View Full Version : Rate The Last Movie You Saw
Any time with Ed Harris is time well spent
I love Ed Harris too, but you might change your mind if you ever saw Eye for an Eye.
Mark
Gideon58
03-02-25, 01:00 PM
I love Ed Harris too, but you might change your mind if you ever saw Eye for an Eye.
Mark
Don’t think Eye for an Eye is as bad as its reputation though I will admit that Harris’ role was pretty thankless
Atlantic City (1980)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a4/Atlantic_City_%281980_film%29.jpg
This is one of my favorite mob movies. The plot itself isn’t that interesting, but I love the setting and characters. Burt Lancaster gave one of his best performances as Lou Pascal, a weak small-time hood who dreams of being a big-time hood and finally gets a chance to prove himself a “real” man by killing bad men and protecting a young woman. And Susan Sarandon is wonderful as Sally Matthews, the aforementioned woman, who has own dream, which is travel to Europe and become a dealer at a lavish casino. And all of this is set against the backdrop of a city that has left its glory days behind and is undergoing profound transformation. Atlantic City is a poignant, bittersweet cinematic love poem to the once-great “boardwalk empire” and is filled with nostalgic longing for a bygone era in which mobsters, gamblers, and corrupt politicians ruled the city.
rating_5
Yeah, this is a favorite of mine too. So much more interesting than most "aging mobster" movies you might see and both Lancaster and Sarandon really shine.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ef/Evil_Dead_Trap%2C_Japanese_release_poster%2C_1988.jpg
By Japan Home Video - nofspodcast.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67246395
Evil Dead Trap - (1988)
I think I would have absolutely loved this when I was 15 or 16-years-old. I was also smiling while watching this movie careen through it's final act - there are some situations where a descent into absolute insanity works in a film's favour, and this is definitely one of those occasions. Full review here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2539556#post2539556), in my watchlist thread.
7/10
Evil Dead Trap is a movie I had high expectations for, was a bit disappointed by, and then came to like much more on subsequent viewings (because it's on ShudderTV constantly). I quite enjoy it now.
Don’t think Eye for an Eye is as bad as its reputation though I will admit that Harris’ role was pretty thankless
To each his own. I thought Eye for an Eye was reprehensible garbage. It was basically I Spit on Your Grave with a bigger budget and better actors.
Mark
Gideon58
03-02-25, 01:24 PM
Never saw I Spit on your Grave
Yeah, this is a favorite of mine too. So much more interesting than most "aging mobster" movies you might see and both Lancaster and Sarandon really shine.
Speaking of aging mobster movies, Atlantic City is sure a hell of a lot better than The Godfather Part III. Btw, with regard to this type of mob movie, I thought Carlito’s Way was really good, though not as good as Atlantic City.
Atlantic City is one of only two movies I’ve ever seen that were directed by Louis Malle; the other is My Dinner with Andre. Both are among my favorites. I should really check out more of his work.
Mark
Never saw I Spit on your Grave
Then I envy you.
Before I saw I Spit on Your Grave, I had perfect 20/20 eyesight. Now I’m legally blind.
Mark
matt72582
03-02-25, 03:54 PM
The Silence of the Sea - 7.5/10
I noticed the last movie I liked was similar. "The Night Porter" had a taboo relationship, and a German soldier biletting with French hosts in this one.. I think I'll have to look at IMDB lists to find others similar.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/Silencedelamer.jpg
LeBoyWondeur
03-02-25, 04:43 PM
105716
My first rewatch (and only because it was included with prime) and it's even better than I remembered.
I'm not a big fan of the police procedural dramas, sometimes I find them enjoyable but never seriously good. Off the top of my head, Zodiac is the only other one that I really love (and True Detective, of course).
Most cleverly, Silence becomes a combination of two stories and they're both battling for being the most theatrical one, and that is very good for me.
There's the short buildup to the introduction of the (now) iconic Dr. Hannibal Lecter as we see Clarice enter the chamber of horrors.
Later there's Dr. Lecter's epic escape from his giant circus cage resulting in that jawdropping display of his victim: a not too realistic image that borders on Batmanism.
And we are so rooting for him.
The hunt for the killer plays out with a twist, it's not the most noble kind of trickery but if it works it works.
The killer himself isn't given much screen time to showcase his villainy but that makes sense since it's supposed to be a guessing game for the protagonist and we don't need to know much more than she does.
Additional credit goes to Brooke Smith who makes the very best of her role as the killer's last victim.
Apart from the two monsters it also has the a**hole character trope, the one who unintentionally obstructs or jeopardises the proceedings for superficial reasons such as vanity or laziness or just being a bitch for the heck of it.
In Die Hard it was Harry Ellis, in Silence it's Dr. Chilton which makes the open-ended but oh-so-suggestive finale all the more satsifying.
Just the very idea that I would side with a dangerous psychopath is outrageous. This whole film is outrageous but never not for a single minute is it boring.
4.5
Plot hole: Precious just jumped into the hole?
Fabulous
03-02-25, 04:52 PM
The Package (1989)
3
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/vUkvadeSRakkDWIHnpkfDBIHdjp.jpg
Speaking of aging mobster movies, Atlantic City is sure a hell of a lot better than The Godfather Part III. Btw, with regard to this type of mob movie, I thought Carlito’s Way was really good, though not as good as Atlantic City.
Atlantic City is one of only two movies I’ve ever seen that were directed by Louis Malle; the other is My Dinner with Andre. Both are among my favorites. I should really check out more of his work.
Mark
Well, Mark, I literally agree with every word of this.
Edit: Oh wait, I've also seen Au Revoir Les Enfants and Pretty Baby but both when I was young in the 1970s-80s.
My Dinner With Andre is one of My Favorite Movies I've Only Seen Once.
Gideon58
03-02-25, 07:18 PM
Well, Mark, I literally agree with every word of this.
Edit: Oh wait, I've also seen Au Revoir Les Enfants and Pretty Baby but both when I was young in the 1970s-80s.
My Dinner With Andre is one of My Favorite Movies I've Only Seen Once.
LOVED Atlantic City...a link to my review:
https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/1459485-atlantic_city.html
Gideon58
03-02-25, 07:25 PM
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZjU4ODQyNGQtZDdiMS00M2M0LTkxYjEtOTliZGI2YmI0ZDJhXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
1st Rewatch...Bette Davis and director William Wyler followed their triumph with Jezebel by teaming up again for this sizzling melodrama. Davis plays the wife of a Malaysian farm owner who shoots her lover and tells an elaborate story about how she did it in self-defense. Her story starts to fall apart when the copy of a letter she wrote to the deceased surfaces and it's revealed that the deceased's widow has the original and wants $10,000 for it. Textbook old school melodrama that earned seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress for Davis and Best Supporting Actor for James Stephenson as Davis' slick attorney. 4
Gideon58
03-02-25, 07:33 PM
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/38/ComingtoAmerica1988MoviePoster.jpg
3rd Rewatch...This was one of Eddie Murphy's biggest hits and I think it was also one of his most overrated films. This overblown big budget comedy finds Eddie playing the crown prince of a fictional African country who travels to Queens New York to find a bride. All the money that went into this movie doesn't disguise the fact that the story is overly complex and moves like a tortoise, making the movie seem about four hours long. Eddie is actually quite charming in the starring role and a lot of familiar faces pop up along the way including Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, Madge Sinclair, John Amos, Louis Anderson, Samuel Jackson, Frankie Faison, and Vanessa Bell Calloway, but the movie just takes too long to get where it's going. Though I can't lie, those scenes in that barbershop never get old. A couple of years ago, we were treated to a dreadful and unnecessary sequel.
3
Gideon58
03-02-25, 07:50 PM
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fb/Men_in_Black_Poster.jpg/220px-Men_in_Black_Poster.jpg
2nd Rewatch...This state of the art sci-fi actioner was one of the biggest box office smashes of 1997. Will Smith plays an NYPD cop who is drafted by a secret government agency to help combat aliens that are living disguised as humans or are taking possession of human bodies and making them their own. The film features a clever screenplay that moves at a nice clip, with a big assist from director Barry Sonnefeld (The Addams Family). The surprising chemistry between Oscar winners Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as our heroes and I also loved Vincent D'Onofrio as a farmer who loses his body to an alien. I also loved the fact that Sonnefeld didn't feel the need to make the film four hours long. Followed by a sequel that was just as good. 4
Well, Mark, I literally agree with every word of this. Sweet. Agreement is good, though disagreement is fun.
Btw, why is Atlantic City rated R? I don’t think there’s a lot of swearing; don’t even recall hearing the f-word once. Some characters have sex but they don’t really show anything, and what little violence there is looks pretty tame. In contrast, Reds, which came out around the same time, features war-related violence, sex scenes (not graphic, but more revealing than in Atlantic City), and the f-word is uttered four or five times, and yet that movie is rated PG. Our rating system is so dumb.
Btw, good review, Gideon58.
Mark
Sweet. Agreement is good, though disagreement is fun.
Btw, why is Atlantic City rated R? I don’t think there’s a lot of swearing; don’t even recall hearing the f-word once. Some characters have sex but they don’t really show anything, and what little violence there is looks pretty tame. In contrast, Reds, which came out around the same time, features war-related violence, sex scenes (not graphic, but more revealing than in Atlantic City), and the f-word is uttered four or five times, and yet that movie is rated PG. Our rating system is so dumb.
Btw, good review, Gideon58.
Mark
Wasn't there like a scene where Susan Sarandon washes her breasts with fresh-squeezed lemon juice or something? Maybe they took exception to that.
Gideon58
03-02-25, 11:06 PM
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51taPSw90zL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
1st Rewatch...Wanted to honor the late Mr. Hackman in the most fitting way that i could and that would be by re-watching what is my favorite Hackman performance. The iconic actor was totally robbed of an Oscar nomination for his performance as a surveillance expert who has let his work become his life and but begins to rethink his entire existence when his latest assignment might be putting a young couple's lives in danger. This often bone-chilling thriller is anchored by the crisp direction by Francis Ford Coppola, his Oscar-nominated screenplay and Hackman disappearing completely into one of his most haunting and creepy characters. It still baffles me to this day that the Oscar that year went to Art Carney for Harry and Tonto, but Hackman didn't even get nominated? 4.5
Wasn't there like a scene where Susan Sarandon washes her breasts with fresh-squeezed lemon juice or something? Maybe they took exception to that.
There is, but I think I’ve seen other movies from that time period that have that level of nudity but weren’t rated R.
Mark
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c2/Back_to_the_Future_Part_II.jpg
Back to the Future Part II is not one of the best sequels ever made, but it IS one of the most entertaining. This movie is tons of fun from beginning to end. When you’re making a trilogy, the second movie is usually the hardest to do because it has to continue and expand on the story from the first installment while providing a seamless bridge to the third, and BTTF2 does this sort of thing very effectively. I love seeing the year 2015 and the dark alternate 1985, but the best part is seeing the 1955 segments from the first BTTF being viewed from a different perspective. Definitely one of my favorite time-travel movies.
rating_3_5
Mark
Deschain
03-03-25, 02:36 AM
A Real Pain. I never heard of this before the Oscar’s noms were announced and tonight the good folks in the mofo chat said it’s worth a watch, and they were right. A funny and poignant look at grief and depression from multiple angles. Culkin totally deserved the win but it’s wild to me it’s for Best Supporting Actor. Not only is he in every scene, his character is the focus of every scene. He is the main character of the movie, I’m guessing the campaign for his award thought it more likely to win if he ran as Supporting instead of Lead.
PHOENIX74
03-03-25, 04:49 AM
https://i.postimg.cc/TwLJJV2w/j-horror-virus.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27990089
The J-Horror Virus - (2023)
Positively informative documentary about the J-Horror phenomenon which took off in the 1990s when Japanese films such as Ring and Ju-on: The Grudge became internationally popular. The doc interviews many of the pertinent filmmakers and details the films, methods and trends which led up to the kind of ghost stories which influenced a generation of horror directors. Some of the clips from the various films actually got under my skin and I wondered how well I'd sleep (I slept pretty well, no thanks to this documentary though!)
7/10
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/60/The_Phenomenon_2020.jpg
By imdb, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65564130
The Phenomenon - (2020)
Documentary about the UFO/UAP phenomenon that covers the entire period from Post WWII to the present day when US government agencies admitted there was something weird going on that can't be explained. It leans pretty heavily towards "these are aliens" and includes some case histories that are a little too dubious for my taste - but it's always exciting having a moment or two to stop and ponder the million dollar question - what is going on with these things? Personally, I think the galaxy is teeming with probes that gather data while trying not to interfere with the habitats of the planets they visit, but that's a pretty wild guess.
6/10
chawhee
03-03-25, 09:20 AM
Love & Other Drugs (2010)
https://cdn.quotesgram.com/img/87/5/62236651-Love-and-Other-Drugs-Movie-Poster.jpg
3
I gave this a shot simply based on the two leads, and everything goes well for most of the movie. It does drag on a bit too long and suffer from some poor editing where the scenes become almost soap opera-like. I laughed a good amount though.
Hotel Security
03-03-25, 09:37 AM
>The Letter
>1st Rewatch...Bette Davis and director William Wyler followed their triumph with Jezebel by teaming up again for this sizzling melodrama.
Great movie with an awesome intro. Only bummer how the Hollywood Code made them change the ending which really wasn't necessary and creates an awkward finish.
>The Conversation
>It still baffles me to this day that the Oscar that year went to Art Carney for Harry and Tonto, but Hackman didn't even get nominated?
For one, Art Carney is VERY good in Harry and Tonto...I know he beat out some legendary films but, after watching that movie, I can see how people were drawn to his performance. As For Hackman not getting nominated, that as a VERY tight Actors race. Who gets cut? Hoffman as Lenny Bruce? Jack in Chinatown? Pacino in Godfather 2? Finney doing the best Poirot ever? Sometimes it's just a loaded category and the Conversation is a bit of an understated performance by Hackman...plus he'd already got his trophy a few years before.
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https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/mpf1cWvCrbLB5mSLAzC1z6OzP54.jpg
Mississippi Burning (1988) - Like many, I figured I'd see a Hackman movie I hadn't seen yet. Him and Dafoe are FBI agents investigating he disappearance of three civil rights workers in the 60s, based on a real story. A good film and Hackman's by far the best and glows in all his scenes but the movie itself tends to tread water and has a lot of scenes of black folks getting brutalized over and over. Great performances but just an okay film.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNWNjYzQ4ZGItZTg1My00NTM2LTg1NDUtYThjOTQwMTYyNjU1XkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
Dawn of The Planet of The Apes - (Matt Reeves, 2014)
Re-watch, still great. 9/10
Stirchley
03-03-25, 12:20 PM
105668
105669
Two terrific movies. The first one is Iranian & had to be shot in total secrecy, which is incredible to imagine. Risking one’s life to make a movie.
The second movie is Danish. Based on a true story.
Turns out only the female lead In the Seed of the Sacred Fig movie remains in Iran. She is in great danger from the authorities. Brave woman.
Ripley's Game - 4
Have you ever had a friend who won't let anything go? Tom Ripley is such a guy, and to a...let's just say extreme degree. As classy, refined and witty as the classic con man himself, this entry follows an established Ripley showing what he does to remain that way. His neighbor, family man Jonathan (Scott), says something unkind about him he wishes he could take back because Ripley changes him from a humble picture framer to a contract killer shortly afterwards. The scheme gets complicated when a former business partner of Ripley, Reeves (Winstone), requires Jonathan's services as well.
Malkovich is such a natural fit for Ripley that it's uncanny - if his life resembles the one in his old iPhone commercials, he might as well be a real life one - but thankfully, he does not have to carry the whole movie on his shoulders. Winstone stands up to him by making Reeves one heck of a walking, talking loose end, not to mention a comically boorish and unsophisticated one. As for Scott, I daresay he rivals Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston for how palpable he makes Jonathan's dilemma, who I mention because he also has a degenerative condition and a family to insure. Both of them also make ideal sounding boards for Ripley's philosophy, which rivals and comes close to sounding as poetic as Harry Lime's Ferris wheel musings in The Third Man. Regardless, if it's thrills you crave more than moral dilemmas, the movie has that covered, but be prepared to laugh while you're clenching your armrests. A scene on a train in particular will make you wonder how many bodies, err...people can fit inside a bathroom. Your craving for Old World luxuries will also be satisfied, thanks to cinematography that makes those moments resemble a moving issue of Architectural Digest.
There are a few eyebrow-raising moments in this, and I don't mean the kind that accompany a pinky extension. Tongue-in-cheek or not, it is too convenient that each of Jonathan's targets put themselves in situations that make them easy targets. Also, considering it mostly takes place in Italy, there are barely any Italians. Other than that, it's a satisfyingly classy thriller that does the character justice and that will make you wonder if every fortune is a crime, not just Ripley's. However, if you know nothing about Tom Ripley, I recommend watching Purple Noon or The Talented Mr. Ripley first because the movie assumes you are familiar with him going in.
WHITBISSELL!
03-03-25, 03:20 PM
The Phenomenon - (2020)
Personally, I think the galaxy is teeming with probes that gather data while trying not to interfere with the habitats of the planets they visit, but that's a pretty wild guess. 6/10
https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExNTM1eGp0eTd3OHo1ZjloOGZkYWxwOGQ3eWY3cmQya3A5djB3Nnl1biZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfY nlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/wFLTk3dDT6cIrmSVu5/giphy.gif
Takoma11
03-03-25, 06:45 PM
Ripley's Game - 4
Have you ever had a friend who won't let anything go? Tom Ripley is such a guy, and to a...let's just say extreme degree. As classy, refined and witty as the classic con man himself, this entry follows an established Ripley showing what he does to remain that way. His neighbor, family man Jonathan (Scott), says something unkind about him he wishes he could take back because Ripley changes him from a humble picture framer to a contract killer shortly afterwards. The scheme gets complicated when a former business partner of Ripley, Reeves (Winstone), requires Jonathan's services as well.
Have you seen The American Friend?
Have you seen The American Friend?Well...yes and no. I fell asleep during a good chunk of it.
Which adaptation do you prefer? I should give it another chance.
The Monkey (2025) The Monkey is silly and over the top. The characters and story aren't believable or realistic. That's part of why the film is fun and memorable and I enjoyed it. 3.5
Takoma11
03-03-25, 08:06 PM
Well...yes and no. I fell asleep during a good chunk of it.
Which adaptation do you prefer? I should give it another chance.
I think I'd give the edge to American Friend, if only for the visual sensibility of it.
Here are my reviews of American Friend (https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/2185694-the_american_friend.html) and Ripley's Game. (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2240358#post2240358)
But as I say in my review, having seen The American Friend first might have made a difference.
LeBoyWondeur
03-03-25, 08:12 PM
The Cell (2000)
105756
Spectacularly kitsch and eerie visuals dragged down by a half-baked serial killer storyline and astoundingly insipid dialogue - in fact so insipid that I often forgot to pay attention to what they were saying.
The actors appear to be somewhat...clueless.
Directed by Tarsem Singh who did a much better job with The Fall (2006).
1.5
Rocco e i suoi fratelli (1960) - Luchino Visconti: 8/10
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f0/0b/93/f00b93913feaebd754bc64264863f06a.gif
PHOENIX74
03-04-25, 12:25 AM
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cc/Mononcle_poster.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14855843
Mon Oncle - (1958)
This took a little while to get going, and at first didn't seem to have the rapid-fire selection of gags that I'm used to with Jacques Tati movies. Of course, I might have missed one or two - there's often a slyness to his humour which makes some funny moments quite easy to miss. Eventually though, I was laughing - especially when Monsieur Hulot (Tati) finds himself inside the residence of his sister and brother-in-law (Adrienne Servantie & Jean-Pierre Zola) and face to face with many modern gadgets that defy explanation. Wonderful set design with bright colours contrast the grey of a modern metropolis with it's industry and busy-bee workers. The plot, as much as there is one, revolves around Hulot visiting and bringing a little joy to his nephew - much to the consternation of the boy's parents, who are finicky and fussy to an absurd extreme. A running gag featuring a fish ornament through which a fountain flows (only when high class guests visit) underpins the whole theme of snobbishness and upper-middle-class elitism. This is picture-perfect comedy that will obviously reward rewatches to an extreme degree and offers us a very unique and hard-to-find comedic sensibility from an inspired artist.
