub.com/david-lynch-children-worldwide-meditation

[Sedai]

https://www.avclub.com/david-lynch-children-worldwide-meditation

Well...I will be at work, so probably can't join in.

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/51/Terrifier_3_poster.jpg/220px-Terrifier_3_poster.jpg

2.5

SF = Zzz

Viewed: Blu ray

Out of everything I could have done without the masturbation with a piece of sharp glass...

:sick::sick:




[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

[Stirchley]

Had another stab at these two movies & was glad I did.

104503
104504

[LeBoyWondeur]

Die Hard 2 (1990)

104501

The main reason that makes this a lesser Die Hard is the same reason that makes the first one a better Die Hard: location.
Instead of being trapped in the same place (which gave the first one such a disaster movie feel) the sequel is literally all over the place.
There's the many locations inside the airport, the church hideout place, outdoors scenes and then everything that happens in the air - and it's all happening at the same time.
This could work for an esemble cast but not really for a one-man show.
Oddly enough, the film feels smaller and cheaper in scale.

I never like cheesy banter or one-liners but it didn't bother me in Die Hard. Now those cheesy one-liners are getting rehashed which makes it much harder too ignore.
The villain is so-so and I failed to connect with this character.
Because the story alternates between all these locations and characters it kinda loses its momentum midway, and this also very much affects the climax (even though it's extremely over the top).

Incidentally, I thought this was the one with the clues (Simon Says?) but maybe that's the next one.

2.5

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/8156PXML6ML._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg



4

[I_Wear_Pants]

I finished Even the Wind Is Afraid this afternoon. What an awesome film. It's not overly complicated and what the creators did with their non-complex film worked great. The movie is silky smooth. The only real knock I have against it is that some of the acting isn't great. Overall the acting is fine, although I would say it's the weakest part of the film. I found it highly captivating. Even the Wind Is Afraid is a slow burn and totally worth the payoff. I loved it. I want a copy.

104506

There's the poster. I didn't know it when I started it; the movie is from Mexico. That's pretty cool.

[Gideon58]

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRxo2ReNM43o_tHVQ5tBVl6sr77aejJt2CJ3w&s



1st Rewatch...20 years of the release of That's Entertainment 2, MGM did another deep dive into their treasure chest of musical highlights and came up with a third installment that concentrated on a lot of footage that ended up on the cutting room floor. My favorites were a side by side look at Eleanor Powell in Lady Be Good that showed the number as it appeared onscreen and how the crew moved the scenery as the number was shot; an audio track of a song called "Two Faced Woman" sung by a studio singer named India Adams, that was originally used for Cyd Charisse in The Band Wagon, but was cut from that film and was used a couple of years later for Joan Crawford in Torch Song, a spectacular production number that was cut from the Judy Garland musical The Harvey Girls, and best of all, "Mr Monotony", a number cut from Easter Parade where she's clad in the same cut off tuxedo she wore in Summer Stock. 4

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91-ZHxtfUFL.jpg


2nd Rewatch...Despite an attractive all-star cast, this multi-storyline look at new millenium relationships barelky holds interest thanks to the confusing linking of storylines to each other and some odd casting. Jennifer Aniston does her best to make her story of a woman who breaks up with her boyfriend (Ben Affleck) because he doesn't want to get married and Jennifer Connolly is completley humorless as a woman who is destroying her marriage because her husband (Bradley Cooper) won't quit smoking and Ginnifer Goodwin is kind of annoying as a romance-challenged gal asking and not taking the advice of a hunky bar owner (Justin Long). The film comes off as pretty people having pretty problems and it's very hard to care for the entire runniing time. It was nice seeing the late Kris Kristofferson as Aniston's dad. 3

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMDlkMzM4NzQtMDM4MS00ZDU0LWIxOWItODBlZDZkNjIxMDQ2XkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg


1st Rewatch....Alex Winter, who played Bill in the Bill and Ted franchise, directed this insightful and eye-opening documentary centering n a handful of frmer child stars, some who were forced into the business, some who weren't, and some who learned to hate it. The subjects include Todd Bridges, Wil Wheaton, Evan Rachel Wood, Mara Wilson, Milla Jovovich. and the late Cameroin Boyce. The film also features two kids named Demi Singleton and Marc Slater, who are just starting in the business and when this documentarywas made, this film was the only thing on their imdb pages. When I checked their IMDB pages after this viewing, Demi had five credits and there was nothing new on Marc's page and if you watch this film closely , I think you'll see why. 4

[Gideon58]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3e/Original_movie_poster_for_Cabaret.jpg


Umpteenth Rewatch...Winner of eight Oscars, probably the best translation of a Broadway musical to the screen and in the top five of best movie musicals ever made. Based on the 1966 Brodway musical, this is the story of an ill-fated romance between self-absorbed American party girl and an English writer in WW1 Berlin and the parallels between what ishappening between and what is happening around them. Bob Fosse blindsided Francis Ford Copolla when he won the Oscar for Best Director and he deserved it. His chorography is spectacular and no matter how many times I watch it, the "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" scene gives me chills. Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey won Oscar for their performances and Michael York is a sexy leading man. Everything works here, even after all these years. 5

[Gideon58]

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/8NUAAOxy7RBRYNSc/s-l1200.jpg


3rd Rewatch...From the "If it Ain't Broke Don't Fix It" school of filmmaking comes Tim Burton's remake of the Gene Wilder classic Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp inheriting the title role and offering one of his cingiest performances that seems to be a cmbination of Bob Eubanks and Carol Channing. The songs are depressing and it's just creepy that the oompah loompas are all played by a single actor. The only thing I liked about this movie is the performance by Freddie Highmore as Charlie, who had prevously worked with Depp in Finding Neverland. 2

[pahaK]

Out of everything I could have done without the masturbation with a piece of sharp glass...

:sick::sick:


I wonder if Leone listens to Cradle of Filth?

As shadows swelled
The Countess fell
To masturbating with Her dagger
As the Witch gabbled spells
Cumming heavy roses all the way to Hell

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/zG29kpj4/the-coconauts.jpg
By Unknown author - impawards.com, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=157567568

The Cocoanuts - (1929)

Starting at the very beginning - the first ever Marx Bros movie, and it's not bad considering it was made at the very dawn of the age of talking pictures. The "plot" in a Marx Bros movie is usually pretty loose, and that's the case here with Mr. Hammer (Groucho Marx) being the proprietor of a resort hotel in Florida. It's one that hardly attracts any guests, but soon enough there are miscreants (the rest of the Marx bros), a couple of crooks, Mrs. Potter (Margaret Dumont - often ending up in skits with Groucho), her daughter Polly (Mary Eaton) and Polly's love interest, Bob Adams (Oscar Shaw) - who will be framed by the two crooks. It's a narrative that exists as a framework for a series of skits and musical numbers - and most of the funny stuff still feels pretty fresh despite being a century old. I love it when Groucho combines with Chico - their comedic chemistry is really fantastic. There's an auction that Chico is meant to help Groucho with, but he ends up outbidding everyone instead of upping the price as Groucho wants. I really liked all of this, despite the rawness of this first attempt at what would become one of the great comedic formulas of all time.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/94/Mother%212017.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54043510

mother! - (2017)

Arthouse meets mainstream in a rare instance of an avant-garde movie loosed upon your average everyday moviegoer - and those "normies" still ended up giving the movie an "F" CinemaScore grade! Never the twain shall meet. Jennifer Lawrence plays Mother Earth while Javier Bardem plays God, happily living as a couple in a house He created and she tries to nurture, but His need for adulation and her need for respect and growth conflict. Never mind that though, because once people arrive they start to systematically spoil, degrade and destroy the place. Big credit to Darren Aronofsky for attempting the impossible, but meeting people halfway kind of pleases nobody - even if I find this entertaining, horrifying and interesting - especially in a visual sense. The art direction and set designers really outdid themselves with their creations, and the octagonal house that stands as the centerpiece of the movie. I've seen this a few times, and I'm always up to seeing it again.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/32/ScorchersDVDCover.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2768320

Scorchers - (1991)

Welcome the worst movie I've watched so far in 2025! This is a stinker, despite featuring the talents of James Earl Jones and Denholm Elliott, who only appear in a bar separate from the rest of the action as if David Beaird didn't want them to know how awful the rest of the film is - and their scenes aren't exactly amazing anyway. Based on Beaird's stage play of the same name, it's about a wedding night where the bride, Splended (Emily Lloyd) is reluctant to consummate the marriage and has to be persuaded by her father, Jumper (Leland Crooke), to do the deed. In the meantime Talbot (Jennifer Tilly) is looking to gun her husband down for seeking the pleasures of the town prostitute, Thais (Faye Dunaway). It all comes off as both pretentious and tiresomely dumb at the same time - a mean feat to achieve. It starts with a monologue delivered by Leland Crooke that sets the stage as to how inane the whole movie is. Elliott and James Earl Jones are game, but can only play a losing hand with the cards they're dealt.

3/10

[Takoma11]

104504

This is one of my favorite YouTube videos ever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_nFuJAF5F0&ab_channel=aggy007

I watch it a few times a year and feel inspired and cry a lot.

[PHOENIX74]

I finished Even the Wind Is Afraid this afternoon. What an awesome film. It's not overly complicated and what the creators did with their non-complex film worked great. The movie is silky smooth. The only real knock I have against it is that some of the acting isn't great. Overall the acting is fine, although I would say it's the weakest part of the film. I found it highly captivating. Even the Wind Is Afraid is a slow burn and totally worth the payoff. I loved it. I want a copy.

I didn't know it when I started it; the movie is from Mexico. That's pretty cool.

I recently watched three of Carlos Enrique Taboada's movies (Poison For the Fairies, Blacker Than Night and Rapine) - they were very good! I've put Even the Wind is Afraid in my watchlist.

[I_Wear_Pants]

I recently watched three of Carlos Enrique Taboada's movies (Poison For the Fairies, Blacker Than Night and Rapine) - they were very good! I've put Even the Wind is Afraid in my watchlist.

Ooh that's cool. Yeah I stumbled upon Blacker Than Night a day or two ago as well. That one piqued my interest. Poison for the Fairies and Rapine look good too so I saved them.

I just happened upon Even the Wind Is Afraid and it sounded good so I gave it a shot. I didn't even know it existed until a few days ago. I thought it was awesome. The movie is slow, and some performances are a little middling. Overall though it's great. If you watch it, I'd be curious what you think.