9/10
iluv2viddyfilms
03-04-25, 01:20 AM
Parasite (2019, Bong Joon-Ho)
A hilarious and gruesome examination of poverty and it's a film that follows up one similar themes as to his surprise hit Snowpiercer, a film which made my top 25 of the 2010s. I don't think Parasite is quite as original, off the wall, or surprising as Snowpiercer, but it's a near great film and certainly worthy of winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The ironic thing is, despite the director's political leanings and open criticisms of capitalism as well as his free-wheeling style in discussion his film's interpretations, I actually see Parasite as a very pro-capitalist film. Wealth inequality is obviously a huge problem around the world and in the United States, but something one doesn't see is the poor creating jobs and opportunities for the other poor. I believe that Bong Joon-Ho inadvertently created one of the most pro-capitalist films I've seen in a long time. Afterall, it is the Parks who hire the Kims with their extremely high income and through his wealth he is able to create jobs and provide income for four members of the extremely impoverished Kim family. And regardless of the fact that the Kim family is conning their way into the Parks' home and life, the fact is the son does know how to teach English, the daughter, in a way, does figure out something about teaching art, the father does truly learn to drive and be a chauffer, and the mother does learn to become a housekeeper. So by wealth, we have a transference of an increased skill set and increased income which could, if all fell into place, have led to upward social mobility.
https://cinemasips.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/parasite.jpg?w=667&h=287
The fact that there are so many impoverished neighborhoods, just as where the Kim family lives and "leaches" of their neighbors and surroundings speaks less to the evils of capitalism, and more to the evils of what happens in neighborhoods, communities, and cities where capitalism doesn't exist and there is little opportunity to generate income or revenue to learn skills and generate capital.
I really did love this film. I do admire how Bong Joon-Ho, despite his themes of the film, actually shows the Park family as very good people and it's a film that does give a hard look at poverty and some of the situations and predicaments that poverty puts people into. In a way some of the themes and ideas are reminiscent of my favorite musical of all-time My Fair Lady, which in turn is also a film/musical/play written by a very anti-capitalist writer that accidentally has a very pro-capitalist message.
Also I must say, Parasite is a beautiful film and just like Snowpiercer there's a great sense of continuity, camera placement, mise en scene, framing, and editing. At no point did I ever lose track of where I was, what was going on, and people and objects spatial relationship to one another, and the pacing is such that it allows the film to breath and stretch a little bit. This is a film that a frantic filmmaker who is all over the place and undisciplined such as Chris Nolan could take some notes from.
A week point is on characterization. It's not that a film like this needs to be a great character study, but each character despite being funny and genuinely interesting and unique even, really lacked any development beyond being a archetype.
Still a great film, and I'm tempted to give it my highest rating, but some of the carnage at the end, and the film going into full 80's slasher horror, and Hell... even People Under the Stairs mode, while entertaining, shocking, and great fun... it borders on the line of being too much of a tonal shift.
GRADE: A
chawhee
03-04-25, 09:28 AM
Moonlight (2016)
https://coronadotimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/moonlight-movie.jpg
3
I'm giving this a 3 but it feels more like an incomplete...I didn't want the movie to end when it did, as I was enjoying it. Watching the growth of Chiron was captivating, but its hard to recommend this when the story feels completely unfinished.
On a similar note, I now know I can fully stand on the side of La La Land being most deserving of Best Picture that year. Maybe Moonlight was just partially a result of the times/climate of that moment?...
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War For The Planet of The Apes - (Matt Reeves, 2017)
Re-watch. I'm giving this one a 10/10. Fantastic.
Fabulous
03-04-25, 05:16 PM
Dark Blue (2002)
3
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/oPQHF2o1NHqY5ONd05tT6dC0wZu.jpg
Have you seen The American Friend?
As I really liked Ripley's Game I'm going to have to start looking for The American Friend.....looks good but obv know the story.
Gideon58
03-04-25, 07:14 PM
Moonlight (2016)
https://coronadotimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/moonlight-movie.jpg
3
I'm giving this a 3 but it feels more like an incomplete...I didn't want the movie to end when it did, as I was enjoying it. Watching the growth of Chiron was captivating, but its hard to recommend this when the story feels completely unfinished.
On a similar note, I now know I can fully stand on the side of La La Land being most deserving of Best Picture that year. Maybe Moonlight was just partially a result of the times/climate of that moment?...
I agree that La La Land should have won Best Picture, but I'm more interested in what you said about Moonlight feeling unfinished. I LOVED the final meeting of adult Chirone and Kevin and thought it was a perfect ending to the movie. What did you want to happen?
Gideon58
03-04-25, 07:17 PM
Love & Other Drugs (2010)
https://cdn.quotesgram.com/img/87/5/62236651-Love-and-Other-Drugs-Movie-Poster.jpg
3
I gave this a shot simply based on the two leads, and everything goes well for most of the movie. It does drag on a bit too long and suffer from some poor editing where the scenes become almost soap opera-like. I laughed a good amount though.
Really liked this movie...Gyllenhaal was sexy as hell in this movie.
Gideon58
03-04-25, 08:05 PM
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/ff/Cactus_Flower_1969.jpg
Umpteenth Rewatch...This 1969 comedy is starting to creak around the edges but still provides pretty solid entertainment. Based on a Broadway play by Abe Burrows, this is the story of a dentist named Dr Julian Winston (Walter Matthau) who is dating a woman half his age named Toni Simmons (Goldie Hawn), who he has kept her at arm's length by telling her he's married with three children. Julian proposes to Toni who refuses to accept until he agrees to arrange a meeting with his wife, so he asks his nurse, Stephanie Dickinson (Ingrid Bergman) to pose as his wife, not realizing that Miss Dickinson has been crushing on her boss for years. As the years pass, the whole premise of this movie doesn't make sense to me. I've never seen a movie where a woman is having an affair with a married man where the woman not only wants to meet the wife, but is genuinely worried about her. Matthau brings the funny like he always does and Hawn is a charmer in her first leading role that actually won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. At the time, Goldie was known as the giggling, bikini-clad girl on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in and I think the Academy was impressed that she gave a credible performance at all. If the truth be told, Best Supporting Actress that year should have gone to Suhsannah York for They Shoot Horses Don't They?. But it doesn't matter because Ingrid Bergman owns this movie as Nurse Stephanie, a masterful comic turn that anchors the proceedings. Watch her in the scene in the record store where she and Hawn meet for the first time...magnificent. 3.5
PHOENIX74
03-05-25, 05:09 AM
There's a weird connection shared between the two movies I watched yesterday - I'll say what it is in "spoiler" tags after my thoughts...
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/58/The_Emperor%27s_Club_Poster.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from Universal Pictures., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6233383
The Emperor's Club - (2002)
I did not have high hopes for this movie - I'd kind of had it pegged as perhaps a Dead Poets Society rehash, and the way it started had me feeling I was dead right. But it's really not, as much as classics teacher William Hundert (Kevin Kline) has that sheen of the impossibly perfect teacher - a friend and inspiration to his students, full of passion and dedication. Two students in the year the first half of this film covers happen to be played by a very young Jesse Eisenberg and Paul Dano, and it's fun to see those two at such an early stage in their career. Then comes Sedgewick Bell (Emile Hirsch) - a young character squarely aiming for biggest brat in movie history. Sedgewick is a senator's son, prone to giving smart alec answers whenever asked a question and performing stupid pranks - and Hundert sets himself to inspire the boy and improve his character.
He realizes that he's completely failed when Sedgewick is caught cheating, just as Hundert thought he'd gotten through to him. The inane, scuzzy kid scrapes through with Cs and Ds and ends up getting into Yale just by dint of who his father is.
After the events that follow, Hundert gets the chance to follow up on his young student 25 years later when the now aspiring senator invites him to restage a "Mr. Julius Caesar" quiz.
Sedgewick cheats once again, and delivers a disheartening "the only thing that matters is winning - integrity is for losers" speech to Mr. Hundert who has to admit that this was one boy during his time as a teacher that he'd completely failed. Sedgewick goes on to be elected senator, but Hundert is deeply touched by how indebted all of his other previous students feel to him and his zest for what he taught them.
It was the perfect movie to watch in today's climate, where might is considered right and there's a prevailing attitude that honor and decency don't amount to a whole lot. The movie serves as a kind of expose regarding the passage these horrible people forge for themselves. I felt a very strong kinship with Hundert by the time it finished.
7/10
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/02/Chino_FilmPoster.jpeg
By The cover art can be obtained from Movieposterdb.com., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33785250
Chino - (1973)
Chino (or, The Valdez Horses) is an Italian Western featuring Charles Bronson as Chino Valdez, a somewhat isolated horse breeder who takes on a young boy as a worker - Jamie Wagner (Vincent Van Patten) who has run away from home. Valdez eventually falls in love with Catherine (Jill Ireland), the sister of his powerful and wealthy neighbour, Maral (Marcel Bozzuffi). Chino is half Indian, and Maral warns him to stay away from his sister - so Chino goes and proposes to Catherine, she accepts, and of course there will be consequences. I didn't manage to get my hands on a good transfer of Chino - but regardless, this is Western soap opera drudgery, at least until the the ending of the movie left me with my mouth agape.
5/10
The connection these two movies have? In both...
...the bad guys win.
chawhee
03-05-25, 08:45 AM
I agree that La La Land should have won Best Picture, but I'm more interested in what you said about Moonlight feeling unfinished. I LOVED the final meeting of adult Chirone and Kevin and thought it was a perfect ending to the movie. What did you want to happen?
There is little insight into what happened to Juan, what is going on with Teresa, how is Chiron's relationship with Kevin going to proceed from here given Kevin's current life circumstances? None of these questions have to be answered, but it certainly made it feel incomplete to me.
The whole movie tries to tackle a kid growing up from elementary school to young adult, with providing little detail along the way. Lots to infer....they could have done a lot with making this a miniseries (as much as I hate to say that).
Hotel Security
03-05-25, 09:37 AM
>I don't think Parasite is quite as original, off the wall, or surprising as Snowpiercer,
I have great respect for Parasite but I felt the transition from being mostly silly to quite serious was a bit abrupt. Some movies can pull this off but I felt it was too much of a shift. Felt a few other movies should have won Best Picture but I'm glad Bong got recognized.
Also, I feel that every movie that shows rich and poor people is dubbed as some commentary on Capitalism and I'm not sure that's the case. You can portray the classes of people without making a major commentary on them...sometimes it's just showing how things are. And the rich folks in Parasite feel like more of a cartoon than anything so I can't really see it as a serious commentary on their class.
CharlesAoup
03-05-25, 12:39 PM
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (D)
Fantastic intro, great world they inhabit, but the main guy sucks all the ass of all time, and the writing around him is so dissonant it'll give you a headache. He is the least charismatic, least cool, least interesting lead I've seen in a very, very long time. It sounds like he's trying to go for a cool-guy voice the whole time, even though he's clearly a teenager, and everyone treats him like he's not just kind of a douche. Cara was doing so much more, but she, like everyone in this mess, was severely limited by the terrible dialogue and largely uninteresting plot. The alien folks are interesting, but the main characters just sort of existed around them, with some contrivances to make their stories intersect. What a waste.
https://i.imgur.com/u5aBB7U.jpeg
Kingdom of The Planet of The Apes - (2024)
Cool things here and there, but overall, a disappointing sequel. 6/10
LeBoyWondeur
03-05-25, 01:11 PM
The Wiz (1978)
105798
My first rewatch since....a very long time ago.
I'm not familiar with the Broadway musical but I will say that this was undoubtedly the most innovative way to revisit the classic story (which actually wasn't such a famous story in my neck of the woods).
There's a lot to love and a lot to admire in this film but I often found it a bit ponderous.
It's really not necessary to say the same thing in 10 different ways and then do it all over again with a song.
The ending (before Dorothy returns home) goes on and on until it peters out but thankfully it's saved by Diana's last song which is an absolute powerhouse performance.
Some of the lesser interesting songs could have been cut out because they don't say more than what's already in the story itself, and the Lion (my least favourite character) gets way too much screen time.
It's quite spooky and dark in some parts (but let's not forget the amazing tornado scene from the original Oz) and the "Brand New Day" part might be the best thing ever done in the history of movie musicals. It's simply ecstatic.
Overall, it's a mixed bag and therefore I think 3.5 is a fair rating.
Fabulous
03-05-25, 06:21 PM
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
2.5
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/367DPkADpJIWKfeAc7oyg6xasW8.jpg
Captain Quint
03-05-25, 07:00 PM
105811
Great casting - too bad that Oscar award wasn't in place for this season, because this would have been a lock for at least a nomination. The film is more about capturing a vibe, than an accurate, Wikipedia style relaying of events.
Nostalgia is probably in play with my grade, but I'm giving it...
4
Fabulous
03-05-25, 08:51 PM
Married to the Mob (1988)
2.5
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/mFjIcAhBIOwPMnHRQ84wR98HWDx.jpg
MovieGal
03-05-25, 10:44 PM
105824
The Count of Monte Cristo
(2024)
3.5/5
Im only giving 3 1/2 stars because I didnt have subtitles and know only a few words of the French language.
I never read the book and only familiar with the 2002 English language version, which is one of my favorite of all time.
Its a beautiful revenge story.
This version was amazing and the set design and costuming, beyond belief. This one is very detailed in the storyline as its 3 hours long. I thought the actors were great.
I did order the dvd with English subs. So after I watch it again, my rating will surely change.
AgrippinaX
PHOENIX74
03-05-25, 10:45 PM
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5e/Kill_Your_Friends_poster.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from StudioCanal., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50875329
Kill Your Friends - (2015)
A bit of a mix of American Psycho and Filth - this British film features Nicholas Hoult as record label executive Steven Stelfox - desperate to head the A&R department but in need of new talent lest he fall by the wayside and see his dreams stolen by a coworker or outsider. Stelfox narrates to us and opens a window on to an industry where nobody knows what they're doing, and every gamble made on a singer or band can spell disaster. There's copious drug taking and sex - but when events turn sour for Stelfox he takes to murder and criminal subterfuge to get his way. The characters in this film are mostly pretty horrible - it has it's funny moments, but Stelfox isn't as interesting as a Patrick Bateman or Bruce Robertson, instead being something of a 27-year-old twat. Can I say twat here? I'll soon find out I guess. I always like getting an inside look into the music industry, but such a savagely cynical expose is as depressing as it is enlightening. Tremendous soundtrack though, bringing us the best of the Cool Britannia period of Britpop. This isn't to be taken seriously, but at the same time wants to comment on corporate culture and the industrialization of art - falling a little short, I think because it's main character is an everyday douchebag and not all that interesting to follow.
5/10
BeeHooKoo
03-06-25, 08:16 AM
A Cure for Wellness (2016)
https://www.moriareviews.com/rongulator/wp-content/uploads/A-Cure-for-Wellness-2016-poster.jpg
I completely missed this movie when it came out. The movie hasn't gotten very good reviews so my expectations for the movie weren't high.I don't think the movie was nearly as bad as it's been criticized for. Sure, the horror/mystery theme is old, but I think it works well in the movie and carries through to the end.
The movie is a bit long and I thought the ending was weak. But the beginning of the movie, more than halfway through, was good. In addition, the movie had a few distorted/interesting scenes. So it's not a specially great movie, but at the same time there are many significantly worse movies than this in the world.
2.5
https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.3473464742.5826/flat,750x,075,f-pad,750x1000,f8f8f8.u1.jpg
Revenge - (2017)
7/10
105839
This was mostly a significantly better movie than I thought it would be because of the story's winding nature and where it winds but really because Fiennes is such an all-timer that he can put this thing on his shoulders. I think 80% of really good actors out there still can't hold this up. But he can. More on that in a sec.
The other thing is that Anya Taylor-Joy gives the movie an amazing counterweight. She really is something special and gives me some hope for the future of movies.
The problem is that the script isn't really that good. There's an idea that seemed, in the trailer, like it was gonna be very clunky and obvious and it was at first exactly what it looked like. Then it took more interesting turns and demanded the great performances from the two leads. But as for the rest. All the other characters were the paper-thin cliches they appeared to be and none of the actors did anything about it. Everyone was so painfully obvious. And, unfortunately, the motivations for why the plot was happening seemed to shift a little bit from some kind of justice to more personal feelings about the death of one's art. It was a bit scattershot.
I rated this higher last night but the more I think about it, the more I think it's a pretty good elevator pitch that would have come off half-baked and half-assed if it weren't for two great actors dragging the whole thing up to its ceiling.
LeBoyWondeur
03-06-25, 12:11 PM
A Cure for Wellness (2016)
It's a problematic film for various reasons but I like it for its boldness and throwback to the Hammer classics, and it looks gorgeous.
Takoma11
03-06-25, 05:05 PM
105839
And, unfortunately, the motivations for why the plot was happening seemed to shift a little bit from some kind of justice to more personal feelings about the death of one's art. It was a bit scattershot..
Just to throw this out here:
I think that it's about the death of his art from the beginning. The fact that most of the people are bad people is sort of incidental. I think it's some fun misdirection, actually. Like the egocentric actor who you're sure is a scammer or something, and it turns out that the Chef just hated a movie he was in.
The Chef is all ego. The main character is saved because she gives him something he wants, not necessarily because she doesn't belong or is a good person.
Fabulous
03-06-25, 07:17 PM
Go Tell the Spartans (1978)
3
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/4yJBYZMQuUPDrvKsjNBGEza4DaB.jpg
Just to throw this out here:
I think that it's about the death of his art from the beginning. The fact that most of the people are bad people is sort of incidental. I think it's some fun misdirection, actually. Like the egocentric actor who you're sure is a scammer or something, and it turns out that the Chef just hated a movie he was in.
The Chef is all ego. The main character is saved because she gives him something he wants, not necessarily because she doesn't belong or is a good person.
Yeah, I hear ya, I think it was but I think they messed up on that. I just watched it last night and while I may be wrong, I would swear that he says or implies early on that someone was being judged for their actions not related to food. I could be wrong. (Edit - Oh yeah, it's when he starts in on the critic about how many people she ruined and that that's why she's a victim and only later does he kinda sweep that under the rug in favor of his artistic motivations). But that was the twist I was giving the movie credit for that instead of being about justice these people all just crossed a psychopath in the wrong way when he'd reached his breaking point.
Anyway, that was my smallest quibble with the film by far so it doesn't change a whole lot about my feelings. I really thought every character was just a caricature of what they were supposed to be. I thought Nicolas Hoult's character took the film into the realm of Absurdism (which would have been fine if anyone else did, instead he just seems like a sore thumb on the film) and then, by contrast, the generic Tech Bros/Hedge Fund Bros/Whatever kinda Bros they were were excruciating, like out of the blandest Hollywood blah movie. Not because they were supposed to be, that's obvious, but because they were just the most one-dimensional possible versions of that type. And whatever kind of fool Leguizamo was supposed to be, it was the most obvious cinematic-footnote kind of Celebrity Fool. I also thought that some of his own motivations weren't consistent. Aside from the aforementioned critic and her clown (who was also just so simplistically realized) what did the Hedge Fund Bros actually do to get invited to this guy's Swan Song instead of someone with a more personal affront to him? They didn't know him at all and he didn't know them and they weren't even really a part of that world they were just shabby humans. I can only assume that the older couple's crime was taking his food for granted. They really tried to hammer that point home but it came across to me like they lingered on it because it was too tenuous and they felt they had to really spell it out.
I mean, I guess the film fall apart for me because of how important it was that each person be there, made clear by ATJ's presence being such a big issue for him, when many of those people could have been replaced by other people and it might have actually made MORE sense. I think especially, here, of Leguizamo's personal-assistant. What did she have to do with anything? So it ends up being like, "I have meticulously crafted this night... very sloppily and poorly. Because the writers wanted to put these "types" here whether they fit the actual motivation of the narrative or not.
Jeez. After wording that out, really thinking it through, I think I'm gonna go take another half-star off my Letterboxd rating (which already lost a half star this morning).
Takoma11
03-06-25, 08:57 PM
Jeez. After wording that out, really thinking it through, I think I'm gonna go take another half-star off my Letterboxd rating (which already lost a half star this morning).
So I don't actually disagree with you at all about the guests being one-dimensional. I guess it's the fact that the movie is so silly and (especially by the end) outlandish that I don't mind it so much.
I was a fan of the bait-and-switch nature of thinking that there's something nefarious and righteous at the heart of it, but really it's just a guy having an overblown mid-life crisis and---like an extreme version of the dad who loses his job or whatever--taking his "family" and others out with him.
So the tech bros (financial crimes) and the older couple (the dad molested the daughter, and the mom knows), the critic who ruined careers, etc. It all leads you to think that this is about punishment, but really it's just sort of a petty temper tantrum by a guy who has managed to build a cult around himself of people who are willing to torment, kill, and maim others and themselves to be part of the group.
To go even further, maybe the guests are just like ingredients that have been harvested for this final "meal".
I don't know. Both times I watched it, I was just along for the ride, giggling as they all don their marshmallow shrouds and chocolate hats.
So I don't actually disagree with you at all about the guests being one-dimensional. I guess it's the fact that the movie is so silly and (especially by the end) outlandish that I don't mind it so much.