[I_Wear_Pants]

3rd Rewatch...From the "If it Ain't Broke Don't Fix It" school of filmmaking comes Tim Burton's remake of the Gene Wilder classic Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp inheriting the title role and offering one of his cingiest performances that seems to be a cmbination of Bob Eubanks and Carol Channing. The songs are depressing and it's just creepy that the oompah loompas are all played by a single actor. The only thing I liked about this movie is the performance by Freddie Highmore as Charlie, who had prevously worked with Depp in Finding Neverland. 2

I have issues with calling it the Gene Wilder classic and this one a remake (he didn't direct it) (and it's just another adaptation of the same book with no correlation betwixt the two movies). I am very picky about movie labels. However, Burton's version really isn't so good. It's not really terrible, although for fans of Mel Stuart's version, I can understand the distaste. I think the Stuart fans annoy me more than the movie does. I like the references in Burton's version, and the songs have some charm. Otherwise it's a slog. One issue is the added Wonka's Dad garbage. If he wanted Christopher Lee so badly, he could have been a grandparent or the narrator, or a combination of the two or something.

Just to be clear, I saw Burton's version before Mel Stuart's, and I've never been a huge fan of Gene Wilder. I have been a fan of Tim Burton for some time, although this was a weird choice for him. His style doesn't really fit this story. It's about bratty kids, not drugs-vision.

[Gideon58]

I have issues with calling it the Gene Wilder classic and this one a remake (he didn't direct it) (and it's just another adaptation of the same book with no correlation betwixt the two movies). I am very picky about movie labels. However, Burton's version really isn't so good. It's not really terrible, although for fans of Mel Stuart's version, I can understand the distaste. I think the Stuart fans annoy me more than the movie does. I like the references in Burton's version, and the songs have some charm. Otherwise it's a slog. One issue is the added Wonka's Dad garbage. If he wanted Christopher Lee so badly, he could have been a grandparent or the narrator, or a combination of the two or something.

Just to be clear, I saw Burton's version before Mel Stuart's, and I've never been a huge fan of Gene Wilder. I have been a fan of Tim Burton for some time, although this was a weird choice for him. His style doesn't really fit this story. It's about bratty kids, not drugs-vision.

No argument regarding the flashbacks with Christopher Lee as Wonka's dad.

[Fabulous]

The Music Room (1958)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/gLe36kc0Qbe0JIkVKEGvy7hvAwO.jpg

[Tycoon]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYzg2ODkzZTktNTY2Ni00Yjg0LTk4OWEtMTlhNTVlZTQ4NTdkXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg

9/10

Powerful movie based on true events in Brazil. Walter Salles is a very good director.

[Sedai]

The Last Seduction
Dahl, 1994

3

https://64.media.tumblr.com/c6ea8d7f9889b3c33d26c50d18488614/tumblr_nhd22vcYph1tus777o3_r1_1280.pnj

Still catching up on some neo noir titles with some crossover into prep for the 90s part deux, I fired up this steamy neo from the mid 90s. A well made and played flick with a generous coating of sleaze, I found it entertaining, but wasn't totally over the moon for it. Slightly above average noir.

[matt72582]

Adelheid - 8/10
Best movie I've seen in at least 2 years.. Despite my neighbor and her loud assed muffler going on for an hour.. I had to take a break (play drums to block out the sound) which usually is a hindrance to a movie, but I couldn't take it anymore.. I had this on my IMDB watch-list... along with 2,000 others. Don't remember ever even reading the title. I did a Search on here and found 0 results. Less than 1,000 votes on IMDB but it's on Criterion. I need more movies like this. Contemporary dramas about people that stand on their own, ones you can't compare.



https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/Adelheid_poster.jpg

[SpelingError]

Swept Away (1974) - 4

This was truly something else. I think I've finally arrived at a consensus, but making sense of it was a real challenge given how often I kept jumping back and forth on the film. Some of the reservations I pondered over included whether the film delivered its capitalist commentary in the most obvious way possible, whether Gennarino's growing physical/sexual abuse muddled its political musings, the apparent Stockholm syndrome angle, and whether the film was attempting to garner sympathy for Gennarino. After some mulling, I ultimately decided this was pretty stellar and I look forward to revisiting it down the road now that I know what to expect.

First things first, I don't think this was solely intended as a critique of capitalism. I think it's more about the cyclical nature of oppression and the unfortunate tragic irony of how swapping the roles between the upper and lower classes as a form of punishment causes you to be the perpetrator of the issues you criticize the other side for. Though Gennarino claimed to be a Communist, the forms of punishment he inflicted on Raffaella (making her work for food and establishing a hierarchy between them) all reeked of what he condemned the rich for. In defense, Gennarino claimed he merely wanted her to see how he felt when she abused him, but then his treatment kept growing in severity until he lost control and became just as, if not more manipulative than her.

Another point of contention is how Raffaella seemingly falls in love with Gennarino. I touched on this at the start when I brought up Stockholm syndrome, but I did use the word "apparent" since I'm not sure that was actually the idea. I'm not 100% on this, but given Raffaella's actions in the ending, I don't know that she was necessarily in love with him so much as she felt there was no other option for her to survive the island. The film doesn't explicitly say this, but again, the helicopter scene in the ending is a pretty crucial moment which suggests her passion was a ruse all along. I'm sure this reading will be too implicit for some people, but regardless of where you stand, I'll also note that I generally don't have an issue with Stockholm syndrome. It's a real-life occurrence, so why can't it occur in film? Plus, I don't think we're asked to sympathize with Gennarino. His flaws are left right out in the open and he seems pretty pathetic by the end.