I was a fan of the bait-and-switch nature of thinking that there's something nefarious and righteous at the heart of it, but really it's just a guy having an overblown mid-life crisis and---like an extreme version of the dad who loses his job or whatever--taking his "family" and others out with him.
So the tech bros (financial crimes) and the older couple (the dad molested the daughter, and the mom knows), the critic who ruined careers, etc. It all leads you to think that this is about punishment, but really it's just sort of a petty temper tantrum by a guy who has managed to build a cult around himself of people who are willing to torment, kill, and maim others and themselves to be part of the group.
To go even further, maybe the guests are just like ingredients that have been harvested for this final "meal".
I don't know. Both times I watched it, I was just along for the ride, giggling as they all don their marshmallow shrouds and chocolate hats.
Yeah that is the aspect of the film that I did like. Other than the performances of ATJ and Fiennes which I think this film crumbles without.
One thing my friend here and I, just discussing it, both felt was that it seems like it was meant to be kind of absurdist but someone pulled in the reins where now it lands in an uncanny valley where all the characters seem BAD instead of Absurd.
I mean, the very first time the Food Critic spoke and her Yes Man yessed I was just cringing. And maybe there's a version of this movie where it's less cringey the whole movie but I didn't get to see that version.
Apropos of nothing, I see that the Anora Backlash has already begun online.
Start your engines.
SpelingError
03-07-25, 12:03 AM
Apropos of nothing, I see that the Anora Backlash has already begun online.
Start your engines.
I'm unfamiliar with it, but are the criticisms of the "This movie is woke for giving a positive portrayal of a sex worker" variety or are they raising legitimate complaints towards the film?
Takoma11
03-07-25, 12:19 AM
I'm unfamiliar with it, but are the criticisms of the "This movie is woke for giving a positive portrayal of a sex worker" variety or are they raising legitimate complaints towards the film?
I have one friend who thought that the editing for Anora was not as strong as some of the other nominees. She also said she felt like it was one of those years where people didn't actually watch many of the nominees, and that Anora was sort of the golden child people voted for just because it was the one they'd seen.
I think any time something wins so big, you get a some genuine criticism from people who didn't like it, and then some off the wall stuff from people who didn't even know it existed, but are now mad about it. I haven't seen it yet, so I've avoided most conversations about it.
I'm unfamiliar with it, but are the criticisms of the "This movie is woke for giving a positive portrayal of a sex worker" variety or are they raising legitimate complaints towards the film?
Just the usual backlash against anything that wins now. Everyone has to suddenly rail against a thing once it rises to prominence and throw hate and shade. Forbes had a good article basically saying that whatever won was going to face an online media/social media backlash and that's just how our culture works now. There is some specific thing about how it's America's favorite and least-favorite word, "problematic", in this case some (not all) sex-workers are saying it sets back normalization of sex-workers or something like that. But the main thing is just like "Yay, independent film, getting nominated! Boo, independent film, how dare you win!" Not to mention just people who wanted Wicked to win and people who thought The Brutalist should have won and on and on.
I mean, Art is about winning, right?
I have one friend who thought that the editing for Anora was not as strong as some of the other nominees. She also said she felt like it was one of those years where people didn't actually watch many of the nominees, and that Anora was sort of the golden child people voted for just because it was the one they'd seen.
Anora was seen by a lot fewer people than Wicked, that's for sure. Anora was SIXTH in Box Office so I'm not sure that argument holds water.
Deschain
03-07-25, 02:14 AM
I watched Anora a few weeks ago and liked it a lot. All of Sean Baker’s movies are real strong and he deserves the recognition. :)
PHOENIX74
03-07-25, 03:32 AM
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ee/Un_peu%2C_beaucoup%2C_aveugl%C3%A9ment_poster.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47027976
Blind Date (Un peu, beaucoup, aveuglément) - (2015)
Are French romantic comedies any better than American ones? About the same I guess, going by Blind Date, which features two socially challenged neighbours who find they share an apartment where they can hear everything the other person is doing. At first they try to drive each other out via obnoxious noise-making, then they come to an arrangement which segues into them becoming friends. Do they dare go that extra step and meet each other? Mélanie Bernier and Clovis Cornillac do their best to liven up a somewhat mediocre screenplay in a film that's over before it all starts to hurt too much.
5/10
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c6/Eyes_of_Fire_%281983%29_film_poster.jpg
By Elysian Pictures - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085515/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57690321
Eyes of Fire - (1983)
This is a little folk horror film that's kind of approaching cult status - one that manages to really whip itself into a frenzy, buttressed by dream-like ghostly imagery that flashes before our eyes and fades like phosphenes do. It's sometimes explosive, and always just a little weird - in just the right way. Full review here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2540968#post2540968), in my watchlist thread.
7/10
Hotel Security
03-07-25, 10:00 AM
This backlash is basically identical to the one last year when all the Barbie fans who didn't see any of the other movies were baffled that Barbie didn't win every award and attacked the other movies that did. You had the same lazy "Oppenheimer is male-centric" nonsense that we get every year. I don't think it's worth it to even acknowledge the opinions...in most cases, the people criticizing haven't even seen the movie. They're more arguing against the idea of the film.
The question is, are all the Anora haters suggesting alternate winners? I assume not, as every film in this race had a few flaws to them. There's no masterpiece in this group but I do feel that Anora and Conclave overall had the best approval rating out of all of them...I don't know anyone who thought they were bad movies, which cannot be said about some of other noms. So Anora winning out of a group of 8.0/8.5 movies makes sense to me.
>All of Sean Baker’s movies are real strong and he deserves the recognition.
I definitely need to check out some of his other films.
Stirchley
03-07-25, 12:09 PM
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5e/Kill_Your_Friends_poster.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from StudioCanal., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50875329
Kill Your Friends - (2015)
A bit of a mix of American Psycho and Filth - this British film features Nicholas Hoult as record label executive Steven Stelfox - desperate to head the A&R department but in need of new talent lest he fall by the wayside and see his dreams stolen by a coworker or outsider. Stelfox narrates to us and opens a window on to an industry where nobody knows what they're doing, and every gamble made on a singer or band can spell disaster. There's copious drug taking and sex - but when events turn sour for Stelfox he takes to murder and criminal subterfuge to get his way. The characters in this film are mostly pretty horrible - it has it's funny moments, but Stelfox isn't as interesting as a Patrick Bateman or Bruce Robertson, instead being something of a 27-year-old twat. Can I say twat here? I'll soon find out I guess. I always like getting an inside look into the music industry, but such a savagely cynical expose is as depressing as it is enlightening. Tremendous soundtrack though, bringing us the best of the Cool Britannia period of Britpop. This isn't to be taken seriously, but at the same time wants to comment on corporate culture and the industrialization of art - falling a little short, I think because it's main character is an everyday douchebag and not all that interesting to follow.
5/10
Can you say twat here? Yes, you can & I do.
Stirchley
03-07-25, 12:12 PM
105880
Gosh, what a strange movie this is based on a true story in Sweden. Really enjoyed it.
Streamed it on Criterion, which I hardly ever use & I see out of 112 movies in my Letterboxd watchlist only 2 are on Criterion so that explains that.
SpelingError
03-07-25, 01:23 PM
Just the usual backlash against anything that wins now. Everyone has to suddenly rail against a thing once it rises to prominence and throw hate and shade. Forbes had a good article basically saying that whatever won was going to face an online media/social media backlash and that's just how our culture works now. There is some specific thing about how it's America's favorite and least-favorite word, "problematic", in this case some (not all) sex-workers are saying it sets back normalization of sex-workers or something like that. But the main thing is just like "Yay, independent film, getting nominated! Boo, independent film, how dare you win!" Not to mention just people who wanted Wicked to win and people who thought The Brutalist should have won and on and on.
I mean, Art is about winning, right?
Yeah, sort of like GOAT statuses, winning big at the Oscars can sometimes do more harm than good.
SpelingError
03-07-25, 01:33 PM
She also said she felt like it was one of those years where people didn't actually watch many of the nominees, and that Anora was sort of the golden child people voted for just because it was the one they'd seen.
I'm not referring to your friend to be clear, but most of the time, I think the "People only loved this movie because of the following petty reason" argument is people making excuses as to why a film they disliked or were unmoved by was beloved by so many people, as opposed to them acknowledging that the film grew popular or won the awards fair and square. Or not accepting that people actually do think it's genuinely a well-made film and aren't just giving it a free pass. I find it a little annoying and easy to dismiss (again, not saying this applies to your friend). I don't care for First Reformed, but I have no reason to distrust the judgments of those who loved it. Are there people who did give it a free pass or gave it high marks simply because they didn't see much from that year? Sure, but I don't think this represents the majority.
Anyways, it is true that the voters who determine the Oscars aren't required to watch every nominee, but given it was ranked at #2 on Sight & Sounds' best of 2024 list and received stellar critical reviews long before its Oscar nominations were announced, I have no reason to doubt it earned its popularity.
ANORA
(2024, Baker)
https://i.imgur.com/pax5N67.jpeg
"I am intoxicated."
That is how one character describes his situation at a certain point of this film. But it can also apply to most of the characters in it, as most of them are intoxicated with something; whether it is drugs, money, sex, power, freedom, love, or the idea of love. Anora follows the titular character (Mikey Madison), a New York stripper that meets and falls in love with Vanya (Mark Eydeshteyn), the young son of a Russian oligarch. However, this causes some tension with his parents, who are determined not to allow it.
But like most intoxications, once the "high" wears out, we have to deal with what comes after. By the halfway mark, Anora throws a wrench into the works as our lovers are somehow split, and they have to deal with the possibility that this is no fairy tale after all. The shift in the film's vibe is quite something as it becomes an incredibly tense race around the clock as Vanya's parents take extreme measures to end this relationship. I really found myself at the edge of my seat during most of this half, as we're trying to figure out what is going on and what is going to happen.
Grade: 4
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2541097#post2541097)
Fabulous
03-07-25, 01:53 PM
City Island (2009)
3.5
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/vy0vzHqPF4PsEip4IF4zwhKNy4P.jpg
SpelingError
03-07-25, 01:55 PM
ANORA
(2024, Baker)
https://i.imgur.com/pax5N67.jpeg
That is how one character describes his situation at a certain point of this film. But it can also apply to most of the characters in it, as most of them are intoxicated with something; whether it is drugs, money, sex, power, freedom, love, or the idea of love. Anora follows the titular character (Mikey Madison), a New York stripper that meets and falls in love with Vanya (Mark Eydeshteyn), the young son of a Russian oligarch. However, this causes some tension with his parents, who are determined not to allow it.
But like most intoxications, once the "high" wears out, we have to deal with what comes after. By the halfway mark, Anora throws a wrench into the works as our lovers are somehow split, and they have to deal with the possibility that this is no fairy tale after all. The shift in the film's vibe is quite something as it becomes an incredibly tense race around the clock as Vanya's parents take extreme measures to end this relationship. I really found myself at the edge of my seat during most of this half, as we're trying to figure out what is going on and what is going to happen.
Grade: 4
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2541097#post2541097)
I like the timing of posting this directly after us discussing the film.
Gideon58
03-07-25, 02:24 PM
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BM2NmZTFhZGMtM2I2OS00NTgwLWJhOWEtYzUzYjQyNGQ4ZjFkXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
1st Rewatch...Bette Davis is just glorious in this entertaining melodrama in which she plays the dual role of twin sisters Kate and Pat Bosworth. Kate is instantly attracted to a handsome lighthouse inspector named Bill (Glenn Ford) who makes lunch plans with Kate but meets Pat instead of Kate not realizing what he did. It's not long before Pat makes Bill forget all about Kate and marries her. A few months after her marriage starts to fall apart, Pat shows up on her sister's doorstep and a few days later, drowns in a boating accident and Pat's wedding ring slips off her finger and Kate grabs it and Kate decides to resume Pat's life despite being unaware how miserable Bill and Pat were. Love this movie. Davis and Ford have great chemistry. This movie was even spoofed on The Carol Burnett Show decades later. Eighteen years after this film, Davis again played twin sisters in a 1964 film called Dead Ringer but this movie is so much better. 4
I like the timing of posting this directly after us discussing the film.
Yeah, I've been writing that review for a while now, but now that I was finally able to post it, I scrolled up and saw your posts :laugh:
Gideon58
03-07-25, 02:30 PM
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91JSYZJINvL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
3rd Rewatch. This dazzling big budget bouquet to the iconic rock group Queen and their charismatic front man, Freddy Mercury which begins during Freddy's humble begins at Freddy's humble beginnings as a baggage handler at Heathrow airport and concludes with the group preparing to take the stage at Live Aid. The screenplay white washes Freddy's sexual history in an attempt to make the movie more viewer friendly I suppose, but with the incredible music of this amazing rock group and the Oscar-winning performance by Rami Malek as Freddy, this becomes a minor issue. I especially love the scenes where they create the title tune and "We Will Rock You." Also love the scene where Freddy flirts with a waiter working at his party after the party is over. In addition to Malek's Best Actor Oscar, the film also won Oscars for film editing, sound editing, and sound mixing. 4
Find Me in the Mirror (2023) I watched this on Youtube today. It's a really creative and beautiful short silent fantasy. I really liked the cinematography. There are some cool and striking visuals. Director and star Ashley Laurent Fletcher is quite good here and carries the film with her performance. This is definitely worth checking out. 4
A LIEN
(2023, Cutler-Kreutz & Cutler-Kreutz)
https://i.imgur.com/avn7Ddi.jpeg
"We haven't done anything wrong. We did everything they said."
A Lien follows a family, Oscar and Sophia (William Martinez and Victoria Ratermanis) as they attend an immigration interview for Oscar, along with their young daughter Nina. While Oscar is being interviewed, Sophia suspects that something might go wrong and derail the process, and their lives, indefinitely.
The term "lien" refers to a legal right to possess something until a debt or obligation is met. In this case, that concept is transferred to Oscar's stay in the United States, or not, being dependent on certain obligations being met. However, as we can see from his interview, things are not as black and white; especially when you're not wanted and the government is making concerted efforts to make things harder for you and entrap you.
Grade: 4
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2541134#post2541134)
Tramuzgan
03-07-25, 05:11 PM
Shrek 2 - 8/10
Going on a 2000s nostalgia bender after playing the Prince of Persia games. This one holds up. Though I have mixed feelings about the premise and find that ''what if the bad guys were actually the good guys'' revenge of the nerds-schtick laughable, the execution is near-perfect and the final product is one of the most imaginative and fun comedies I've ever seen. The world is concieved as a parody, everything being built on some joke of ''what if the stock fairy tale kingdom was like Los Angeles? What if the fairy godmother was some girlboss celebrity with a spoiled brat son?'', and granted that one or two jokes like that would not be anything to write home about, but it takes that idea to such an extreme level that it ends up forming an entire, believable world whose facrical tone allows for any kind of gag, plot thread, or action sequence to function. There is no end to charming visual gags crammed into the background. A seedy bar with the sign of ''we do not serve anyone under XXI years old'', or cops using a pepper grinder instead of mace is not hilarious, but it is amusing because it's so much like this setting. Likewise the characters and their dialogue are well-voiced and given lots of natural charisma and chemistry, made more impressive by how many characters and plot threads the movie juggles. It feels very eventful for a 90 minute cartoon. There's an odd forced joke here and there, like Puss in Boots acting cutesy to disarm someone, but it only sticks out because the rest of the movie is so good, and it's not frequent enough to sour the enjoyment. (it's fitting that Puss in Boots has the most forced joke, because Puss in Boots 2 was 100% forced in both comedy and drama.)
The animation holds up well for a 2004 computer-animated flick. Yes the movement is robotic, but not to the point where I couldn't get used to it, and I find the textures and colour schemes very pleasant. I could take or leave the character designs, though. I always found them just a little uncanny. Again, not a big complaint, but it's something to put out there. The biggest advantage of this film over the first Shrek is that the world finally feels big and populated. Shrek 1 still felt like they were figuring out computer animation and had put together an amusing puppet-play with the 3d models they made at home. Not this. This is an all-out major Hollywood production.
Takoma11
03-07-25, 05:37 PM
Anora was seen by a lot fewer people than Wicked, that's for sure. Anora was SIXTH in Box Office so I'm not sure that argument holds water.
I think she meant Oscar voters, not the general public.
I'm not referring to your friend to be clear, but most of the time, I think the "People only loved this movie because of the following petty reason" argument is people making excuses as to why a film they disliked or were unmoved by was beloved by so many people, as opposed to them acknowledging that the film grew popular or won the awards fair and square.
Yeah, to be clear my friend specifically didn't mind that it won best picture. She liked it as a movie. She just felt like it was one of those things where once people decided it was the "best" overall, it became the default for some other categories where it maybe wasn't actually the strongest.
It's interesting, because the worst things I've personally read about Anora are in the vein of "Yeah, it's okay," and the best things are glowing reviews. So I haven't felt like there are a bunch of haters out there. But like we've all acknowledged, once you put the label of "best" or "winner" on something, it becomes a target.
A Complete Unknown (2024) 4
https://rockcellarmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/a-complete-unknown-soundtrack-e1734712783786.jpg
Il gattopardo (1963) - Luchino Visconti: 7/10
https://25.media.tumblr.com/efb952668bda237a581346cbfd603208/tumblr_muyph8oOQZ1s0t6o2o1_500.gif
INSTRUMENTS OF A BEATING HEART
(2024, Yamazaki)
https://i.imgur.com/MLMGJ8e.jpeg
"It's okay. You don't have to be perfect. Just do your best."
Those are the words of encouragement that a teacher offers Ayame, a young schoolgirl at a Japanese elementary school. The thing is that Ayame is not doing her best, but rather is slacking. Instruments of a Beating Heart follows her struggles to participate in a musical performance at the school.
This one got to me in so many levels. First of all, Ayame was an adorable little girl, but on the other hand, to see her struggle was heartbreaking at the same time. Still, I really liked the way that the short shows the importance that this performance has for this little girl; and when things don't go the way she planned, how heartbreaking it is for her.
Grade: 3.5
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2541274#post2541274)
iluv2viddyfilms
03-08-25, 01:57 AM
The Jerk (1979, Carl Reiner)
https://www.goldderby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Steve-Martin-movies-ranked-The-Jerk.jpg?w=620
Flix Brewhouse featured this classic Steve Martin vehicle, his debut film, screening for "free" after an entre and a beer last night and it had been decades since I've seen it last. Still great, still wonderful, and while a lot of folks and critics seem to find it hit or miss, I think The Jerk is a film with its own special purpose and unique brand of humor within the canon of the great comedies. The only criticism that could really be leveled toward it, is that The Jerk is very episodic in nature and some of it feels forced or a bit of a contrivance, but it's so fun and off the wall, that really, who cares?
GRADE: A-
SpelingError
03-08-25, 10:36 AM
Invasion (1969) - 2
Highly ambitious and quite atmospheric, but otherwise, a failure. The decision to be 100% vague and ambiguous over pretty much everything which goes on ultimately did more harm than good for me as it prevented me from forming an emotional connection with anyone or anything and left me asking "Why should I care?" constantly. For instance, a character gets shot. We know nothing about that character or the politics/goals of the side they're fighting for, so why should I care about that? The entire first half involves the resistances efforts to steal a truck from the invaders, but we know nothing about what the invaders are planning on doing if they're successful with their goals or even if the resistance fighters are actually the good guys, so why should I care about that? Overall, I was just left emotionally cold and unimpressed by everything since I was given nobody and nothing to latch on to. The closest the film came to moving me were the brief discussions on how the resistance has to save the city, but even this was too vague to go all the way. And yes, I'm aware that giving an explanation to the motives of both sides likely wasn't what the filmmakers wanted to do, so I don't mean for this to be "They should've made the film I wanted them to make" criticism. The film is exactly what they wanted it to be and, considering it has plenty of fans, it seemed to pay off pretty well. I, personally, was unmoved by it though.
exiler96
03-08-25, 10:43 AM
Body Double (1984) - A horny (and of course, inferior) remake of Vertigo taking place among miserable Hollywood types, until it gets tired of itself and goes full meta and just ends!
I’m usually not a fan of movies being shallow just to prove a point but for the most part this was a luxurious (and luxuriously technical) ride with a memorable DePalma “set-piece” murder in the middle..... but as unpredictable - even humorous – where it ends up is, it feels somewhat like a waste of time.