Overall, while my appreciation of the film remained shaky while watching it, it has sat quite well upon reflection and gave me a lot to ponder over. It's definitely not the kind of film I'm going to forget about anytime soon.

[ueno_station54]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/1/1/6/4/4/4/0/1164440-one-of-them-days-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=c538699ae1
first 2025 movie! Keke Palmer is funny and charming and SZA is umm.... there. it has some moments.
2.5

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/02/Roadgames.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22503148

Roadgames - (1981)

Occasionally Australian exploitation films would make use of American actors to help improve a movie's marketability overseas - and that's why Roadgames features Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis, two very out-of-place Americans making their way along the desert highways which stretch many, many hundreds of miles through the country. Pat Quid (Keach) is a truck driver transporting meat to Perth, Western Australia - when he happens upon a curious man in a green van who suspiciously buries garbage bags in the desert. A killer is on the loose, and Quid soon suspects the stranger. After picking up hitchhiker Pamela (Jamie Lee Curtis) the two set about trying to solve the mystery, and end up playing a psychological game which threatens to kill them all. It's not a bad suspense-driven thriller that quickly disappeared (I don't think the terrible poster helped) upon release but has lived on due to critical reappraisals and Quentin Tarantino's dogged support - a really nice examination of paranoia and uncertainty in isolated situations among strangers. Quid has a dog called "Boswell" (he's a fan of poetry) - and now I'm thinking the dog we got from a bunch of University students around about 1983 wasn't called Boswell because they were a fan of Alexander Boswell, but instead because they saw Roadgames! This one is worth checking out if you're into modern-day Hitchcock-like movies, and it also reminds me a little bit of Steven Spielberg's Duel.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8e/The_Seven_Little_Foys_1955.jpg
By Paramount Pictures - IMDb, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68763344

The Seven Little Foys - (1955)

A little depressing, and in some ways misguided considering the exploitation of those kids (and the way that matter is brushed aside), but I thought Bob Hope was terrific in this. Full review here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2529084#post2529084), in my watchlist thread.

6/10

[*Sky*]

Blue Velvet (1986) - David Lynch: 8.5/10
https://y.yarn.co/caea1f16-cecf-4b49-b14a-0f7c2741807d_text.gif

[Fabulous]

Sorry to Bother You (2018)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/lHecBdFRnW2hh8Qn3wz0vrPIqw2.jpg

[Sedai]

Ghostlight
Alex Thompson & Kelly O'Sullivan, 2024

3_5

https://mamasgeeky.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GHOSTLIGHT-2024-movie-review.jpg

This one is a bit buy-the-numbers, but I ended up enjoying it overall, mostly due to it being an effective father/daughter story elevated by the performances of the whole cast. It cleverly weaves aspects of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet into events in the lives of the family the film focuses on, while the father - a brash construction worker who has trouble expressing himself emotionally - ends up joining a small production of the play after a dust up with one of the cast members over a noise compliant.

While there are some sweet and effective scenes, as well as a couple of heartbreaking sequences, some almost sitcom level contrivances dragged the rating down for this one. It also plays out exactly as you would expect and felt a bit on the tropey side, staying well inside its indie film lane.

While it was a decent little examination of grief, some of its shortcomings kept it from really shining. I do think it drove its main message home well: the healing power of community, especially when sharing artistic pursuits.

[matt72582]

Mafioso - 7.5/10
One of the first movies to look at the Mafia..



https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f3/Mafioso_movie_poster.jpg

[Stirchley]

104558

Good weird movie. Stan’s full frontal nudity was fun to see. :p

[Marco]

Testament (1983)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ee/The_movie_poster_of_Testament_from_the_year_1983.jpg/330px-The_movie_poster_of_Testament_from_the_year_1983.jpg
Neat drama set among the idea family in the idea town who's lives suddenly (and those around them) change after atomic attacks (by the Russkies it is implied). We see the radiation illness and bodies pile up while the former orderly-ness of the family and social structure. Suprising appearances by a young Rebecca De Mornay and Kevin Costner as a lovestruck young couple that lose everything. It's more focussed but less than a watch than the broader palette of "Threads" but very good of it's time. The film poster is wonderful for the subject matter.
3.5

[ueno_station54]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/4/7/1/8/1/2/471812-the-foaming-node-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=24fbf97765
i didn't love it but its the exact kind of bs i'm looking for. felt a little too in on the bit but the last few shots went hard.
rating_3

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/ff/Love_%26_Friendship_poster.png
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49201388

Love & Friendship - (2016)

A general feeling of hopelessness and depression has descended upon me in the last day or so, and that plays havoc with my appreciation of good movies - and although Love & Friendship feels fresh, original and is good fun, I felt an especial coldness towards it's main character, Lady Susan Vernon (Kate Beckinsale). Susan Vernon is a schemer - an emotionless manipulator who sees life in very clinical terms. The villain of Love & Friendship, but also it's protagonist and main character. In opposition to that is the very sprightly, intelligent and boundless humour writer/director Whit Stillman injects into the film, turning this into a period piece the likes of which I've never seen before. In Jane Austin fashion (and this is based on Jane Austin's novel "Lady Susan") it's a movie about marriage, birthright, courtship and gamesmanship. I thought it was a very good movie - but I wasn't in the mood for it, since having to deal with any and all of the Susan Vernons of this world evokes too strong a feeling in me at the moment. Most of the other characters have a sense of humanness about them - although they might be lumped into two groups : the hopeless (the dumb as a doorbell Sir James Martin - played by Tom Bennett, and the overly emotional Lady Lucy Manwaring - played by Jenn Murray) and the decent. I'll have to check out more of Whit Stillman's stuff.

7/10

[Fabulous]

Brassed Off (1996)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/utt6SGTRywCyGZOi7W0GWud0sub.jpg

[chawhee]

Apocalypse Now (1979)
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d1/c2/78/d1c278d4d4311742685956630944c57d.jpg
4
I still cant bring myself to give 5 stars to a 3+ hour movie, but this was obviously very good.

[Gideon58]

Apocalypse Now (1979)
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d1/c2/78/d1c278d4d4311742685956630944c57d.jpg
4
I still cant bring myself to give 5 stars to a 3+ hour movie, but this was obviously very good.

At least you had the fortitude to sit down and watch the entire film. I’m pretty sure there’s no way I could sit through this entire film,

[matt72582]

Tribute To The Teachers

Nice, short documentary by Abbas Kiarostami interviewing teachers and students. Some retired... They also talk about interactions by happenstance once they're adults.. I saw a teacher of mine right before COVID and she's still one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen.


This is on Criterion, but I noticed the YouTube one was longer (but lesser quality)

https://youtu.be/dPG425dpeg0

[ueno_station54]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/1/8/6/6/6/3/186663-selva-a-portrait-of-parvaneh-navai-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=11e35eec9b
Selva. A Portrait of Parvaneh Navai
beautiful. part of me would love to see a cleaned up copy, a part of me adored the crusty, washed out version i saw.
4

[iluv2viddyfilms]

Love Me Tonight (1932) - A

[iluv2viddyfilms]

Apocalypse Now (1979)
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d1/c2/78/d1c278d4d4311742685956630944c57d.jpg
4
I still cant bring myself to give 5 stars to a 3+ hour movie, but this was obviously very good.

I'm confused... so the length of a film dictates a rating for you? What about Lawrence of Arabia or The Godfather? This is a new take I haven't really encountered before.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/04/Animal_Crackers_Movie_Poster.jpg
By Paramount Pictures - http://www.oknation.net/blog/home/blog_data/907/23907/images/marx.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40508643

Animal Crackers - (1930)

I'm really enjoying this Marx Bros marathon that I've just started on - I'm becoming a fan, especially of their wordplay. It's my kind of comedy, and although I've seen the occasional film of theirs it's seeing the act evolve over the course of their first two films that provides a lot of the fun. Animal Crackers doesn't have much of a story beyond the mystery of a stolen painting, which is at first replaced by John Parker (Hal Thompson), an aspiring artist whose painting is replaced itself before all three become the source of a hunt that involves Captain Jeffrey Spaulding (Groucho Marx), The Professor (Harpo Marx), Signor Emanuel Ravelli (Chico Marx) and Horatio Jamison (Zeppo Marx) at a home on Long Island of which Mrs. Rittenhouse (Margaret Dumont - basically a Marx Sister) is host. All of the usual elements are here. Harpo has a number playing a harp, Chico gets to show off his piano talents, there's a number sung by Lillian Roth and Hal Thompson and all of the vaudeville acts that form the main body of the entire film. Once again, it's Groucho and Chico's routines together that I love the most, with their comedic chemistry shining particularly brightly, along with Groucho and Margaret Dumont's to-and-fro. It was good to see Zeppo given a little something to do and Harpo is particularly strong in this one with his facial expressiveness. A huge mood-lifter with so many laughs and an overall feeling of fun and high energy. I'm glad I'm watching these - they came at just the right time.

8/10

https://i.postimg.cc/6pd1QrDr/the-last-of-his-tribe.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40508643

The Last of His Tribe - (1992)

This is an HBO TV movie about the discovery of the last remaining Native American of the Yahi tribe, Ishi (Graham Greene) in 1911 and his experiences adjusting to 20th Century Western society with the help of Professor Alfred Kroeber (Jon Voight), who struggles to find the right balance between studying the man/his culture and becoming his close personal friend. It struggles at times to find an engaging dramatic heartbeat in a narrative sense but hits hardest when it shows Ishi's tribe and family members hunted down and slaughtered by bands of gun-toting settlers. At times it finds itself repeating slow storytelling lulls that make the movie-watching experience a little difficult, but it does have a compassionate core which I found touching.

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1d/Wish_I_Was_Here.jpg
By Worldview Entertainment and Focus Features - http://comicbook.com/blog/2014/01/16/zach-braffs-wish-i-was-here-gets-a-movie-poster/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42706282

Wish I Was Here - (2014)

Aidan (Zach Braff), his wife Sarah (Kate Hudson), kids Tucker (Pierce Gagnon) and Grace (Joey King) along with brother Noah (Josh Gad) and dying father Gabe (Mandy Patinkin) are an extended family in crisis. Aiden is an out of work actor supported by Sarah who shoulders the financial burden of putting their kids through school when Gabe's cancer treatment means he can no longer help pay for their orthodox Jewish education. It's his father's approaching death that shakes up Aidan's vision of himself and the relationship he has with his reclusive and recalcitrant brother who refuses to see their father after a lifetime of verbal abuse. Cue many montage scenes set to inspirational music - and the more of those I see, the more I feel that Wish I Was Here has nothing really original to say, and relies on tired tropes along with a moribund screenplay. Do films this derivative and seemingly generic have heart if the intentions are pure? Maybe, but my heart sank pretty low every time I thought of how many times I've seen exactly what I'm watching before done much better. I was frustrated and angry at how unoriginal and ploddingly rote this attempt at an inspirational family tale was.