Only with this guy. 5.5/10.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSOD5F4bWslyQELroNSNPm6m0w8DLNCxPgJvak6AfKsSX9K0Mi0EKHU0MjH0UhJqrT75QWeCImrSDe8Z5gl6ojhzZkX6aN N1XrGR4wO3tVeVk6QJ_aCfeW4fH7D9TA21hH_g0EVbyOz5k1/s1600/Body-Double-Craig-Wasson-Deborah-Shelton-3.jpg
BigBendHiker68
03-08-25, 11:47 AM
I watched Anora a few weeks ago and liked it a lot. All of Sean Baker’s movies are real strong and he deserves the recognition. :)
I thought The Florida Project (2017) was brilliant...of course, I love anything Willem Dafoe appears in, so I admit I'm biased
Hoping to see Anora this weekend
The Jerk (1979, Carl Reiner)
https://www.goldderby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Steve-Martin-movies-ranked-The-Jerk.jpg?w=620
... its own special purpose...
Nice.
The Pawnbroker (1964)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7a/Pawnbroker_ver2.jpg
A searing drama about a Holocaust survivor who runs a pawnshop in a run-down area of Harlem. Rod Steiger gave his finest performance as Sol Nazerman, a German Jew who managed to come out of a Nazi death camp with his body intact but whose soul was ripped apart in the process; he may be alive physically but is dead emotionally and resembles a zombie more than a human being. Brock Peters is also great as Nazerman’s cruel underworld boss. The film is almost painful to watch as we see flashbacks in which the protagonist loses everyone in his life who was dear to him while, in scenes that take place in the present, he, a former university professor, has been reduced to working in an occupation that conjures up some of the worst stereotypes people have of Jews. Sidney Lumet was one of the greatest of all movie directors, and here he does a good job of dealing with the guilt and trauma that Holocaust survivors experienced as well as the tensions that exist between Jewish merchants and racial minorities in the inner city. Better than any other film, The Pawnbroker shows that those Jews who were “lucky” enough to survive the death camps merely traded one hell for another.
rating_5
LeBoyWondeur
03-08-25, 05:10 PM
Nosferatu 2024
The story of a peculiar relationship between a stressed out goth chick and a vampire who sounds like Gru from Despicable Me.
It all looks painstakingly orchestrated but nothing ever comes to life, the many histrionics notwithstanding.
The only character that evokes something is Friedrich Harding, or maybe it's because he treats Ellen like the attention-seeking troublemaker that she is.
Naturally there weren't going to be any big surprises but the particular tone makes it beat-for-beat predictable and I was just waiting for it all to end.
The story takes place in Germany but it could have been anywhere, it could have been Harry Potter Land.
The Freudian undertone is in the story but I don't see it in the characters, it's way too sterile and precise to allow any of that moistly/suffocating atmosphere to creep in. And for the umpteenth time: that blue hue does not help at all. Please, stop it.
A boring costume drama without any thrills or suspense and it only made me think how much I enjoyed Dracula '92.
0.5
MovieGal
03-08-25, 05:42 PM
105923
105924
In The Lost Lands
(2025)
4/5
Based on a short story by George R.R. Martin, a witch and a tracker are set on a mission to retrieve a skin of a shapeshifter, by a devious queen.
Wow, all I can say is I didn't have high expectations for this film. I was just hoping it was just entertaining. Well, it did more than that! It covered, pretty much, all the bases for me - fantasy, post apocalyptic western with a good mix of religion!
Starring Milla Jovovich (no surprise) and Dave Bautista, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson.
The story was decent, the scenery amazing, the visual photography was dark and dreary. Costumes were very fiiting for each set of characters. The Church's High Priest wore vestments similar to an Ethiopian Orthodox priest. The Church's warriors, who were hunting down the witch and tracker, wore tunics of The Knight Templar. Both Milla's and Dave's were fitting of a witch's garb and a "cowboy" attire. The visual effect were outstanding.
I was on edge of my seat during the fight scenes and enthralled during the rest.
I would definitely watch again.
Fabulous
03-08-25, 05:47 PM
The Man in the Moon (1991)
3.5
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/zsJR6huILYzMjuRf3qWjrnk3W64.jpg
Captain Quint
03-08-25, 06:42 PM
Trees Lounge (1996)
Written, directed and starring Steve Buscemi, who plays a barfly loser, just rambling through life. Lowkey but it held my interest. Watched at Prime.
4
MovieGal
03-08-25, 07:19 PM
105929
Drugstore Cowboy
(1987)
4/5
Based on a true story, four young adults go on a rampage of robbing drugstores to feed their drug addicted lives. Bob, his girlfriend Dianne, his best friend Rick, along with a younger girl Nadine, that they picked up during one of the heists, do nothing but steal and get wasted every day. For many years, a detective Gentry, tries to catch them in the act, to take them down.
At one point, Bob kicks Nadine out of the group due to a hex, he feels she had cursed them. After, a stint trying to rob a hospital, they arrive home to see Nadine's deceased body on the bed. After trying to hide her body, Rick and Dianne leave Bob so he decides to go as an outpatient to a methadone clinic to kick his habit. End the end, Bob learns to, that this way of his previous life, everything comes to a terrible end.
Growing up as a teen in the 80s, i was never a fan of Matt Dillon. Only movie I enjoyed him in came almost three decades with Von Trier's The House That Jack Built. I saw this was released recently on Criterion, so I thought I would give it a shot. This is my first Van Sant film viewed and im wondering why it tokk me so long!
I enjoyed the story and the acting. Matt did a great job at the leader of the drug addicted theives.
I have another Van Sant to watch next and I'm sure I will enjoy that as well.
MovieGal
03-08-25, 09:30 PM
105934
My Own Private Idaho
(1991)
4/5
Story of two young male hustlers, Scott, son of the town's mayor, and Mike, a man who suffers from narcolepsy, and their lives on the street in Portland, Oregon. They are just trying to survive as rebellious young men. They live their lives turning tricks and doing drugs. Scott will leave this life at the age of 21 yrs old to inherit his family fortune and Mike just wants to find his mother.
They decide to go to Mike's hometown in Idaho to visit his brother. They learn his mother has moved to Italy. They turn tricks and sell Scott's motorcycle to get the money to travel.
Once, in Italy, they learn Mike's mother moved back to the states
Scott falls in love with the girl, whom Mike's mother served as a maid and an English tutor.
Scott, now 21, takes his new love interest back to the US, and learned his father has passed on. Mike turns trick in Rome to earn enough to move back to Portland.
Scott, now with his new life, rejects his previous and spurns his old friends. The film ends with Mike in a seizure on a road in the middle of nowhere, shoes and duffle bag stolen and a mysterious car and driver retrieving him from road, driving away.
This is a film I really enjoyed. Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix were perfect for Scott and Mike. They starred in several previous films together. It was nice to see Udo Keir playing one of the johns. I love Udo as hes an amazing actor.
This film did not disappoint me at all.
ueno_station54
03-08-25, 09:55 PM
https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/3/1/4/3/8/5/314385-the-foreigner-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=f0f36a4bef
interesting enough premise but not much else about it moves the needle
2.5
LeBoyWondeur
03-08-25, 10:17 PM
Conclave (2024)
105936
A lightweight in the spiritual department but very enjoyable as an Agatha Christie-esque soap with secrets and spectacular reveals.
Most of the film's credibility leans on Ralph Fiennes' performance and Isabella Rossellini is always fun to watch imo.
3
Raven73
03-09-25, 12:32 AM
Alien: Romulus
7.5 /10
The trailer didn't interest me, but the movie was better than I expected. It's kind of a mix of Alien and Alien: Resurrection. What made it worth while for me was that the writers thought of things that we hadn't seen yet.
It's weird that all the heroes in this franchise are A) female; B) brunettes. I find it interesting that they made this movie instead of the third movie in the Prometheus saga... I'm still wondering what happened to David and Daniels.
As far as a sequel to Romulus, I don't know where they would take it - this movie feels like an ending rather than a new beginning.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMDU0NjcwOGQtNjNjOS00NzQ3LWIwM2YtYWVmODZjMzQzN2ExXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg
I'm about halfway through Rumblefish. Lot's of familiar faces. Seems like an exercise in style over substance. I'm taking a break for now. I might come back to it later. Black and white. Kind edgy, emo, punky filmmaking.
Matt Dillon and Diane Lane (how many films have they been in together?). Fishburne, Rourke, Chris Penn. Dissonant music. Lots of shadows.
Captain Quint
03-09-25, 12:38 AM
105939
The Day Has Gone (aka The Girl - 1968)
The first Hungarian film directed by a woman (Márta Mészáros) and starring Hungary's biggest pop star, Kati Kovács. Good film, I liked the relationship dynamics. Letterboxd sums it up well -
A young woman leaves a state orphanage to find her mother in this interesting examination of how the overt repression of women in the older pattern of village life has been replaced by the more subtle exploitation inherent in the apparently freer existence of young girls in the contemporary city.
Thanks to SpelingError for the link
4
Babettes gæstebud (1987) - Gabriel Axel: 8/10
https://i.gifer.com/K6Sb.gif
MovieGal
03-09-25, 12:49 AM
I finally got to rewatch with English subs
4/5
105824
The Count of Monte Cristo
(2024)
3.5/5
Im only giving 3 1/2 stars because I didnt have subtitles and know only a few words of the French language.
I never read the book and only familiar with the 2002 English language version, which is one of my favorite of all time.
Its a beautiful revenge story.
This version was amazing and the set design and costuming, beyond belief. This one is very detailed in the storyline as its 3 hours long. I thought the actors were great.
I did order the dvd with English subs. So after I watch it again, my rating will surely change.
I'm about halfway through Rumblefish. Lot's of familiar faces. Seems like an exercise in style over substance. I'm taking a break for now. I might come back to it later. Black and white. Kind edgy, emo, punky filmmaking.
Matt Dillon and Diane Lane (how many films have they been in together?). Fishburne, Rourke, Chris Penn. Dissonant music. Lots of shadows.
I love that movie. Watch it all the time. Very close second place in my Favorite Coppola Movies.
I love that movie. Watch it all the time. Very close second place in my Favorite Coppola Movies.
It's quirky. Interesting mood. The dialogue seems really bad.
Nick Cage seems strangely grounded where just about everyone else is chewing the scenery.
Do people sweat enough in this movie?
What draws you in?
PHOENIX74
03-09-25, 05:24 AM
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c8/Playtimeoriginalposter.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8032124
Playtime - (1967)
I finally got around to Playtime, the destination I was aiming for before I decided to tackle of all of Jacques Tati's films in chronological order. I've been watching all of the special features regarding his previous films, because his movies are so ripe for analysis, and because I'm always discovering new little moments I've missed. Playtime is the same, only more so. It's too much to take it all in on my first viewing - there's too much crammed into it's two hours, and I was just grabbing what I could as Monsieur Hulot's 24 hours in Paris flew by. At first there's a nice and easy pace during the first half - the part spent around office buildings. Then "playtime" commences and everything is wound-up until we're travelling at a frightful speed as revellers enjoy their time at a completely dysfunctional nightclub. Everyone enjoys themselves despite the fact that everything is falling apart due to cockeyed designers. Tati plans and executes clever, funny moments with such precision - I really look forward to watching and listening to what others have to say about it, and watching it again. What he has to say about modern society still rings true - but he was seeing trends decades before those trends transformed our modern world into what it is today. That's what surprised me the most.
9/10
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/ff/Censor_2021_poster.jpg
By Magnet Releasing - http://www.impawards.com/intl/uk/2021/posters/censor_xxlg.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67704699
Censor - (2021)
Points to the movie for it actually being about something that's worth exploring regarding the video nasty period in Britain. It's dark, and it's cold - visually, sound-wise and character-wise. Oh, and ... the ending is completely stolen from Saint Maud.Full review here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2541325#post2541325), in my watchlist thread.
6/10
Gideon58
03-09-25, 09:56 AM
105934
My Own Private Idaho
(1991)
4/5
Story of two young male hustlers, Scott, son of the town's mayor, and Mike, a man who suffers from narcolepsy, and their lives on the street in Portland, Oregon. They are just trying to survive as rebellious young men. They live their lives turning tricks and doing drugs. Scott will leave this life at the age of 21 yrs old to inherit his family fortune and Mike just wants to find his mother.
They decide to go to Mike's hometown in Idaho to visit his brother. They learn his mother has moved to Italy. They turn tricks and sell Scott's motorcycle to get the money to travel.
Once, in Italy, they learn Mike's mother moved back to the states
Scott falls in love with the girl, whom Mike's mother served as a maid and an English tutor.
Scott, now 21, takes his new love interest back to the US, and learned his father has passed on. Mike turns trick in Rome to earn enough to move back to Portland.
Scott, now with his new life, rejects his previous and spurns his old friends. The film ends with Mike in a seizure on a road in the middle of nowhere, shoes and duffle bag stolen and a mysterious car and driver retrieving him from road, driving away.
This is a film I really enjoyed. Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix were perfect for Scott and Mike. They starred in several previous films together. It was nice to see Udo Keir playing one of the johns. I love Udo as hes an amazing actor.
This film did not disappoint me at all.
Keanu Reeves owned this movie
Fat City - 4
Have you ever had a really good day? You know, the kind of day where you got your dream job, you said "I love you" to your dream girl or guy for the first time and they said it back, etc.? This delightfully gritty '70s drama expertly captures the vibes of the next day, whether it's all the work required to maintain the previous one's fortunes or accepting that, sadly, maybe it wasn't such a good day after all. The amateur/veteran dynamic is a reliable one for good reason, with this one having an all-timer in Jeff Bridges' would-be boxing phenom, Ernie, and Stacy Keach's former phenom and current palooka, Billy. Where it's better than the average one is in how Ernie's setbacks while climbing the ladder and Billy's while trying to get back on it appear one and the same. It especially hits hard when Ernie's "next day" involves a huge change in his relationship with his girlfriend, while Billy's, thanks to a chaotic dinner scene, has him seeing new flame Orma (an excellent Susan Tyrell) in a less flattering light. While not a "boxing movie" per se since the aftermath of the match is more important than the outcome here, the fighting is still as unpredictable and thrilling as it is in Rocky. The city of Stockton is also an ideal location - it's not surprising that so many of the shooting locations were demolished after filming - and the Kris Kristofferson tunes hit just the right fatalistic tone.
The path to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is so elusive because its stepping stones resemble roadblocks and vice versa. This movie works as well as it does for how it reminds us that this rule applies to winner, loser, amateur and veteran alike. Director John Huston specialized in movies about guys like Ernie and Billy, and since this one is up there with the best of them, I'm surprised I had not heard it existed until recently. Oh, and as exciting as the boxing scenes may be, that dinner scene with Billy and Orma has peas and ketchup flying everywhere and may be even more pulse-pounding.
SpelingError
03-09-25, 12:23 PM
105939
The Day Has Gone (aka The Girl - 1968)
The first Hungarian film directed by a woman (Márta Mészáros) and starring Hungary's biggest pop star, Kati Kovács. Good film, I liked the relationship dynamics. Letterboxd sums it up well -
Thanks to SpelingError for the link
4
Glad you liked it! And glad I was able to inspire someone to check it out.
It's quirky. Interesting mood. The dialogue seems really bad.
Nick Cage seems strangely grounded where just about everyone else is chewing the scenery.
Do people sweat enough in this movie?
What draws you in?
I think the script is fantastic. I actually like all the performances. I like the almost Altman-like way peopel talk over each other. I love the story. I love the themes. I love that Coppola made something small and intimate. I love the black and white (except when there's color). I love the sound. I love the odd camera angles and the sweat and grime. And I love that it's different from most things, almost like a French New Wave film but not quite.
Just that.
I think the script is fantastic. I actually like all the performances. I like the almost Altman-like way peopel talk over each other. I love the story. I love the themes. I love that Coppola made something small and intimate. I love the black and white (except when there's color). I love the sound. I love the odd camera angles and the sweat and grime. And I love that it's different from most things, almost like a French New Wave film but not quite.
Just that.
Ah, so it's the vibe itself? The fact that it is doing its own thing?
Tramuzgan
03-09-25, 04:14 PM
Dracula (1931) - 8/10
The third Dracula movie I've seen so far, I like it better than Nosferatu and about as much as the Christopher Lee version (probably worth a rewatch for comparison's sake, it's been a while since I saw it). While it can't match F.W. Murnau's visual brilliance, and the 50s version does a better job at selling Van Helsing's courage, this is undoubtedly the scariest of the three, it tells its story much more efficiently than Nosferatu, and Lugosi undoubtedly sells the role of Dracula better than anyone else. The scares can be accredited to the lack of music. Having that empty space between lines of dialogue, allowing us to drink in the unease and interpret Dracula's uncanniness for ourselves. The cast outside of Lugosi did a good job, with a clear second best being Dwight Frye as Renfield, and the cinematography ranges from adequate to really good in its own right. Some of the special effects are so dated they're laughable, but that's only 4-5 shots over the course of the movie. Not even close to a deal breaker.
cricket
03-09-25, 06:24 PM
Strange Darling (2023)
4+
https://64.media.tumblr.com/c4233a90f0850a5a1f92741a4e4593ee/bb12524cba9239a0-c7/s540x810/034e36f1e0130bc53489297079fc6e5d99e962bc.gif
I had already seen it, is free on Paramount so I thought I'd show my wife. Was fun watching her yell at the TV while being fooled. Meanwhile it held up just fine for me even knowing the outcome.
Takoma11
03-09-25, 07:39 PM
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FM%2FMV5BMWNhOWVjODYtNGExNS00MTk3LTgyYzctNWE5YmY2YzU0YmU0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkwNz ExODQ%40._V1_.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=1c2117f6b3c6d69212acaeaed9ffa3765a5c5f662398992afdc8c32cb3a605d0&ipo=images
Holiday Boyfriend, 2023
Mandy (Natassia Malthe) is feeling the pressure of approaching middle age without a significant other. After her gym rat boyfriend inelegantly dumps her, Mandy is swept off of her feet by attorney Blake (Louis Mandylor), who is secretly just wooing her to gain American citizenship. When Blake flakes out on her around the holidays, Mandy invites co-worker Nathan (Paul Collett) to accompany her home for Thanksgiving and pretend to be Blake.
Inexplicable acting, writing, and editing make this by-the-numbers romantic comedy more of a disorienting fever dream.
Anyway, this movie is nuts and all over the place and I’ve watched it twice now and I’ll probably watch it again! I’m delighted that this movie exists! It ends with “rain” falling down on the main characters on what is a visibly very sunny day!
3
FULL REVIEW (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2541675#post2541675)
Deschain
03-09-25, 07:44 PM
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FM%2FMV5BMWNhOWVjODYtNGExNS00MTk3LTgyYzctNWE5YmY2YzU0YmU0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkwNz ExODQ%40._V1_.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=1c2117f6b3c6d69212acaeaed9ffa3765a5c5f662398992afdc8c32cb3a605d0&ipo=images
Holiday Boyfriend, 2023
Mandy (Natassia Malthe) is feeling the pressure of approaching middle age without a significant other. After her gym rat boyfriend inelegantly dumps her, Mandy is swept off of her feet by attorney Blake (Louis Mandylor), who is secretly just wooing her to gain American citizenship. When Blake flakes out on her around the holidays, Mandy invites co-worker Nathan (Paul Collett) to accompany her home for Thanksgiving and pretend to be Blake.
Inexplicable acting, writing, and editing make this by-the-numbers romantic comedy more of a disorienting fever dream.
Anyway, this movie is nuts and all over the place and I’ve watched it twice now and I’ll probably watch it again! I’m delighted that this movie exists! It ends with “rain” falling down on the main characters on what is a visibly very sunny day!
3
FULL REVIEW (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2541675#post2541675)
Is it intentionally disorienting and nuts or is it so bad it’s funny?
Takoma11
03-09-25, 08:07 PM
Is it intentionally disorienting and nuts or is it so bad it’s funny?
The latter. (Though I do think that the movie is aiming for "wacky" and overshoots the mark in an enchanting way).
Ah, so it's the vibe itself? The fact that it is doing its own thing?
I mean, that's like one of the things I listed. I also mentioned script, directing, story...
Edit: Rumble Fish is probably one of my hundred favorite books I've ever read (and I read a lot). Maybe even Top-50, maybe even a tier higher. I love the story, I love the themes, I love the dialogue, it is a powerful piece of media to me. I thought Coppola adapted it amazingly and I actually love the film almost as much as the book, maybe sometimes more.
It is my favorite Mickey Rourke performance of his career (and I was a big Mickey Rourke fan when he was young).
In fact, the rumble scene from early in the movie is one of my favorite scenes in the history of Cinema. No joke.
Takoma11
03-09-25, 11:24 PM
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FM%2FMV5BNGM4NDU4MTQtZmQzOS00MWQyLWE2YzgtNDUyM2VlZWVhNzYyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTE5MD E3MTA0._V1_.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=1c99bbfb4f14eac01d87825ef9e0b4f644eb2a6281b903f2e560bb03c15d3314&ipo=images
Chicken for Linda!, 2023
Linda (Melinee Leclerc) is wrongly accused of theft by her mother, Paulette (Clotilde Hesme). When Paulette realizes her mistake, she offers to make things up to Linda, who requests a meal of chicken and peppers, one of the few memories she has of her deceased father. Chaos ensues as the pair steal a chicken from a neighbor, then go on a quest to find someone to help them kill and cook it. Along the way, police officer Serge (Esteban) gets caught up in the madness.
Engaging visuals don’t quite save a culinary quest that goes on too long.
3
FULL REVIEW (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2541722#post2541722)
Strange Darling (2023)
4+
https://64.media.tumblr.com/c4233a90f0850a5a1f92741a4e4593ee/bb12524cba9239a0-c7/s540x810/034e36f1e0130bc53489297079fc6e5d99e962bc.gif
I had already seen it, is free on Paramount so I thought I'd show my wife. Was fun watching her yell at the TV while being fooled. Meanwhile it held up just fine for me even knowing the outcome.
I loved that movie. Might have been my second-favorite movie of '24.
105971
Haven't watched this in about 15 years after seeing it in the theater and watching it a few times at home with my wife (she loved it) and I enjoyed it just as much and in exactly the same way.
For me, Tarantino as I care for him ended after this film. Nothing since this has felt like the real Tarantino more like a really great impostor with no self-control has been running around making movies with his name. But this is the real thing. Even though it is probably the first film that is really guilty of his unlimited self-indulgence with the first group of girls maybe being a little bit too obnoxious, he keeps the film under two hours.
Also this is a great Kurt Russell performance, as someone I watched it with pointed out. And Zoe Bell charmed me to death yet again. She should have asked me to marry her, I probably would have said yes.
Anyway, just a really fun movie. Looks like it is my Fourth-favorite Tarantino film if Kill Bill is all one movie and maybe tied for Fifth-favorite if it's not.
MovieBuffering
03-10-25, 12:10 AM
The Color Of Money - 1986
Newman is a stud. Completely owns the role. I enjoyed the flick, I watched The Hustler a few weeks ago. I think I kind of enjoyed this one a little more. I think Newman was even better in this movie than he was in the original. I really liked the end of the movie. Bit of a cookie cutter film but I enjoyed it and Newman is the absolute highlight...deserved that Oscar.
3
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRREufNqmuLmJdMy3vgJUmN7fNJOuFjaOXGquKOAOslsVZDrrT_
The Color Of Money - 1986
Newman is a stud. Completely owns the role. I enjoyed the flick, I watched The Hustler a few weeks ago. I think I kind of enjoyed this one a little more. I think Newman was even better in this movie than he was in the original. I really liked the end of the movie. Bit of a cookie cutter film but I enjoyed it and Newman is the absolute highlight...deserved that Oscar.
3
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRREufNqmuLmJdMy3vgJUmN7fNJOuFjaOXGquKOAOslsVZDrrT_
This was actually my second-favorite Scorsese movie for most of my life. Not sure where it ranks now but still probably Top-4, definitely Top-5.
I mean, that's like one of the things I listed. I also mentioned script, directing, story...
Edit: Rumble Fish is probably one of my hundred favorite books I've ever read (and I read a lot). Maybe even Top-50, maybe even a tier higher. I love the story, I love the themes, I love the dialogue, it is a powerful piece of media to me. I thought Coppola adapted it amazingly and I actually love the film almost as much as the book, maybe sometimes more.
It is my favorite Mickey Rourke performance of his career (and I was a big Mickey Rourke fan when he was young).
In fact, the rumble scene from early in the movie is one of my favorite scenes in the history of Cinema. No joke.
Interesting that Rourke plays the "Motorcycle Boy" in 1983 and then "Harley Davidson" in 1991.
It's cool that you like it. It's coming on a bit strong for my taste. However, I will return and watch the second half. I'll take a second sip, I cannot imbibe this drink all at once.
exiler96
03-10-25, 04:37 AM
The Abyss (1989) - First viewing. Yeah, it’s three movies rolled into one and it’s gonna lose you at one point or another. It did me in the middle hour, and it could have used some trimming… But damn me if it wasn’t a blast, for its tension-filled atmosphere (filled with the fear of death, of your own kind and of the unknown) and the humanity of its characters; especially Harris and Mastrantonio who are the heart of it all. Hawksian spirit, Spielbergian sentiments.
Wasn’t a fan of encountering the aliens bits (just me a thing) but it’s not until the last minutes with those waves and the appearance of the giant submarine that everything prior pays off to leave us in a state of awe, the goal of every good sci-fi story. Look up it's behind the scenes trivia; they're rough... and they bleed into the movie to elevate it to something singular. 8.5/10.
https://images.kinorium.com/movie/shot/88581/h280_175729.jpg?21441022452
https://i.pinimg.com/564x/9b/62/69/9b6269880baf41e50ba67a6fede85095.jpg
Super - (James Gunn, 2010)
I'd probably give it a higher score if it wasn't for THAT scene with Wilson and Page. 06/10
Hotel Security
03-10-25, 09:37 AM
>Strange Darling
>I loved that movie. Might have been my second-favorite movie of '24.
Agreed. Loved Strange Darling as well.
>The Color Of Money - 1986
>Newman is a stud.
I feel it's one of his best roles. Really lets himself relax into the role and feels really natural. Young Cruise is a lot of fun.
---
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQKcr3ZHQC4GE3FfAQA0Ykkwyl6AbRh71UWVSv3R6HN9ftqWIsp
A Room With a View (1985)
Saw discussion on this on another thread and was in the mood for something relaxing and beautiful and here it is. As always, I loved being immersed in the Merchant Ivory world with great locales and music and wonderful performances. Helena Bonham Carter is only 19 in this role and is excellent as is Maggie Smith as her neurotic cousin. If you liked other Merchant Ivory stuff, I don't know how one wouldn't like this one.
Gideon58
03-10-25, 11:09 AM
Fat City - 4
Have you ever had a really good day? You know, the kind of day where you got your dream job, you said "I love you" to your dream girl or guy for the first time and they said it back, etc.? This delightfully gritty '70s drama expertly captures the vibes of the next day, whether it's all the work required to maintain the previous one's fortunes or accepting that, sadly, maybe it wasn't such a good day after all. The amateur/veteran dynamic is a reliable one for good reason, with this one having an all-timer in Jeff Bridges' would-be boxing phenom, Ernie, and Stacy Keach's former phenom and current palooka, Billy. Where it's better than the average one is in how Ernie's setbacks while climbing the ladder and Billy's while trying to get back on it appear one and the same. It especially hits hard when Ernie's "next day" involves a huge change in his relationship with his girlfriend, while Billy's, thanks to a chaotic dinner scene, has him seeing new flame Orma (an excellent Susan Tyrell) in a less flattering light. While not a "boxing movie" per se since the aftermath of the match is more important than the outcome here, the fighting is still as unpredictable and thrilling as it is in Rocky. The city of Stockton is also an ideal location - it's not surprising that so many of the shooting locations were demolished after filming - and the Kris Kristofferson tunes hit just the right fatalistic tone.
The path to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is so elusive because its stepping stones resemble roadblocks and vice versa. This movie works as well as it does for how it reminds us that this rule applies to winner, loser, amateur and veteran alike. Director John Huston specialized in movies about guys like Ernie and Billy, and since this one is up there with the best of them, I'm surprised I had not heard it existed until recently. Oh, and as exciting as the boxing scenes may be, that dinner scene with Billy and Orma has peas and ketchup flying everywhere and may be even more pulse-pounding.
Loved this movie…Bridges and Tyrell are superb
Stirchley
03-10-25, 11:57 AM
105979
Low-key sweet movie from Hong Kong.
matt72582
03-10-25, 12:05 PM
The Pawnbroker (1964)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7a/Pawnbroker_ver2.jpgA searing drama about a Holocaust survivor who runs a pawnshop in a run-down area of Harlem. Rod Steiger gave his finest performance as Sol Nazerman, a German Jew who managed to come out of a Nazi death camp with his body intact but whose soul was ripped apart in the process; he may be alive physically but is dead emotionally and resembles a zombie more than a human being. Brock Peters is also great as Nazerman’s cruel underworld boss. The film is almost painful to watch as we see flashbacks in which the protagonist loses everyone in his life who was dear to him while, in scenes that take place in the present, he, a former university professor, has been reduced to working in an occupation that conjures up some of the worst stereotypes people have of Jews. Sidney Lumet was one of the greatest of all movie directors, and here he does a good job of dealing with the guilt and trauma that Holocaust survivors experienced as well as the tensions that exist between Jewish merchants and racial minorities in the inner city. Better than any other film, The Pawnbroker shows that those Jews who were “lucky” enough to survive the death camps merely traded one hell for another.
rating_5
Steiger is the biggest racist in the movie, especially against Blacks and Hispanics. I think the movie makes clear how oppressed sometimes becomes oppressor. Or switching roles because Europe had different scapegoats, and comes to the US, and Steiger feels superior to the scapegoats of America.
Fat City - rating_4
Have you ever had a really good day? You know, the kind of day where you got your dream job, you said "I love you" to your dream girl or guy for the first time and they said it back, etc.? This delightfully gritty '70s drama expertly captures the vibes of the next day, whether it's all the work required to maintain the previous one's fortunes or accepting that, sadly, maybe it wasn't such a good day after all. The amateur/veteran dynamic is a reliable one for good reason, with this one having an all-timer in Jeff Bridges' would-be boxing phenom, Ernie, and Stacy Keach's former phenom and current palooka, Billy. Where it's better than the average one is in how Ernie's setbacks while climbing the ladder and Billy's while trying to get back on it appear one and the same. It especially hits hard when Ernie's "next day" involves a huge change in his relationship with his girlfriend, while Billy's, thanks to a chaotic dinner scene, has him seeing new flame Orma (an excellent Susan Tyrell) in a less flattering light. While not a "boxing movie" per se since the aftermath of the match is more important than the outcome here, the fighting is still as unpredictable and thrilling as it is in Rocky. The city of Stockton is also an ideal location - it's not surprising that so many of the shooting locations were demolished after filming - and the Kris Kristofferson tunes hit just the right fatalistic tone.
The path to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is so elusive because its stepping stones resemble roadblocks and vice versa. This movie works as well as it does for how it reminds us that this rule applies to winner, loser, amateur and veteran alike. Director John Huston specialized in movies about guys like Ernie and Billy, and since this one is up there with the best of them, I'm surprised I had not heard it existed until recently. Oh, and as exciting as the boxing scenes may be, that dinner scene with Billy and Orma has peas and ketchup flying everywhere and may be even more pulse-pounding.
10/10 -- one of my Top 20/30 movies, and I think Stacy Keach's performance is a Top 5 ever... Not sure why a great director like John Huston is almost ignored in the 70s. You'd think some would see it because of his past resume. What I really love is that Stacy played it so well, he was so nuanced you can't call him the good guy, or the bad guy.
Fabulous
03-10-25, 12:40 PM
The Hot Spot (1990)
4
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/x3wFxF9rEpoxmsp8a80oWv5te6X.jpg
Gideon58
03-10-25, 12:47 PM
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BODlmMzZjZDEtOTUwOS00OTAwLTg2YzAtYTA4ZTk3ZWNjMTgxXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg
5th Rewatch...Francis Ford Copolla's faithful screen version of the best selling novel about rival gangs in 1950's Oklahoma. The film is packed with future movie superstars and features standout work from Matt Dillon and Ralph Macchio. 4
Gideon58
03-10-25, 12:51 PM
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BM2VhYTg4M2MtMWJiNS00ZTExLWI4MTMtNjE1NTQ1ODA0MTJjXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg
2nd Rewatch---This outrageous action comedy is actually based on a true story. This is the story of five former childhood friends (John Hamm, Ed Helms, Jake Johnson, Hannibal Burress, Jeremy Renner) who were obsessed with playing tag as kids and now, adults, they take one month out of the year to continue the game and four of the guys are determined to tag the one guy (Renner) who has never been tagged by catching him at his wedding. This comedy is so over the top and so funny it has to be a true story. There is standout work from Hamm, Johnson, and Renner. 4
Gideon58
03-10-25, 12:53 PM
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51THDZFEGDL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
Umpteenth Rewatch....Adam Sandler had one of his biggest hits in another variation of the angry man-child he plays so well. He plays a former hockey player who discovers a talent for golf which he uses to keep his grandma from losing her home. The knock down drag out fight Happy has with the late Bob Barker is worth the price of admission alone. 3.5
Gideon58
03-10-25, 12:58 PM
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81LMRxhW8NL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
1st Rewatch...Before winning two Oscars for Best Actress, Emma Stone turned in one of her most charming performances in this clever high school comedy about a romantically-challenged high school student named Olive Prendergast who starts a rumor that she lost her virginity to a college student in order to make herself more popular, but it pretty much destroys her life and causes a lot of collateral damage she didn't see coming. This extremely clever teen comedy borrows a lot from the teen comedies of the 80's but it's OK, because the screenplay actually acknowledges it is stealing from other movies. Stone is surrounded by a first rate supporting cast including Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as her laid back parents. Thomas Haden Church as a teacher and Lisa Kudrow as his guidance counselor wife. I had forgotten how much fun this one is. 4
Gideon58
03-10-25, 01:03 PM
https://hometownstohollywood.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/the-opposite-sex-md-web.jpg?w=616&h=485
2nd Rewatch...This 1956 musical remake of 1940's The Women doesn't have the bite of the original film and it does feature men and musical numbers, but it still provides pretty consistent entertainment. June Allyson is suitable in the Norma Shearer and Joan Collins gets to foreshadow a lot her future career as the bitchy Crystal Allen, played in the original by Joan Crawford. The film also features Ann Sheridan, Joan Blondell, Leslie Nielsen, Ann Miller, Agnes Moorhead, Charlotte Greenwood, and Alice Pearce, but the real scene stealer here is the fabulous Dolores Gray as Sylvia Fowler. It's not as good as the 1940 original, but there is fun to be had here. 3.5
Gideon58
03-10-25, 01:12 PM
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51XH6EFJGBL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
Umpteenth Rewatch...For my money, the best film of 1976 and one of the five best films of the 1970's period. This is the story of a failing fictional television network who decide to take advantage of the situation when one of their news anchormen, Howard Beale (Peter Finch) threatens to kill himself on the air after learning he has been fired. A ruthless television programmer (Faye Dunaway) decides to turn Howard into a mad prophet of the airwaves, ranting about the evil and hypocrisy in the world. Unfortunately, the new Beale turns into a Frankenstein who is seriously tampering with the network's bottom line and it is determined that he must be stopped. The film is anchored by Paddy Chayefsky's Oscar-winning screenplay and Sidney Lumet's kinetic direction. The performances are superb down the line. Peter Finch won the Academy's first posthumous Oscar for his blazing Howard Beale and Faye Dunaway won Best Actress for her Diana the heartless programmer (though personally I think her award was a consolation for losing the previous year for her finest performance, Chinatown). Beatrice Straight stole the Best Supporting Actress Oscar from Jodie Foster as William Holden's wife and Ned Beatty received a supporting actor nomination for his thunderous two-scene role as Mr. Jensen, though I am still of the belief that if the Academy had nominated Robert Duvall for his powerhouse performance as Frank Hackett, this might have been the first film in history to win all four acting Oscars. 5
Fabulous
03-10-25, 03:13 PM
Return to Me (2000)
3
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/xXJpHQanRfIdyDrZGmisQgtonVb.jpg
Hotel Security
03-10-25, 03:17 PM
^^^^Easy A is a surprisingly good movie outside of a few weird scenes. Don't know how that slipped my radar when it first came out.
^^Network's an amazing movie that everyone should see and the issues it raises hold up even more nowadays than they did then. Dunaway's a force of nature. So good.
>(though personally I think her award was a consolation for losing the previous year for her finest performance, Chinatown).
Greatly disagree about this as a consolation prize...she's MUCH better in Network than in Chinatown and Ellen Burstyn absolutely deserved that Oscar for Alice two years prior. I feel these worked out how they should.
>Beatrice Straight stole the Best Supporting Actress Oscar from Jodie Foster as William Holden's wife and Ned Beatty received a supporting actor nomination for his thunderous two-scene role as Mr. Jensen
That's one of the more baffling Oscar wins I've ever seen. Both Beatrice Straight and Ned Beatty have basically ONE scene in the movie where they show off the acting chops and both get nominations. Only one closer is Ingrid Bergman's win for Orient Express where she really has one intense scene with Albert Finney for the whole movie and that was enough to win.
Though Isabella Rossellini's nomination this year is more baffling than any...I don't even remember her saying anything outside of two lines to John Lithgow.
Captain Quint
03-10-25, 04:45 PM
Nickel Boys (2024) I have mixed feelings about this film. I respect what they are trying to achieve with the first person point of view, but sadly it didn't work for me. It didn't feel organic or natural and I found it distracting. It took away from the story and the actors performances. The performances were good, but I couldn't fully connect with the characters. There are some beautiful shots and powerful moments, but the film felt too long and much of it wasn't as effective or as engaging as it should have been. 3
Watched it last night and felt the same.
And while I get why they shifted the POV shots at times, it only confused things and detracted from the message and story. Not the first movie I've seen that attempted this, Lady in the Lake from 1946 was another, and I didn't care for it there either.
I think I need to read the book to get the full, intended impact.
3
exiler96
03-10-25, 08:16 PM
Repo Man (1984) – The Abyss left me wanting more 80s sci-fi so I gave this a chance, which couldn’t be more different a flick, attitude-wise and budget-wise.
After a banger opening I was hooked, ready to follow Emilio Estevez and Harry Dean Stanton (both giving charismatic performances here) as something like a buddy cop duo... but they part ways and the ride gets more and more twisted to the point my drunk ass couldn’t follow clearly. Still, I appreciated the world-building, the snappy dialogue, the brisk editing, the dark humor and the cynicism of it all. Iggy Pop’s score added to it's punkish swagger too..... would watch again. 7/10
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5048f125e4b0bd178ab3741a/1506005491014-M1CQ4O9230SAFZH10YIH/2.+repomanposter_sept21-17.jpg
beelzebubble
03-10-25, 08:38 PM
I saw Becoming Led Zeppelin over the weekend a movie theater.
It's enjoyable if you are a fan. It covers their lives before Led Zeppelin and the first year of Led Zeppelin, in which they go from a fledgling band to a huge hit in the US and the UK.
The movie started with some music by people who influenced the band. That music was very flat and I was worried that the whole movie would be like that. But once we start hearing Jimmy, the Johns or Robert the music gets much brighter.
My response is "really guys!"
How dumb do they think we are?
Robert Plant seems like he is quite the character. He makes a comment about moving with just a suitcase and some penicillin. I wondered how old you have to be to realize he's hinting about having a veneral disease?
It ends with a concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
There is nothing dark in this movie. No drugs, no sexually abused groupies, no mention of Aleister Crowley or Satan, nothing salacious. Just good wholesome fun.
Very weird.
Takoma11
03-10-25, 09:19 PM
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.rogerebert.com%2Fuploads%2Freview%2Fprimary_image%2Freviews%2Fgreat-movie-gospel-according-to-st-matthew-1964%2Fhero_EB20040314REVIEWS08403140301AR.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=222f6e94f99aad249ed393259c15ffd9619662b4208fc6449a5825b2dd8a91e8&ipo=images
The Gospel According to St. Matthew, 1964
This film follows the life of Jesus (Enrique Irazoqui), from his birth to his death and eventual resurrection.
A neorealist approach to Christ’s life makes for a refreshingly human look at one of the most famous stories ever told.
4.5
FULL REVIEW (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2541984#post2541984)
LeBoyWondeur
03-10-25, 10:46 PM
Dark Skies (2013)
106012
I was feeling tired and in the mood for a silly popcorn horror just to keep me awake.
Well, this film certainly did the trick, but not for the reason mentioned above.
Dark Skies is unsettling and thrilling and frustrating and dramatic, and it leaves enough room for several "what if" scenarios - and perhaps it's that feeling of not being able to trust everything you see that makes it so suspenseful.
The ending is satisfying, it's a twist but not completely over-the-top within the context of the story.
4
WALLACE & GROMIT
THE WRONG TROUSERS
(1993, Park)
https://i.imgur.com/YxI8hr6.png
"It's the wrong trousers, Gromit! And they've gone wrong!"
The Wrong Trousers is the second short film from Aardman Animation to feature the characters of Wallace & Gromit, an eccentric inventor and his trusty dog. This time, Wallace invents a pair of robotic trousers to take Gromit out on walks. However, a penguin thief called Feathers McGraw decides to use the trousers to steal a valuable diamond.
Putting aside the fact that the short is 30+ years old, the commitment to the claymation and the stop-motion technique is nothing short of impressive. In terms of story, I reiterate something that I said after watching The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and that's how awesome Gromit is. It is amazing how much personality and charm you can put on a character with no voice and no mouth.