4/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/ff/Sorrowful_Jones_1949.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9535771

Sorrowful Jones - (1949)

Overall there were a few laughs and of course much cuteness (a prerequisite for any adaptation of the Little Miss Marker story), but overall this didn't quite rise up to the level of Bob Hope's absolute best knee-slappers. Full review here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2529652#post2529652), in my watchlist thread.

6/10

[Fabulous]

Young and Innocent (1937)

2.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/5gczitgwwXC8k1yMy5VbGP5oFnh.jpg

[chawhee]

I'm confused... so the length of a film dictates a rating for you? What about Lawrence of Arabia or The Godfather? This is a new take I haven't really encountered before.

Dictate is a strong word there, as there are obviously many factors. I just haven't found a movie eclipsing this kind of runtime that immediately doesn't make my mind think "what scenes could have been cut". Appreciate the inquiry though, because it does make me think a bit more about my tendencies.

[iluv2viddyfilms]

Dictate is a strong word there, as there are obviously many factors. I just haven't found a movie eclipsing this kind of runtime that immediately doesn't make my mind think "what scenes could have been cut". Appreciate the inquiry though, because it does make me think a bit more about my tendencies.

I see. Well, for me, it's like Roger Ebert said. No good film is too long and no bad film is too short.

[iluv2viddyfilms]

Say Anything... (1989, Cameron Crowe) - A-

[Thief]

STAR WARS: EPISODE II
ATTACK OF THE CLONES
(2002, Lucas)

https://i.imgur.com/Wrs2jlh.jpeg


"The dark side clouds everything. Impossible to see the future is."



Set 10 years after The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones follows the attempts of the Jedi to stop an intergalactic war while also avoiding the spread of the dark side of the Force, which might have already infiltrated them. However, what is at the forefront is the relationship between Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Senator Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman).

Beyond the performances, the overall excess of CGI is extremely distracting. It's evident that Lucas had no reins about what he could/should do with the technology. There are a ton of things and characters that could've been done practically or through costume/makeup, but he chooses CGI just because he can. The result is a disjointed look (especially when you compare it with the Original Trilogy) that feels like a cartoon or a video game.

Grade: 1.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2529721#post2529721)

[LeBoyWondeur]

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)

104624

Compared to the many parodies that came out it the 1980s, 1990s and even the 2000s I'd say Walk Hard is a slightly more sophisticated version. It's over-the-top but at least not as awful as the more cartoonish parodies like The Naked Gun or the Not Another Whatever Movie franchise.
There's the cast, the production, but more importantly the music itself. Despite being intentionally generic versions of the classics, it still sounds kinda good.
I guess a parody works best when it shows a little love for its subject rather than "hating" it.

The film's biggest flaw (imo) is that it sometimes forget to parody the biopic genre and instead focuses on roasting its subject. And even so, that subject should be Joaquin Phoenix, not Johnny Cash.
Walk Hard has a lot of funny details but they're often upstaged by the more obvious histrionics.
The first half is the strongest part, especially when Dewey's parents are still alive. After that it starts to go through the motions in order to reach the finish of its 90+ minutes running time.

Which brings me to the question: does parody (possibly the most extreme version of comedy) ever work in the relentless fashion of a full length feature film?
Overall, I found it amusing rather than laugh-out-loud funny, and when it isn't funny at least it's not irritating.
Funniest scene: Dewey's brother, accidentally cut in half by Dewey, is declared dead (!!) by the doctor, which makes mother Cox burst into tears. Margo Martindale is definitely one of the film's highlights.

I wouldn't recommend it as a film worth checking out, but if you plan on watching a parody movie then Walk Hard - despite its shortcomings - might be one of the better options.
2.5

Incidentally, I didn't see the scene with Patrick Duffy. A deleted scene, or was the youtube upload incomplete?

[Stirchley]

I see. Well, for me, it's like Roger Ebert said. No good film is too long and no bad film is too short.

Hey, that’s what I always say! :)

[Stirchley]

Hong Sang-soo directed this. Not bad, but nothing special.

104626

[Thief]

ANIARA
(2018, Kågerman & Lilja)

https://i.imgur.com/oLGAsaY.jpeg


"I've been troubled by their pains. In the name of Things, I want peace. I will be done with my displays. There is protection from nearly everything. But there is no protection from mankind."



I discovered Aniara back in 2020, and I was instantly captivated by it. This is my third watch, as I was preparing to talk about it on a podcast, but it just cemented how much I adore it. For a recent full review, check out what I wrote after my second rewatch here (https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/2163435-aniara.html), but if anything, the film just keeps burying deeper and deeper into my psyche.