Grade: 3.5
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2542002#post2542002)
PHOENIX74
03-11-25, 12:22 AM
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f9/Trafic.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7676681
Trafic - (1971)
In Trafic a group of representatives from a car manufacturing plant struggle to deliver a prototype to a car show in Amsterdam, suffering setbacks all the way there. There's enough classic Jacques Tati and Monsieur Hulot in Trafic to save what at first felt like an inferior outing after the the preceding masterpieces Tati made - Mon Oncle and Playtime. At first I was finding it hard actually getting some of the humour, and it does feel like Tati is wheeling out the Hulot character against his will for the first time. There's not as much clever choreography in it (which isn't at all to say there isn't a good deal), and the fact that a service station is handing out quite sizeable busts of historical figures just felt like a "huh?" moment - it's not like Tati to introduce elements that don't make much sense or go against what we might reasonably see in the real world. Then, as the film rolled on, there were various moments that still captured all the magic the man is capable of. The timing and comedic sensibility of Tati a factor as always. After it finished, and I was able to weigh it all up, it still turned out being great movie. For the fifth straight time with a Tati movie, I felt that there was a lot left for me to discover in future viewings.
7/10
Captain Quint
03-11-25, 02:30 AM
106015
Boy on the Bridge (2016)
Part of my years long world tour - this is my first movie from Cyprus (meaning its filmed there, directed and acted by people from there, not just a UK or US co-production with British or American talent)
It's about a couple of boyhoods friends, and the death of the abusive father of one of the boys, and family secrets that come to light after. I liked it, it was good, though not great.
3.5
exiler96
03-11-25, 05:10 AM
Agatha (1979) - So you're imagining what happened in the 11-days disappearance of Agatha Christie, the mother of mystery-thriller fiction and THIS is what you come up with? she felt unloved in her marriage, learned about electric chair and almost finished herself in a public bath saved just on time by a man who fancied her?! ugh.
(EDIT: I looked up her Wiki page where it's stated that she disliekd movies. Makes me think of the approach here as cinema's revenge on her memory, lol.)
Good thing that Vanessa Redgrave and Dustin Hoffman give serious performances to ground this thing. It's shot by Vittorio Storaro so it looks great and sort-of leaves you with a sense of longing before you quickly remember it's all BS. 5/10... 6 when me generous.
https://prod-images.tcm.com/v5cache/TCM/Images/Dynamic/i373/agatha79_thisisntquitecricket_FC_177a_470x264_091420150329.jpg?w=400
Thursday Next
03-11-25, 06:32 AM
Moonstruck (1987)
This was charming.
4
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMDlhOTEwZDUtMDFlZC00NTNkLTllYWUtNGFlNGYwNjIxODE2XkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
The Silent Planet - (2024)
A bit on the slow side, but the story is interesting. The visual effects are rough though.
6/10
Brody At Amity
03-11-25, 10:54 AM
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c6/Mean_season_poster.jpg
3/5
Kurt Russell 1985 flick I'd never seen - The Mean Season courtesy of Amazon Prime. Certainly not amongst the great films about newspaper reporters (https://www.top10films.co.uk/73488-top-10-thrilling-films-about-newspaper-reporters/) but still entertaining fare with a wonderful ensemble cast including Andy Garcia, Joe Pantoliano, Richard Masur, and Mariel Hemingway. Richard Jordan overdoes the camp though and the "twist" ending doesn't come as the shock it wants to.
Raven73
03-11-25, 11:11 AM
The Substance
7/10.
A modern fairy tale for adults.
Would have been better without the last 15 minutes.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/ff/The_Substance_poster.jpg/220px-The_Substance_poster.jpg
Repo Man (1984) – The Abyss left me wanting more 80s sci-fi so I gave this a chance, which couldn’t be more different a flick, attitude-wise and budget-wise.
After a banger opening I was hooked, ready to follow Emilio Estevez and Harry Dean Stanton (both giving charismatic performances here) as something like a buddy cop duo... but they part ways and the ride gets more and more twisted to the point my drunk ass couldn’t follow clearly. Still, I appreciated the world-building, the snappy dialogue, the brisk editing, the dark humor and the cynicism of it all. Iggy Pop’s score added to it's punkish swagger too..... would watch again. 7/10
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5048f125e4b0bd178ab3741a/1506005491014-M1CQ4O9230SAFZH10YIH/2.+repomanposter_sept21-17.jpg
Another of my favorite movies. I think this is a really special, rare, almost-perfect movie. Makes me glad cinema exists.
LeBoyWondeur
03-11-25, 01:45 PM
Another of my favorite movies. I think this is a really special, rare, almost-perfect movie. Makes me glad cinema exists.
I think the best part is the background noise.
Characters never stop talking and there's always something going on on the radio or TV. It reminds me of the industrial score that is often used in David Lynch films.
I always confuse Emilio Estevez with Mario Lopez even though Mario is the only one who looks like his name.
Hotel Security
03-11-25, 04:14 PM
>The Substance
7/10.
A modern fairy tale for adults.
Would have been better without the last 15 minutes.
I wasn't grossed out but more confused by what they were trying to do. The reaction of all the audience was so over-the-top and cartoonish that i couldn't take anything seriously...why is everyone acting like they're dying? I think it's supposed to be funny but I guess I didn't get that part. Like every Oscar nom, it's good but with a few flaws.
Fabulous
03-11-25, 04:42 PM
Made (2001)
3.5
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/304h6xaTlCfZtk5FDzWkgw0k6W7.jpg
The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955) This lacks any sense of fun or excitement. It is fairly boring. Some of the acting is alright and the story, while not very interesting, is still tolerable. I am definitely adding this to my list of bad sci-fi movies.2
BigBendHiker68
03-11-25, 09:23 PM
https://s3.amazonaws.com/nightjarprod/content/uploads/sites/130/2024/11/07225845/a-complete-unknown-2024-poster-teaser.jpg
I was glad to have caught this on the big screen a few days ago before it had moved on.
A captivating look at Dylan's rise and subsequent clash within the folk music status quo as he embraced electrics and defied convention while charting his own musical path.
The vocal work by Chalamet and Barbaro is incredible, echoing that of Phoenix and Witherspoon in Mangold's other celebrated biopic Walk the Line (2005). The scene at the Newport Folk Festival where they sing "The Times, They Are A-Changin'" was absolutely sublime and gave me chills.
4.5
exiler96
03-11-25, 09:47 PM
Wetherby (1985) - A young stranger shoots himself in front of a teacher at her place the day after a gathering and shakes the interior lives of everyone involved; from hers (Vanessa Redgrave) to the detective doing the investigation.
This is a quiet film becoming more unsettling as it goes on and gradually uncovers the past of these people; the mysterious tone and fragmented structure here is what makes it special, besides the themes of "disconnection" (everybody is repressing something within them thus not communicating things to each other easily) and helplessness within their professional and personal lives.
Some of the decisions they make are odd (like his girlfriend staying at Red's house) and I wasn't sure what was the point of Judi Dench, Ian Holm and Tom Wilkinson being here beyond attending and rambling at that party, but I think they're uselessness add to the sadness in the state of things. Would watch again. 7/10
https://resizing.flixster.com/CaFumIJW60zxDKY86skBLxxG77Y=/fit-in/705x460/v2/https://resizing.flixster.com/-XZAfHZM39UwaGJIFWKAE8fS0ak=/v3/t/assets/p8665_i_h9_aa.jpg
exiler96
03-12-25, 03:10 AM
The Right Stuff (1983) - It wasn't until the president meeting scene that I stepped on board with this epic thing from 1983 but with what soon followed, how could I not? the recruitment sequence with Goldblum, the breath-holding record, the press conference where the boys build themselves up in front of the cameras, the thrill and disatisfaction on their wives faces, the space, the music...
Every cast member is game (Ed Harris, Sam Shepard and Dennis Quaid to name a few) and Philip Kauffman directs it all with grace and surprising humor (like giving us an urge to urinate at some point, lol) without becoming overtly sentimental or antagonistic towards them russians. It's somewhat long, but a grand time... 8/10
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwz6EJGXPiE5wEOn0EKh6QbWuUpbrMzuJ1G6u4k9fKH2a1KHMhFxe2O3_ogreyjT8UvXf9d9X8wY851rhhi6BYZitXs9_X pcoOK9li40XtisT2mj7zrA0iBkeaYIEh_RfI6vr-PyZcC_g/s1600/right_stuff_the_1983_685x385.jpg
The scene at the Newport Folk Festival where they sing "The Times, They Are A-Changin'" was absolutely sublime and gave me chills.
I nominated that scene for Most Memorable Scene of the Year Mofo 2024 Award.
BigBendHiker68
03-12-25, 07:55 AM
I nominated that scene for Most Memorable Scene of the Year Mofo 2024 Award.
Very nice!👍 Certainly worthy of that particular award..it was ethereal..
Stirchley
03-12-25, 12:51 PM
106038
Daft movie, but enjoyable. Very well-acted. Sophie Thatcher is lovely. I didn’t know she has an identical twin sister.
Raven73
03-12-25, 07:40 PM
Joker: Folie a deux
6/10.
I watched so many bad reviews last year that I ended up not seeing it on the big screen. But finally having watched it on DVD, it's not that its a crime-room drama that's the problem. It even isn't that it's part musical. It's the ending that's the problem. The movie kept building momentum and the ending was a train wreck, and not even a good train wreck. Guaranteed there won't be a sequel... Or Phoenix's character again.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/7190GKqCSrL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg
Raven73
03-12-25, 07:45 PM
>The Substance
7/10.
A modern fairy tale for adults.
Would have been better without the last 15 minutes.
I wasn't grossed out but more confused by what they were trying to do. The reaction of all the audience was so over-the-top and cartoonish that i couldn't take anything seriously...why is everyone acting like they're dying? I think it's supposed to be funny but I guess I didn't get that part. Like every Oscar nom, it's good but with a few flaws.
I think they were going for a dream sequence, but it just didn't jive with the rest of the movie. You're right: it felt over-the-top and cartoonish. They should have ended with the monster looking in the mirror, and then maybe just falling apart on the sidewalk.
exiler96
03-12-25, 08:15 PM
Bad Timing (1980) - Although my drunk ass couldn't follow this very closely I can say, rather confidently, that this isn't top-tier Nicolas Roeg; since it doesn't feature musical criminals nor handsome-looking aliens. It's about a couple in a doomed relationship fuelled by fearless passion and obsessive jealousy...with a (wasted, I thought) Harvey Keitel trying to make sense of the way it ends.
Roeg's amazing visual and musical touches are present as usual with his most famous works, but this whole affair is one thing you can guess in the begining and it stays that same thing until it's closure without many surprises. Props to Theresa Russell (who married Roeg while working on this btw) for keeping it as interesting as it was.
Curious to know how others who have seen it feel about it... I probably watch it again when I wanna feel like shit. 6/10
https://lifevsfilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/theresa-russell-bad-timing-1.jpg
Fabulous
03-12-25, 08:54 PM
Colors (1988)
3
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/jDyLuULFelcdJRSyYPMmZqlY83f.jpg
Captain Quint
03-12-25, 09:08 PM
106044
The Brutalist was sublime at the start but collapsed in its final hour. Acting is top drawer.
Sing Sing didn't have that epic high, and normally I'm allergic to sentimentalism, but I bought into it, and its overall the steadier, more consistent film - fantastic performances, heck, If I was an Oscar voter, I'd have gone Colman over Brody
Gideon58
03-13-25, 01:36 AM
106044
The Brutalist was sublime at the start but collapsed in its final hour. Acting is top drawer.
Sing Sing didn't have that epic high, and normally I'm allergic to sentimentalism, but I bought into it, and its overall the steadier, more consistent film - fantastic performances, heck, If I was an Oscar voter, I'd have gone Colman over Brody
I agree with you about The Brutalist...though I don't think it needed to be 3 hours and 20 minutes long, it had me until the climax, which I found very unpleasant.
Gideon58
03-13-25, 01:44 AM
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/77/My_favorite_year.jpg
3rd Rewatch...Richard Benjamin directed this funny and touching salute to 1950's television. Mark Linn-Baker, years before he became Larry on Perfect Strangers, had his first starring role playing a young writer on a 1950's variety show, a la Sid Ceasar's Show of Shows, who is excited because his favorite movie star. a hard drinking and womanizing cad named Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole) is going to be the guest star on this week's show and Benjy, Linn-Baker's character has been assigned. The show is a loving homage to Your Show of Shows and apparently is based on the actual events when Erroll Flynn was set to guest star. O'Toole is absolutely sublime here, earning the film its only Oscar nomination, but the rest of the cast including Lainie Kazan, Bill Macy Adolph Green, Cameron Mitchell, and especially Joseph Bologna is terrific as well. 4
WHITBISSELL!
03-13-25, 02:08 AM
https://www.moriareviews.com/rongulator/wp-content/uploads/Phantom-Planet-1961.jpg
https://64.media.tumblr.com/ea9c81876aa67878bfb3dcad50759ac0/6c62da474ef6c7ad-53/s540x810/d09d30fe34d13c78d3eb0c9a30448f2d85f69d71.gifv
The Phantom Planet - 1961 scifi which opens like so many of these seemed to, with a voice-over narration. There's the prerequisite rocket ship flying through the vacuum of space with flames shooting out the back. It looks kinda like an opaque number 2 pencil. Anyway the two astronauts inside have launched from a USAF Space Exploration Wing lunar base. They cross paths with a planetary sized asteroid that destroys their ship. The commanding officers on the moonbase send out another ship to search for them and they're quickly put of commission by a meteor shower. The bland crewmember is set up for failure so he is quickly dispatched leaving the uptight and grim Captain Frank Chapman (Dean Fredericks) to be tractor beamed onto the giant asteroids surface. It veers into a Gulliver's Travels with the Lilliputians when tiny humans surround him but once his visor is opened and he breathes in their atmosphere he shrinks down to their size.
The rest follows the same "Stranger in a Strange Land" beats with Chapman being introduced to two comely aliens and making an enemy of the jealous Herron (Anthony Dexter). The asteroid is called Rheton and is ruled by the elder Sesom (Francis X Bushman). He tells Chapman that he can never leave Rheton. They are currently at war with the Solarites an alien race of fire people which of course figures heavily in the third act. I was able to sit through the whole thing which is probably the gold standard for these types of low budget offerings. Everyone seems to be taking it seriously and the action never gets egregious enough to make you roll your eyes and regret starting the movie.
The star Dean Fredericks doesn't display much breadth and depth of acting ability and the only other thing I remember him being in, outside of numerous appearances on the old Cheyenne TV show, is the scifi classic Them! He had a small role as a police detective and the only thing that made it memorable was the scene where the two missing boys mother is being interviewed by James Arness and James Whitmore. She's of course crying and Fredericks is in the background looking grim and hostile. He more or less repeated that throughout this movie so I guess he had one setting when it came acting. When the pluses and minuses are tallied up this wasn't all that terrible.
50/100
StuSmallz
03-13-25, 04:40 AM
https://www.moriareviews.com/rongulator/wp-content/uploads/Phantom-Planet-1961.jpg
https://64.media.tumblr.com/ea9c81876aa67878bfb3dcad50759ac0/6c62da474ef6c7ad-53/s540x810/d09d30fe34d13c78d3eb0c9a30448f2d85f69d71.gifv
The Phantom Planet - 1961 scifi which opens like so many of these seemed to, with a voice-over narration. There's the prerequisite rocket ship flying through the vacuum of space with flames shooting out the back. It looks kinda like an opaque number 2 pencil. Anyway the two astronauts inside have launched from a USAF Space Exploration Wing lunar base. They cross paths with a planetary sized asteroid that destroys their ship. The commanding officers on the moonbase send out another ship to search for them and they're quickly put of commission by a meteor shower. The bland crewmember is set up for failure so he is quickly dispatched leaving the uptight and grim Captain Frank Chapman (Dean Fredericks) to be tractor beamed onto the giant asteroids surface. It veers into a Gulliver's Travels with the Lilliputians when tiny humans surround him but once his visor is opened and he breathes in their atmosphere he shrinks down to their size.
The rest follows the same "Stranger in a Strange Land" beats with Chapman being introduced to two comely aliens and making an enemy of the jealous Herron (Anthony Dexter). The asteroid is called Rheton and is ruled by the elder Sesom (Francis X Bushman). He tells Chapman that he can never leave Rheton. They are currently at war with the Solarites an alien race of fire people which of course figures heavily in the third act. I was able to sit through the whole thing which is probably the gold standard for these types of low budget offerings. Everyone seems to be taking it seriously and the action never gets egregious enough to make you roll your eyes and regret starting the movie.
The star Dean Fredericks doesn't display much breadth and depth of acting ability and the only other thing I remember him being in, outside of numerous appearances on the old Cheyenne TV show, is the scifi classic Them! He had a small role as a police detective and the only thing that made it memorable was the scene where the two missing boys mother is being interviewed by James Arness and James Whitmore. She's of course crying and Fredericks is in the background looking grim and hostile. He more or less repeated that throughout this movie so I guess he had one setting when it came acting. When the pluses and minuses are tallied up this wasn't all that terrible.
50/100You've seen this on MST3K before, right?
exiler96
03-13-25, 08:30 AM
fantastic performances, heck, If I was an Oscar voter, I'd have gone Colman over Brody
Clarence Maclin was so snubbed of a nom.... I'd have nominated him over Chalamet.
ueno_station54
03-13-25, 08:51 AM
https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/xb/qg/78/zd/tOQekTHJmVCgfUYXTb6dLAu6l8W-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=647348df81
deeply unpleasant film
4
ueno_station54
03-13-25, 11:37 AM
https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/1/2/7/2/4/12724-the-patsy-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=9d2f10d4a8
very cute and charming
4
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/77/My_favorite_year.jpg
3rd Rewatch...Richard Benjamin directed this funny and touching salute to 1950's television. Mark Linn-Baker, years before he became Larry on Perfect Strangers, had his first starring role playing a young writer on a 1950's variety show, a la Sid Ceasar's Show of Shows, who is excited because his favorite movie star. a hard drinking and womanizing cad named Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole) is going to be the guest star on this week's show and Benjy, Linn-Baker's character has been assigned. The show is a loving homage to Your Show of Shows and apparently is based on the actual events when Erroll Flynn was set to guest star. O'Toole is absolutely sublime here, earning the film its only Oscar nomination, but the rest of the cast including Lainie Kazan, Bill Macy Adolph Green, Cameron Mitchell, and especially Joseph Bologna is terrific as well. 4
This is actually one of my favorite movies of all time, I've seen it at least twenty times, and it is how I will always remember Peter O'Toole, more so than Lawrence Of Arabia.
WALLACE & GROMIT
VENGEANCE MOST FOWL
(2024, Park & Crossingham)
https://i.imgur.com/oFeDvcN.jpeg
"Oh, so that's your plan! You get away scot-free with the diamond, and everyone thinks I'm the evil inventor who stole it... Why, that's… that’s… vengeance… most fowl!"
Once again, Nick Park & Co. deliver with a feature that's a lot of fun, while using impressive animation. The return of Feathers McGraw is definitely welcome [taps avatar] while Gromit continues to be a favorite of mine. He's easily the best character and the one to root for. Wallace's aloofness and obliviousness can get on my nerves at times, but that's part of the charm and fun.
I do get the feeling that the film could've been a bit shorter. I felt like some of the plot points were a bit stretched to pad the runtime, like Gromit's rivalry with Norbot, McGraw's subsequent escape from jail, or some of the interactions between the police officers. It never becomes tiresome, but I do feel it could've been maybe 20 minutes shorter without losing anything. Still, I had a lot of fun watching this fowl vengeance unfold.
Grade: 3.5
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2542635#post2542635)
exiler96
03-13-25, 04:29 PM
Walker (1987) - On a bit of an Ed Harris kick recently and decided to finally check out this career-ender (?) for Alex Cox... which was a waste of time. The longest 90-mins feature I've tolerated in a long time. I don't mind what it's saying btw but how it says it, which is one-note, repetetive, not-smart and unpleasant to experience. 3/10
https://www.californiaherps.com/films/filmimages/walker6.jpg
ANUJA
(2024, Graves)
https://i.imgur.com/AfQFGFr.jpeg
"What if I don't want to be a smart girl?"
This Oscar-nominated short follows the titular girl (Sajda Pathan), a gifted 9-year-old that lives with her older sister Palak (Ananya Shanbhag) while working in a clothes factory. However, Anja is being sought out by a local schoolteacher that's offering her a chance to earn a scholarship to a boarding school, which will undoubtedly change her life, one way or the other.
Yet another heartbreaking short, even if it is more pensive, as the director tries to put is inside the mind of this little girl that has no idea what to do. Do I leave my sister behind and take this opportunity that might seeem uncertain but could change my life, or do I stay with what I know, with my sister, in this comfort zone but be enslaved to this way of life, probably forever?
Grade: 3.5
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2542643#post2542643)
THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ORCHESTRA
(2023, O'Brien)
https://i.imgur.com/WOLJWZ7.jpeg
"I don't feel I'm an artist. I don't feel I'm good enough. I've never felt I've been good enough."
The Only Girl in the Orchestra follows the life and career of Orin O'Brien, an iconic bassist that became the first female musician to be accepted in the New York Philarmonic back in the 1960s. Handpicked by Leonard Bernstein, O'Brien shares some of the struggles she has faced in her career, her own insecurities, and what lies in front of her as she retires.
This is the documentary short that ended up winning the Oscar. However, having seen three of the nominees, I have to say it's the weakest one. It's not bad at all, but it was more of a conventional, by-the-numbers documentary; Here is this important woman, this is what she did, here's where she is now. The End. I wish they would've dug more into the hardships and limitations that she, and other women, faced to belong in her field. Sadly, an unremarkable short to a remarkable woman.
Grade: 2.5
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2542650#post2542650)
Hotel Security
03-13-25, 06:31 PM
>Clarence Maclin was so snubbed of a nom.... I'd have nominated him over Chalamet.
Yeah but Maclin would have probably gone for Best Supporting. I know he's a second lead in the film but that's how this stuff works.
>This is the documentary short that ended up winning the Oscar. However, having seen three of the nominees, I have to say it's the weakest one.
I have a feeling it won because it's on Netflix so it's probably one of the few that had actual visibilty. Seems like being on one of the streaming apps is a big boost for short films and docs when it comes to awards.
Gideon58
03-13-25, 09:49 PM
This is actually one of my favorite movies of all time, I've seen it at least twenty times, and it is how I will always remember Peter O'Toole, more so than Lawrence Of Arabia.
This is the only movie with which I associate Peter O’Toole
FLOW
(2024, Zilbalodis)
https://i.imgur.com/ogBnKNK.jpeg
"They made me care about a cat, Carlo. I will never forgive them." --Sylvie
Directed by Gints Zilbalodis, Flow is set in a seemingly post-apocalyptic world inhabited by animals. We start following this grey cat as he's chased by a pack of dogs while trying to catch fish. Later, when a sudden flood causes the water levels to rise, the cat finds himself stuck in a sailboat with one of the dogs, as well as several other animals, as they all try to survive.
But like I said above, this goes to the very core of the film. Creatures and animals that are not meant to care for the other eventually end up caring and helping each other survive. It's only made more impressive by how effectively that message of unity despite whatever circumstances is transmitted through relatively simple animation and no dialogue.
Grade: 4
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2542717#post2542717)
exiler96
03-13-25, 11:14 PM
Sweet Dreams (1985) - This makes a fine combo with Coal Miner's Daughter... I'm not sure why exactly but such music biopics from the 80s fare better than James Mangod type stuff from the 90s till today... maybe because they are about people and not only music.
This one in particular avoids usual trappings ("...and THIS is where they were artistically inspired! and THIS is where they were discovered and THIS is where they met their [insert a bigger name] idols! aren't you amazed yet?!") and lets itself be about it's two central characters experiencing ups and downs of a marriage, played with unbearable charm by Jessica Lange and Ed Harris, the latter being more of a double-edged sword. I feel I had heard Patsy Cline's music but knew nothing about her life; so imagine how much the ending shook me.....
7/10.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c6/Sweet_dreams_poster.jpg
A nice read-up on Harris' performance highlighting qualities which I dug too: https://cinematiccorner.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-unsung-hero-blogathon-ed-harris-in.html
WHITBISSELL!
03-14-25, 02:57 AM
You've seen this on MST3K before, right?No. I really need to do that.
chawhee
03-14-25, 08:59 AM
Mr. Church (2016)
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w780/yqSoah0PpGMJWPdMdeZC9XFxbts.jpg
3
I can't quite put my finger on why I didn't like this more...it's a heartwarming story about a man (Eddie Murphy) who helps take care of a family with a cancer-stricken mother and growing daughter. It felt longer than it should be even though its only 1h40m, and it has a Hallmark generic feel to it as well.
Hotel Security
03-14-25, 09:35 AM
>This one in particular avoids usual trappings ("...and THIS is where they were artistically inspired! and THIS is where they were discovered and THIS is where they met their [insert a bigger name] idols! aren't you amazed yet?!")
That's good to see. I love music but I really don't like most music biopics...would rather just watch a two-hour concert of the subject...I feel I'd learn a lot more from that. Probably why I loved the Dewey Cox story...it nailed every one of those tired cliches.
Fabulous
03-14-25, 03:25 PM
Rolling Thunder (1977)
3.5
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/q9DeIrTv1VyxO0OovYait2lwkDM.jpg
Gideon58
03-14-25, 07:40 PM
Sweet Dreams (1985) - This makes a fine combo with Coal Miner's Daughter... I'm not sure why exactly but such music biopics from the 80s fare better than James Mangod type stuff from the 90s till today... maybe because they are about people and not only music.
This one in particular avoids usual trappings ("...and THIS is where they were artistically inspired! and THIS is where they were discovered and THIS is where they met their [insert a bigger name] idols! aren't you amazed yet?!") and lets itself be about it's two central characters experiencing ups and downs of a marriage, played with unbearable charm by Jessica Lange and Ed Harris, the latter being more of a double-edged sword. I feel I had heard Patsy Cline's music but knew nothing about her life; so imagine how much the ending shook me.....
7/10.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c6/Sweet_dreams_poster.jpg
A nice read-up on Harris' performance highlighting qualities which I dug too: https://cinematiccorner.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-unsung-hero-blogathon-ed-harris-in.html
Love this movie…never tire of rewatching it
exiler96
03-14-25, 09:11 PM
I love music but I really don't like most music biopics...would rather just watch a two-hour concert of the subject...I feel I'd learn a lot more from that. Probably why I loved the Dewey Cox story...it nailed every one of those tired cliches.
Walk Hard is a damn masterpiece.
Gideon58
03-14-25, 09:59 PM
Turner Classic Movies spent today saluting MGM dance legend Ann Miller. Here is what I got to see.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/On_the_Town_%281949_poster%29_crop.jpg
Umpteenth Rewatch...This 1949 classic is based on a Leonard Bernstein musical about three sailors (Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Jules Munshin) on a 24 hour leave in New York and the three girls (Vera-Ellen, Betty Garrett, Miller) and their adventures. Musical comedy at MGM's best. {Rating]4[/Rating]
https://www.theepochtimes.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F01%2F04%2Fid5558238-0300-600x459.jpg&w=1200&q=75
2nd Rewatch...This musical about a rich playboy (Farley Granger) who gets arrested for speeding through a small town called Duck Creek and falls for the judge's pretty daughter (Jane Powell) is nothing special except for two musical numbers that both made their way into the That's Entertainment franchise. One, "You Gotta Hear That Beat" involves Miller tap dancing on top of a disembodied orchestra. The other, "Take Me to Broadway", features Bobby Van as human pogo stick. 3
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/25/KissMeKateFilm.JPG
Umpteenth Rewatch...This sparkling film version of the Cole Porter Broadway musical features Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel as a divorced theatrical couple reuniting for a musical version of Taming of the Shrew. Miller plays the ditzy chorus girl Keel hires to play Bianca, with whom he is also having an affair. One of Cole Porter's best scores and a supporting cast including Kurt Kaznar, Bobby Van, and a young dancer named Bob Fosse keep this classic always watchable. 4
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYTg5NDhhMjMtZDg2OS00YTc0LTgxMTItYjkwMTZjMTZmMzZmXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg
2nd Rewatch...Another musical about three sailors and their girls that has kind of a haphazard screenplay, but those Vincent Youman songs and a cast that includes Miller, Jane Powell, Vic Damone, Tony Martin, Debbie Reynolds, and Walter Piedgon definitely make it worth a look. 3
Fabulous
03-15-25, 12:23 AM
At Close Range (1986)
3
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/bteDcUwfahrRfBEsXUlSqv1Hjvu.jpg
PHOENIX74
03-15-25, 01:21 AM
For the past couple of years I've been buying the biographies of various different famous actors - books are so cheap these days, and I'd love to know more about the stars of bygone days. Finally, I've started reading one of them - Humphrey Bogart. Written by A. M. Sperber and Eric Lax. It's leading to what I thought might happen - an overwhelming desire to see the films he appeared in as I read about them.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d9/Petrifiedforestposter.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17816395
The Petrified Forest - (1936)
Humphrey Bogart kind of fell into acting via the circles he moved in (he came from a wealthy family) and the fact that his youth was rather aimless and his grades at school no good. He was smart enough - but would only apply himself in fits and spurts. His stage career started slowly, as did his film career - but when the play The Petrified Forest came along he ended up with the role of John Dillinger-based criminal Duke Mantee, who takes a group of diners hostage while on the run. The play was a huge hit, and Humphrey Bogart stood out in the rave reviews it received. Leading the cast as two lovestruck hostages were Leslie Howard and Peggy Conklin. When Warner Bros. bought the property they retained Leslie Howard to carry over his role, and promised Bogart the part of Mantee. Just before heading to Hollywood Bogart got the news that the studio had changed their mind, and were offering the role to Edward G. Robinson instead. It was Howard who came to the rescue, demanding that Bogart get the part lest he leave the project, and Warners caved to his demands. If they hadn't of, we'd probably have no idea of who Humphrey Bogart was today.
So, The Petrified Forest was Bogart's big break, but not the breakthrough that would lead to superstardom. He is absolutely fantastic in it as the dark, unshaven and desperate murderer - like a caged animal he broods and lashes out. He doesn't appear until around the 40-minute mark of the film though. It starts by introducing Gabrielle Maple (Bette Davis), daughter of diner-owner Jason Maple (Porter Hall), and lusted after by employee Boze Hertzlinger (Dick Foran), a former football player. To the diner comes traveller Alan Squier (Leslie Howard), and he unintentionally sweeps Gabrielle off her feet with his erudite ways. Eventually, of course, Duke Mantee and his gang descend upon the place and we learn a lot about who these people are while under life or death pressure. This is a very intelligent film, with the type of inventive cinematography you rarely see in 1930s movies - it's literate, superbly acted and greatly affected by the Great Depression. I was very glad to see it, and enjoyed it immensely.
8/10
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/55/Black_Legion.jpg
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17104564
Black Legion - (1937)
After making a name for himself in The Petrified Forest Warner Bros. signed Humphrey Bogart on as one of their contracted performers. He was, of course, not ushered in and offered plum roles - instead having to make do with B movies and second-rate parts. Black Legion ended up being something of a break in that sad routine - for once Bogart was being offered the lead in a decent movie. He plays factory worker Frank Taylor, who is passed over promotion-wise in favour of a Polish immigrant at work. Angry at this, he joins the Black Legion (kind of the Ku Klux Klan of the Midwest) when he hears one of their speeches on the radio. It starts with running foreigners out of town, burning down their houses and flogging them. It ends, of course, with murder - with West losing his soul in the process. Bogart's transformation from happy family man to savage, drunken murderer is totally believable and it's his performance that makes the movie as compelling as it is. Black Legion isn't subtle, but it's straightforward and sharp approach deals with the subject at hand without sermonizing - and I appreciate that. Another very good Bogart film well worth seeking out and watching.
7/10
Gideon58
03-15-25, 01:47 AM
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71rflB-pgoL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
1st Rewatch...Uncompromising writing and directing by Woody Allen and a powerhouse performance by Cate Blanchett that won her a Best Actress Oscar are the anchors of a cringy comedy drama called Blue Jasmine. Blanchett's Jasmine is a pampered wealthy socialite who has start her life all over again by moving in with her sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins) after her womanizing, crooked businessman husband (Alec Baldwin) is arrested and hangs himself in his cell. I love the set-up of the relationship between Jasmine and Ginger as they are revealed to be sisters through being adopted by the same family. This movie is an uncomfortable watch because this Jasmine is one of the most completely unlikable characters ever brought to the screen, but Blanchett's stunning work keeps her watchable. The relationship between Jasmine and Ginger reminds me of Blanche and Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire. Fortunately, this is one of those rare occasions where a movie character gets exactly what's coming to her. 4
I_Wear_Pants
03-15-25, 03:12 AM
I finished Thing from Another World tonight. It's all right. I didn't like the first two acts. The third act is pretty good. I liked how they fought The Thing. I do know the film was rooted in Cold War paranoia which is fine because that's never bothered me. The effects were disappointing vis we only see The Thing for like five minutes the whole film. I felt kind of cheated. Maybe it was a budget thing? I'm not sure. It looked cool when we did see it though. Overall not a great film, while it also isn't a bad film. It's just a there film.
BigBendHiker68
03-15-25, 12:37 PM
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMGVlY2I5YzMtYWMzOC00MWU3LTllZDAtZWI5NDVmNDI2OGJkXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
Hong Sang-Soo's quiet kitchen-sink reverie belies the powerful emotional crises simmering beneath the facade of conventional middle class routines.
A filmmaker grappling with problems both professional and personal tries to find some kind of equilibrium as he navigates the muddy waters of friendship, family and romantic love.
Although unevenly paced and muddled by an abrupt and (perhaps not intentionally) ambiguous ending, these flaws are redeemed by the powerful emotional tones and incredibly moving (if understated) performances of ordinary people struggling to connect.
The beautiful simplicity of Sang-Soo's monochromatic palette renders the affecting emotional journey all the more starkly.
4
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71rflB-pgoL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
1st Rewatch...Uncompromising writing and directing by Woody Allen and a powerhouse performance by Cate Blanchett that won her a Best Actress Oscar are the anchors of a cringy comedy drama called Blue Jasmine. Blanchett's Jasmine is a pampered wealthy socialite who has start her life all over again by moving in with her sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins) after her womanizing, crooked businessman husband (Alec Baldwin) is arrested and hangs himself in his cell. I love the set-up of the relationship between Jasmine and Ginger as they are revealed to be sisters through being adopted by the same family. This movie is an uncomfortable watch because this Jasmine is one of the most completely unlikable characters ever brought to the screen, but Blanchett's stunning work keeps her watchable. The relationship between Jasmine and Ginger reminds me of Blanche and Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire. Fortunately, this is one of those rare occasions where a movie character gets exactly what's coming to her. 4
I didn't exactly like this movie because it was such a freakin' bummer... but man was Cate Blanchett good. I haven't seen this movie in probably 5 years and I was just thinking last night about how Blanchett is All-Time Elite and Blue Jasmine proves it.
A River Runs Through It (1992)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6c/A_river_runs_through_it_poster.jpg
Robert Redford’s adaptation of Norman Maclean’s semi-autobiographical novella about two brothers in early 20th Century Montana whose lives revolve around faith and fly fishing is a cinematic gem with the look of a painting and the sound and rhythm of a poem. The film is filled with nostalgia, happiness, and heartbreak as it explores the relationship of Norman Maclean, the protagonist, and his younger brother Paul, whom Norman dearly loves but can do little to help as the latter hurtles toward his ultimate demise. The cast is excellent, especially Tom Skerritt, who plays John MacLean, Norman and Paul’s father. Philippe Rousselot’s Oscar-winning cinematography is gorgeous to look at, and Mark Isham’s pious, delicate musical score is reminiscent of a Protestant hymn, which is fitting since John Maclean was a Protestant minister. Redford is a good actor but a much better director, and A River Runs Through It is one of his finest achievements.
Question: For those of you who have seen both A River Runs Through It and Legends of the Fall, have you noticed the numerous similarities that these two films?
4.5
THE SUBSTANCE
(2024, Fargeat)
https://i.imgur.com/uA68Afk.jpeg
"The one and only thing not to forget: You. Are. One. You can't escape from yourself."
The Substance follows Elisabeth Sparkle (Moore), an aging actress that is clinging to her old fame by hosting an old-fashioned aerobics show on TV. But when her mysogynistic producer Harvey (wink, wink) has her fired because of her age, Elisabeth decides to use a mysterious black market drug as she tries to rejuvenate herself. Unfortunately, the substance has some unexpected side effects and bizarre consequences.
This was my favorite film from the ones nominated for Best Picture, probably along Conclave (Anora wouldn't be that far behind, though). First of all, the cast was great with Moore leading the charge, but she was closely followed by Dennis Quaid as the slimy Harvey, and Margaret Qualley as Elisabeth's younger alter-ego. In addition, Fargeat's hyper-kinetic and unique directing style was a perfect match for the subject.
Grade: 4
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2543184#post2543184)
INCIDENT
(2023, Morrison)
https://i.imgur.com/3BRFjDC.jpeg
"He pulled a gun on us!"
"I know he did! I know he did!"
That's what police officers Dillan Haley and Megan Fleming are trying to convince themselves of. However, bodycam footage doesn't lie, and the truth is not necessary what they're saying. That is the premise of Incident, a short film chronicling the events around the 2018 killing of Harith "Snoop" Augustus in a Chicago street.
What makes this documentary short unique is that it features solely bodycam and surveillance footage of the "incident". I thought this was an interesting, sorta hands-off approach to things by filmmaker Bill Morrison; kinda like him saying "Here's what happened. You draw your own conclusions".
Grade: 4
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2543191#post2543191)
EMILIA PÉREZ
(2024, Audiard)
https://i.imgur.com/1fGxpH5.jpeg
"I have always been two. My real self and the beast that has followed me like a shadow."
Emilia Pérez follows the efforts of a dangerous Mexican cartel leader, Manitas del Monte (Karla Sofía Gascón), who seeks the help of attorney Rita Mora (Zoe Saldaña) to transition into a woman and eventually disappear; perhaps from authorities, but also from that "beast" that follows like a shadow.
On that last question, I will say that I didn't necessarily hate it. Considering the amount of vitriol this film has gotten, I admit I wasn't that eager to check it out, but I still found it... watchable, but pretty messy. Something that I don't think has to do with its genre mish-mash, being a musical about crime. It's just that the execution of it all seemed mostly off, awkward, and disjointed.
Grade: 2
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2543197#post2543197)
Citizen Rules
03-15-25, 07:27 PM
...
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/25/KissMeKateFilm.JPG
Umpteenth Rewatch...This sparkling film version of the Cole Porter Broadway musical features Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel as a divorced theatrical couple reuniting for a musical version of Taming of the Shrew. Miller plays the ditzy chorus girl Keel hires to play Bianca, with whom he is also having an affair. One of Cole Porter's best scores and a supporting cast including Kurt Kaznar, Bobby Van, and a young dancer named Bob Fosse keep this classic always watchable. rating_4
Kiss Me Kate made my ballot for the MoFo Top 100 Musicals, too bad it didn't make the countdown. Ann Miller has some good amount of air time in this one.
Takoma11
03-15-25, 10:21 PM
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FM%2FMV5BNjA5NjAxMjQwNV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMTk4MDcyNA%40%40._V1_.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=09fe4eb59afaee05be5e77304d4f62f9c5f0b201cfe975bcc86a4f76e35eaa45&ipo=images
An Affair to Remember, 1957
Terry (Deborah Kerr) is aboard an ocean liner headed for New York when she meets playboy womanizer Nickie (Cary Grant). While both are already attached to significant others, they cannot deny the sparks that fly between them. Despite some attempts to give each other space, the two end up unable to accept walking away from each other, and agree that if they have ended their current relationships and made a success of themselves, they will reunite at the top of the Empire State Building in six months time. But neither foresees the complications that will threaten their blossoming romance.
For me, the magic of the movie just drained out in that last half. Is the final sequence really well executed? Yes. Was it enough to save the film? Nope. And for me that was doubly true because the thing that has been keeping them apart feels incredibly contrived, so that the desired catharsis of that last moment falls a bit short.
3
FULL REVIEW (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2543322#post2543322)
One of those movies where I was tempted to give it another half star just to not look contrarian, lol.
High Noon (1952) - Fred Zinneman. Wow, what a film: 9.5/10
https://64.media.tumblr.com/129742483685fbdf1b5d01c03dab7f20/4479a50650f1b51b-8d/s540x810/3384fd899370b79a3af2481fcea59d2840f69756.gifv
PHOENIX74
03-16-25, 12:28 AM
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/36/Parade_%28film%29.jpg
By The logo may be obtained from Parade (1974 film)., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7676810
Parade - (1974)
So, my final stop on what has been a delightful tour of Jacque Tati's films ends up not with a final moment of applause or enjoyable surprise but instead disappointment. The terrible irony of it all is that Tati's greatest achievement, Playtime, also proved his downfall. Financially ruined, he eked out Trafic in 1971 (with Dutch backing) and thanks to a Swedish television station he managed to put together what is basically a staged performance of circus acts and his own series of mimes (which he performs himself), with the audience being fully incorporated into the film as a whole. Unfortunately, while Tati's presence is magnetic and brilliant, his act by this stage had already been seen in various places over the years and by this stage was very old. He doesn't invent anything new for Parade - he just reperforms his "greatest hits" so to speak. Even when it's set up as if he's ad-libbing backstage, he's in fact doing a bit he's done many times before. In the meantime, the circus performers, while energetic and full of verve, are decidedly average and lose much of their appeal on a screen instead of being seen live. That makes this movie a bit of a chore to sit through, and considering Jacques Tati's brilliance and genius that's an incredibly sad thing to do.