Grade: 4.5


Another full review here in my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2529748#post2529748)

[*Sky*]

Senso (1954) - Luchino Visconti: 3/10
3 points for the sweeping Veneto countryside shots and for the background artistes, who were great. The main actors however... they were just painful to watch and the story tedious, uninspiring, nihilistic, pointless and sadistic even.
https://64.media.tumblr.com/e41cfab1fe96c93f4afd26a08cddc408/f7d79f07717f6dc7-95/s540x810/ec2734849e397bedce99c7d1516e4d95bae72cb3.gifv

[Thief]

RECKLESS
(2021, Kågerman)

https://i.imgur.com/JpWGJ65.jpeg


"♪ Darling, your head's not right
You say you wanna stand by my side ♪"



After my rewatch of Aniara, I realized that I had never ventured to check out the directors' filmographies, even though it's just a handful of short films. As I was browsing it, I was intrigued by the premise of this one so I gave it a shot. Reckless follows this young woman (Ellekari Bergenrud) who has just broken up with her boyfriend (Amed Bozan); something that has left her devastated, aimless, and remembering those happy memories.

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2529804#post2529804)

[Tramuzgan]

Batman Returns - 8/10

Strongly increased the circus freakshow vibe from the previous movie, for better or for worse. I liked the tone of the previous movie a little better, but on the other hand, this one's more focused identity has allowed it to have objectively stronger story theming. The plot of weirdo 1 vs weirdo 2 vs weirdo 3 vs decadent normal world as embodied by Max Schreck has a lot more going on than the previous Batman, which almost had something to that effect, but missed it by a hair. Thankfully, the dark humour and Danny Elfman's whimsical score are as good as ever, and while there's noone as good as Jack Nicholson's Joker, Danny Devito's Penguin is really good in his own right. Simultaneously scary, disgusting, funny, and pitiable. You can easily buy that this is a person raised in the sewer, without a smidgeon of social grace, fueled by nothing but spite and bodily drives.

[Darth Pazuzu]

Batman Returns - 8/10

Strongly increased the circus freakshow vibe from the previous movie, for better or for worse. I liked the tone of the previous movie a little better, but on the other hand, this one's more focused identity has allowed it to have objectively stronger story theming. The plot of weirdo 1 vs weirdo 2 vs weirdo 3 vs decadent normal world as embodied by Max Schreck has a lot more going on than the previous Batman, which almost had something to that effect, but missed it by a hair. Thankfully, the dark humour and Danny Elfman's whimsical score are as good as ever, and while there's noone as good as Jack Nicholson's Joker, Danny Devito's Penguin is really good in his own right. Simultaneously scary, disgusting, funny, and pitiable. You can easily buy that this is a person raised in the sewer, without a smidgeon of social grace, fueled by nothing but spite and bodily drives.

I always felt like the first Batman (1989) was a DC Comics adaptation which just happened to be directed by Tim Burton. But I feel like Batman Returns (1992) was a thoroughbred Tim Burton film which just happened to be set in the DC Comics universe! :D

[Tramuzgan]

I always felt like the first Batman (1989) was a DC Comics adaptation which just happened to be directed by Tim Burton. But I feel like Batman Returns (1992) was a thoroughbred Tim Burton film which just happened to be set in the DC Comics universe! :D

Yeah, that's a good way of putting it.

[LeBoyWondeur]

Nashville (1975)

104640

Even though it's a (relatively) well-known seventies classic I never got the opportunity to watch this. DVDs from marketplace sellers were usually on the pricey side hence why it's stayed in my wish list for such a long time.
Well, today I finally got it, and the first thing I noticed was that the disc is not a factory pressed DVD but one of those manufactured-on-demand disc recordings.
I feel this is becoming an increasingly alarming issue with R1 DVDs (to compare: in the heyday of DVD sales, collectors often considered the R1 releases to be more "prestigious").

But anyway.

For a film with so many characters and ongoing - sometimes overlapping - dialogue I find it surprisingly accessible, but I can't even begin to imagine what it looked like on paper.
I guess the trick here is Altman's incredible talent to make every detail pop without giving it too much attention, something I had previously witnessed in Gosford Park.
I struggle to categorise Nashville as a genre, even "drama" seems too generic in the context of this film.
Partially documentary, road movie, dark comedy, social commentary, satire counterbalanced by just enough optimism, and even shades of a psychological thriller. And music.

I'm not a hardcore country & western music fan but at least it taps into childhood nostalgia.
I thoroughly enjoyed most of the songs especially the ones by Ronee Blakley who comes across as a 1970s Julianne Moore.
At some point in the story it starts to hint at a possibly dramatic climax, I suspected the army guy who seemed like an obsessive fan.
Then later I figured he would prevent the assassination, just like his mother had saved Barbara Jean from the fire.

Quite cheekily, it even features a little bit of the "Eurotrash villain" trope in the narcissistic and intrusive BBC reporter brilliantly portrayed by Geraldine Chaplin.
Un deux trois quatre, testing.

The DVD also features an interview with Robert Altman, and the comment that stood out to me is that Karen Black was (at that time) considered the biggest name in this film.
The first time I saw Karen Black in a movie she had already followed in Adrienne Barbeau's footsteps and become a familiar face in B horror films.
Her performances are either great or awful, and that makes her difficult to rate as an actress.

What's not difficult to rate is Nashville, the movie.
5

[Thief]

VISITORS
(2021, Ugana)

https://i.imgur.com/45oRupI.jpeg


"Give me something to kill!"
"Ehh, do I have such a thing?"



Overall, Visitors is a fun watch, even though it doesn't offer much else beyond the gore. I read there's a feature length version that came out a year later, so maybe that polishes some of the issues and improves. As it is, this isn't more than an enjoyable curiosity.

Grade: 2.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2529911#post2529911)

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/be/Insiang_poster.jpg
By Film Development Council of the Philippines, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53663067

Insiang - (1976)

From Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project and Criterion comes Insiang, a film from the Philippines not afraid to upset the Marcos regime and depict life as it really was for most people struggling in poverty - and from these slums comes Insiang (Hilda Koronel), forced to live in close proximity to her elderly mother Tonya (Mona Lisa) and her much younger brute of a boyfriend Dado (Ruel Vernal) - but Dado really has eyes for her. Insiang is let down by society, her boyfriend Bebot (Rez Cortez), her mother and her lack of options - so she plans vengeance against all. This acclaimed film from the "Rainer Werner Fassbinder of the Philippines", Lino Brocka, shows the degenerative effects of poverty and squalor, and it's rawness really cuts away what's extraneous to deliver a searing tragedy with mournful melodramatic overtones. I wasn't only moved by it, but became more enlightened about the lasting damage slum life inflicts on families and society by relentlessly dehumanizing, brutalizing and delivering despair to those who live there. A definite recommendation, but be warned - the very first shots are of a pig being slaughtered (by Dado), which is unpleasant.

9/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2d/50deadmenwalkingr.jpg
By May be found at the following website: Motech posters, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19695901

Fifty Dead Men Walking - (2008)

It's the 1980s, Northern Ireland. 21-year-old Martin McGartland, a petty crook, loves his country and hates the British - but when he's introduced to the ruthless tactics of the IRA he's sickened and as such becomes an undercover agent for the Brits, saving lives and risking his own torture and execution. Fifty Dead Men Walking (a reference to all of the lives McGartland saved) also features Ben Kingsley as this agent's handler, "Fergus", and is a tightly scripted, swiftly paced true-story/thriller that I have to admit was pretty good. Heroism is the last attribute you'd guess McGartland might possess when you meet him, but living the life of an undercover agent who would meet a painful demise if discovered is above and beyond in my book.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f9/Basic_Instinct.png
By IMDb, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57662088

Basic Instinct - (1992)

Is Basic Instinct really that good? I see it's well-produced neo noir credentials, but was Sharon Stone's performance really meant to be as vapid as it ends up being? Some of what's meant to be steamy and erotic I see as camp. I guess the movie does have style going for it, and Jerry Goldsmith's score is a kind of ode to classic noir. In fact, everything is so stylized it's an almost surreal journey into the thrills of tempting fate and risking everything to get one's rocks off. Both Detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) and novelist Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) are icky characters with mysterious motives who are almost mirror images of each other - jaded and looking for something that will make them feel alive. The mind games commence with the murder of an old rock star with an icepick, with Catherine looking for all the world guilty, yet seen by Detective Curran as the off-ramp from an overly restrictive "good guy" mode of behaviour after being investigated by internal affairs for shooting innocent tourists on duty (while drunk and high on drugs.) But is the real killer Catherine's jealous girlfriend? Or is she Curran's psychologist Dr. Beth Garner (Jeanne Tripplehorn)? The answers are wrapped in riddles hidden inside an enigma, and not as evidently plain to see as Michael Douglas's oft-seen buns. Technically excellent.

6/10

[Thief]

THE DOOR
(2022, Froening)

https://i.imgur.com/v4WSHHC.jpeg


"It's an old house and has its demons... just like the rest of us."



Stumbled upon this one in the weirdest way. I fell asleep while watching Visitors, and YouTube auto-played this one right after. So when I woke up, I decided to back it up and check it out. It is very low budget, but for the most part, it is well shot and director Andrew Froening manages to set an effective atmosphere of dread.

Grade: 3


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2529919#post2529919)

[Thief]

SOLILOQUIO DE UN ADULTO
(2023, Rivera)

https://i.imgur.com/RWnSHIJ.jpeg


"Do not sacrifice freedom for security."



Written by Rivera himself, the dialogue has the peculiarity to be in the form of a poem. Although Rivera is pretty good with his delivery, it can't help but feel a bit unnatural. The effect is also hindered by the performance of the young man, who I think is Rivera's real life son, which is pretty weak.

Grade: 2


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2529922#post2529922)

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8c/The_Killer%27s_Game.jpg/220px-The_Killer%27s_Game.jpg

2.5

SF = Zzzz

Viewed: Amazon Prime



[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

[StuSmallz]

Batman Returns - 8/10

Strongly increased the circus freakshow vibe from the previous movie, for better or for worse. I liked the tone of the previous movie a little better, but on the other hand, this one's more focused identity has allowed it to have objectively stronger story theming. The plot of weirdo 1 vs weirdo 2 vs weirdo 3 vs decadent normal world as embodied by Max Schreck has a lot more going on than the previous Batman, which almost had something to that effect, but missed it by a hair. Thankfully, the dark humour and Danny Elfman's whimsical score are as good as ever, and while there's noone as good as Jack Nicholson's Joker, Danny Devito's Penguin is really good in his own right. Simultaneously scary, disgusting, funny, and pitiable. You can easily buy that this is a person raised in the sewer, without a smidgeon of social grace, fueled by nothing but spite and bodily drives.Aw, no love for Michelle's Catwoman? Such a good character on page, and brought to life with an even better performance, if you ask me.

[Fabulous]

Ruby in Paradise (1993)

4

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/zcPBI0vCuYkG9ml8E3loZPtI7Ye.jpg