5/10
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6c/CatinBrain.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from Grindhouse Releasing., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22720483
A Cat in the Brain - (1990)
It would be easy to treat Lucio Fulci's A Cat in the Brain with pure cynicism, with footage from so many other horror films used in it, but being a very self-referential movie this one manages to be both exceedingly funny and savage in it's satire - enough so for me to give it a complete free pass as to how it was made. Full review here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2542266#post2542266), in my watchlist thread.
7/10
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/72/Reflectingskinposter.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8083801
The Reflecting Skin - (1990)
If you're up for something dark and disturbing and haven't seen this, then I highly recommend it. It's quite an amazing work of imagination, and a fantastic film.
9/10
skizzerflake
03-16-25, 12:32 AM
Novocaine - I won't have THOSE hours back soon. So....."Nathan" is mainly unremarkable and likable but for the fact that he doesn't feel pain....any pain. His odd problem brings him into all kinds of mischief, being burned, shot, clubbed by bad guys, but it also finds him a girlfriend. He gets involved (not deliberately) in a violent bank robbery, car chases and all sorts of painful mishaps.
It has sort of a happy ending, the bank robbers get killed and he seems like he will get the girl (once she's out of jail) but not until there's a lot of chasing, violence and comedic bloodletting.
Yikes. Take a likable performance by the actors, mercifully short, without a dull moment, and what you have is a waste of an hour and a half. See it at your risk. Don't say I didn't warn you.
:popcorn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PyOIlJEdqA
THE ELECTRIC STATE
https://www.slashfilm.com/img/gallery/you-may-recognize-the-actors-behind-these-electric-state-characters/intro-1741981863.jpg
A film with no reason to exist. I think someone saw some paintings by Simon Stålenhag and said, "Let's make a movie" and handed the script off to ChatGPT. Visually it's interesting enough (that's thanks to Stålenhag), but it's not mind-blowing. Turns out uou can't bring paintings to life by just dipping them in shallow tropes.
The tropes are the same old thing. Robots are good. People are bad. Robots are allegorical stand ins for the oppressed and vulnerable. This stuff basically writes itself. This is great value A.I. (2001, Spielberg) with Chris Pratt and that girl from Stranger Things who looks ambiguously like Natalie Portman. Additional messages include the importance of interacting with people in the real world and "billionaire tech guys are bad." Really heady stuff.
Star Wars would soft-peddle violence by putting all the storm troopers white "kill me" costumes. This film makes a similar move in showing a robot war largely fought between bots and humans in bot-suits (presumably, seeing Mr. Peanut tear a human body limb-from-limb would be too much).
2 out of 5 Virtuous Robots Awarded
skizzerflake
03-16-25, 11:51 AM
Novocaine - I won't have THOSE hours back soon. So....."Nathan" is mainly unremarkable and likable but for the fact that he doesn't feel pain....any pain. His odd problem brings him into all kinds of mischief, being burned, shot, clubbed by bad guys, but it also finds him a girlfriend. He gets involved (not deliberately) in a violent bank robbery, car chases and all sorts of painful mishaps.
It has sort of a happy ending, the bank robbers get killed and he seems like he will get the girl (once she's out of jail) but not until there's a lot of chasing, violence and comedic bloodletting.
Yikes. Take a likable performance by the actors, mercifully short, without a dull moment, and what you have is a waste of an hour and a half. See it at your risk. Don't say I didn't warn you.
:popcorn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PyOIlJEdqA
If somebody else sees this, let me know if you see some glaring plot holes and discontinuities. I kept having that feeling, but I'd have to see it again to verify that it was that and not just my eyes glazing over and this one is not a do-over for me.
Deschain
03-16-25, 01:29 PM
If somebody else sees this, let me know if you see some glaring plot holes and discontinuities. I kept having that feeling, but I'd have to see it again to verify that it was that and not just my eyes glazing over and this one is not a do-over for me.
I like Jack Quaid and seeing the trailer before Nosferatu put this one on my radar but it’s a bummer to hear you didn’t like it so much. I’ll definitely give it a watch when it hits streaming and hopefully I’ll find stuff to enjoy.
MovieGal
03-16-25, 01:48 PM
If somebody else sees this, let me know if you see some glaring plot holes and discontinuities. I kept having that feeling, but I'd have to see it again to verify that it was that and not just my eyes glazing over and this one is not a do-over for me.
To me, it seems like a carefree, senseless movie but lots of fun.
I plan on watching it. Maybe this Tuesday.
Gideon58
03-16-25, 09:25 PM
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91wFsSOmXrL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
2nd Rewatch...Predictable but fun comedy about the owner of a print company (Bryan Cranston) who goes to California with his wife and son to spend Christmas with his duaghter who's in college and upon arrrival, learn that his daughter is practically engaged to a tech billionaire (James Franco). Franco appears to be having a ball here and works well with Cranston and Megan Mullally as his wife. Keegan Michael Key also steals every scene he's in as Franco's assistant. 3.5
Gideon58
03-16-25, 09:28 PM
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNTI3Y2Y4NDgtY2I1NS00M2JmLWI5NzEtYTQwYTUwZGQxYzZlXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg
Umpteenth Rewatch...There's no way this movie would get greenlighted in the world we live in today, but it is still one of the funniest movies ever made. A bawdy western satire with something to offend everyone and pretty much demolishes the fourth fall. 4.5
Gideon58
03-16-25, 09:38 PM
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61Um16UQNnL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
1st Rewatch...Goerge Clooney really stepped out of his comfort stone as an actor here, earning a Best Actor nomination, with a strong assist from director and co-screenwriter Alexander Payne (Sideways, Election) in this comedy drama that is directly in Payne's comfort zone, earning him an Oscar for the screenplay. Clooney plays a businessman who lives in Hawaii and is in the middle of negotiating an important land deal for his family when he suddenly has to deal with the death of wife in a baoting accident, stepping up to care for his two daughters, and the revelation that his wife was having an affair. After years of playing womanizing studs, Clooney is surprisingly appealing as a businessman and father. The film also features gorgeous Hawaiian scenery and music. 4
Fabulous
03-17-25, 12:26 AM
Untamed Heart (1993)
3.5
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/lrcsx9KvGfD0Qmdfw2nRj7nE2VE.jpg
Captain Quint
03-17-25, 05:21 AM
106155
I'm just not a fan of Sean Baker's, Red Rocket was good, so I thought maybe it might be the start of something, but nope. I didn't care for the music montage thing it leaned on at the start, disliked the chaos that passed as humor in the mid-section, the final act was good, that felt honest, it got away from the noise and latched onto the humanity of these people. Wish there would have been more of that.
2024 has seriously been an underwhelming film year for me as a whole. The last of the majors I need to see is "I'm Still Here", and I hope it doesn't let me down (either in small or major ways, as so many have)
3.5
chawhee
03-17-25, 09:39 AM
Promising Young Woman (2020)
https://play-lh.googleusercontent.com/ryZNQJpNVAsQy7Csp_8ZlCTJi6mRjzLhMTlAn2w43y_i8FqzhFXnA_ipjTdWL8L44jrtWe74_nSTunHJyN3v
4
Rewatch, and my rating remains the same. Loved all of it, except the instances where she executes her ploy to get men to take her home. She lets them off too easy, and it seems like those payoffs should have been more gratifying.
Gideon58
03-17-25, 11:06 AM
Promising Young Woman (2020)
https://play-lh.googleusercontent.com/ryZNQJpNVAsQy7Csp_8ZlCTJi6mRjzLhMTlAn2w43y_i8FqzhFXnA_ipjTdWL8L44jrtWe74_nSTunHJyN3v
4
Rewatch, and my rating remains the same. Loved all of it, except the instances where she executes her ploy to get men to take her home. She lets them off too easy, and it seems like those payoffs should have been more gratifying.
LOVED this movie
Promising Young Woman (2020)
https://play-lh.googleusercontent.com/ryZNQJpNVAsQy7Csp_8ZlCTJi6mRjzLhMTlAn2w43y_i8FqzhFXnA_ipjTdWL8L44jrtWe74_nSTunHJyN3v
4
Rewatch, and my rating remains the same. Loved all of it, except the instances where she executes her ploy to get men to take her home. She lets them off too easy, and it seems like those payoffs should have been more gratifying.
I'm pretty close to agreement with you except that I thought her letting them off easy after just scaring the shit out of them keeps the movie grounded, her sanity still in check, and her still relatable. I think if the movie goes to a darker place with that aspect she becomes a bit too obvious and unsympathetic and then the rest doesn't work as well.
Stirchley
03-17-25, 12:23 PM
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61Um16UQNnL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
1st Rewatch...Goerge Clooney really stepped out of his comfort stone as an actor here, earning a Best Actor nomination, with a strong assist from director and co-screenwriter Alexander Payne (Sideways, Election) in this comedy drama that is directly in Payne's comfort zone, earning him an Oscar for the screenplay. Clooney plays a businessman who lives in Hawaii and is in the middle of negotiating an important land deal for his family when he suddenly has to deal with the death of wife in a baoting accident, stepping up to care for his two daughters, and the revelation that his wife was having an affair. After years of playing womanizing studs, Clooney is surprisingly appealing as a businessman and father. The film also features gorgeous Hawaiian scenery and music. 4
Good movie.
Gideon58
03-17-25, 03:32 PM
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMGM3MzQwMWItNjM2Ny00NTkwLThkZWMtZmNiYTlhMGZlN2JhXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
2.5
DUNE
(2021, Villeneuve)
https://i.imgur.com/zaIxjPU.jpeg
"The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience. A process that cannot be understood by stopping it. We must move with the flow of the process. We must join it. We must flow with it."
Set thousands of years in the future, Dune follows Paul as he journeys with his family, House Atreides, to take control of the desert planet of Arrakis. This puts them in the middle of a fight between their enemies, House Harkonnen and the native inhabitants of the planet, the Fremen. However, they will soon discover that there are far more treacherous purposes behind them being sent there.
Having seen it back-to-back with Part Two over the course of two nights, the line between one and the other is a bit blurrier. Still, I found the technical aspects to be top-notch, the setup to be very compelling, and the performances to be very good. Chalamet is a very interesting actor in that you don't really notice him stretching his range too much beyond his sleepy-eyed, laid-back exterior, but he still oozes a certain intensity and fire inside that is somewhat magnetic and also fits well with his character's journey and the above quote.
Grade: 3.5
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2543730#post2543730)
Fabulous
03-17-25, 05:13 PM
Bring It On (2000)
3
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/e0uETwK1JVrX1SsbZ2rawFvQqJ.jpg
Hotel Security
03-17-25, 06:57 PM
I have Descendants sitting waiting to be watched. Need to get to that one. Promising Young Woman was too outlandish...seeing how far her plan goes really killed it all for me.
The Handmaiden (2016)
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/9188f-qX2kL._SL1500_.jpg
South Korean movie by Park Chan-wook aka "the guy who did Oldboy." I'm not the biggest on Oldboy but I love Park's style...reminds me a lot of Christopher Nolan with the fast-paced story and dramatic music carrying multiple scenes at time. It's a period piece about a con to marry a rich woman and get her fortune with multiple players involved which gets more complicated and intriguing as it goes. The movie is beautiful, the acting is great, and the film moved really well despite the 150min length and never dragged. And there's some great sex scenes too which is something I have to shout-out these days since we get so few.
Fabulous
03-17-25, 07:23 PM
Edmond (2005)
3
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/6snTl64rKQCN263DlVyCCQ3teAt.jpg
Killing Ground (2016) 4
https://www.uncut.at/data/movies/pic-big/killing-ground.jpg
Heart Eyes (2025) 3.5
https://www.reelviews.net/resources/img/movies/heart-eyes-1.jpeg
BigBendHiker68
03-17-25, 09:06 PM
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNTI3Y2Y4NDgtY2I1NS00M2JmLWI5NzEtYTQwYTUwZGQxYzZlXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg
Umpteenth Rewatch...There's no way this movie would get greenlighted in the world we live in today, but it is still one of the funniest movies ever made. A bawdy western satire with something to offend everyone and pretty miuch demolishes the fourth fall. 4.5
The infamous campfire scene broke new ground (and wind) in filmmaking...Yes, it's juvenile toilet humor, but in the larger context of Brooks' genius and his vision for this brilliant parody, it is cinematic gold..
DUNE: PART TWO
(2024, Villeneuve)
https://i.imgur.com/WGBUEnN.jpeg
Paul Atreides: "If I go south, all my visions lead to horror. Millions of people dead because of me."
Gurney Halleck: "Because you lose control?"
Paul Atreides: "Because I gain it."
Dune: Part Two continues the journey of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as he joins the native Fremen of Arrakis to fight against his enemies from House Harkonnen. Paul continues to be haunted by visions and dreams; the same that warned him not to try to stop the process of life, but to "flow" with it now warns him of horrors if he gains control. But again, we can't stop the process.
I saw this a day after watching the first one, as part of my journey to catch up on as many Best Picture nominees as I could. Even though I enjoyed the first one, I found this one to be better. Maybe it's the thrill of the climax, or maybe it's the fact that it brings closure to most of the plotlines that were set up in the first one. Whatever the reason, I found myself glued to the TV during the last act and I loved the places the story went to.
Grade: 4
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2543818#post2543818)
Takoma11
03-17-25, 09:36 PM
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FM%2FMV5BOTk4OGNlZDgtYTAwOC00MzIyLTk5OTMtOGM2Y2Y2MmRiZDk1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyOTc5MD I5NjE%40._V1_.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=93708c28128a6a8ea4e68487016201b3311853d518dbba2115bf3c5177096019&ipo=images
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, 2005
Mr. Lazarescu (Ion Fiscuteanu) is an elderly man living alone who one night begins to experience a headache and stomach pains. Eventually calling an ambulance, he is shuttled from hospital to hospital by EMT Mioara (Luminita Gheorghiu). Through the night, various doctors dismiss the pair and push them on to different hospitals and Lazarescu’s condition deteriorates.
This is a harrowing watch---though not without moments of humor!--that effectively makes its point about how people are allowed to fall through the cracks and the absolute injustice that those who are socially isolated can be denied a good death.
4
FULL REVIEW (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2543824#post2543824)
skizzerflake
03-18-25, 12:23 AM
To me, it seems like a carefree, senseless movie but lots of fun.
I plan on watching it. Maybe this Tuesday.
I'd go with the carefree and senseless, but lots of fun? I was too busy rolling my eyes and looking for bloopers.
MovieGal
03-18-25, 12:30 AM
I'd go with the carefree and senseless, but lots of fun? I was too busy rolling my eyes and looking for bloopers.
I did see it tonight and i enjoyed the hell out of it.
It reminded me a bit like Upgrade (2018), which is a favorite of mine.
There were cringe worthy gore moments.
PHOENIX74
03-18-25, 05:26 AM
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2d/Mickey_17_film_poster.png
By http://www.impawards.com/2025/mickey_oneseven_ver2_xxlg.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78090284
Mickey 17 - (2025)
Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) joins up for an interplanetary colonization mission in the year 2054 because he's on the run from loan sharks with friend Timo (Steven Yeun), and since he has no qualifications he signs up for the worst job there is on the mission - as an "expendable". Expendables are the crew members sent out to meet certain death - safe in the knowledge that their memories will be reimplanted into a printed out replica body after they die. When the 17th iteration of Mickey makes it back to home base after being left for dead, he comes face to face with Mickey 18, and has to deal with what has become one of humanity's most wicked taboos - being a "Multiple". I thought there were a lot of interesting places this Bong Joon Ho sci-fi comedy could go (see Moon, or Infinity Pool), but instead it all felt rather prosaic and lacking in imagination. I did appreciate the inclusion of a Donald Trump proxy - Kenneth Marshall is a narcissistic, egomaniacal ex-politician who has a cult-like following who don red baseball caps - he's played by Mark Ruffalo, who seems to be exploring pompous, camp characters these days.
Throughout the film people keep asking Mickey what it's like to die - moments that are usually set up as being insensitive and uncaring. The fact that Mickey is an expendable seems to naturally preclude his fellow crew members really caring about him at all (Marshall and the expeditions scientists like to use him as a human guinea pig). I thought the fact that this was a person who had died multiple times might be explored in some seriously thoughtful manner, but the plot also involves alien creatures on the planet the crew are colonizing and it's not long before the more visceral parts of the narrative take over. I was a little disappointed with the production design, with the snow-bound, rock-strewn planet resembling Earth and the aliens having a rather mediocre design. The final act really lacked surprise - but I guess even the greatest of filmmakers can't be struck with divine inspiration all of the time. For me, if Bong Joon Ho makes a basically "average" movie then that's a bit of a let-down - but perhaps Mickey 17 will grow on me over time. That is, if I decide to watch it again. (Oh, and the year should be 2154 - no way will we be in the midst of colonizing distant planets with technology like that 29 years from now.)
6/10
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e1/Highsierra.JPG
By Heritage Auctions, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1607959
High Sierra - (1941)
Bogart had to see off rivals such as Paul Muni and George Raft in order to star in this, his biggest star-making movie to that date - and even then Ida Lupino nabbed first-billing from him at the last minute after her previous film, They Drive by Night, became a big hit. What High Sierra is though is a film which revolves around the character of past-it gangster Roy Earle, who Bogart was born to play. Earle is let out of prison, pardoned, and ordered to pull off one more heist - but the tough guy finds himself softening. He falls for a young girl and pays for her operation to cure her clubfoot, adopts a dog and befriends Marie Garson (Ida Lupino) - the world has changed since he last saw it, and so has he. All the same, his destiny beckons when one thing after another related to the heist goes wrong and Earle must rely on his wits to keep ahead of the law. It reads like the end of an era - the classical age of the gangster, and shows off Bogart's talents to such a degree that it's worth seeing the film just to watch the great actor ply his trade.
7/10
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/23/The_Golden_Glove.jpg
By IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7670212/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59698001
The Golden Glove - (2019)
Most everything in The Golden Glove gives you cause to blanch, reminding you of how seedy an underbelly there is out there in the dark recesses of low-rent bars and pornography-clad bachelor dens. Steel yourself, if you intend to take it all in. Full review here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2543566#post2543566), in my watchlist thread.
7/10
xSookieStackhouse
03-18-25, 07:05 AM
5 been rewatching michelle trachtenberg movies cause i really miss her and shes my childhood favorite actress since i was little , loved katee sackhoff also loved her bad attitude lol and seth green did a good job loved him on buffy the vampire slayer
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjIxMTk2Nzg3Nl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNDE5NDQyOQ@@._V1_.jpg
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYjhhMGVkN2MtNDA3OC00M2E5LTg3ODYtZGJiNmIwNmQwMWYyXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg
Finch - (2021)
6/10
chawhee
03-18-25, 08:53 AM
I'm pretty close to agreement with you except that I thought her letting them off easy after just scaring the shit out of them keeps the movie grounded, her sanity still in check, and her still relatable. I think if the movie goes to a darker place with that aspect she becomes a bit too obvious and unsympathetic and then the rest doesn't work as well.
Thats a good point as far as keeping it grounded. My feeling after this rewatch though was that the ploys she was doing had little to no impact (until the very end).
1. The very first guy tells his friends about the night she tricked him, yet one of his friends still tries taking her home later in the movie.
2. The doctor she is dating has little remorse after seeing the video of himself from years earlier, immediately verbally attacking her.
3. The groom at the end shows little remorse while handcuffed to the bed and eventually killing her (a second victim of his now).
Maybe the intent was to make her seem a bit naive, but her notebook having countless encounters of guys like this makes me think she was kind of wasting her time and life away...which her parents and others try to communicate to her in other ways.
ueno_station54
03-18-25, 11:38 AM
https://e.snmc.io/i/300/s/4c5bc1a7dccc543ddb7ecbb5e8c9b9fb/7299828
cute bordering on gross like most of Jared Masters' stuff but there's some really weird and silly little details that elevate it to one of his better works and the soundtrack is killer whether its them just picking some good punk songs or the couple of scrungly-ass tracks they made themselves.
4
Thats a good point as far as keeping it grounded. My feeling after this rewatch though was that the ploys she was doing had little to no impact (until the very end).
1. The very first guy tells his friends about the night she tricked him, yet one of his friends still tries taking her home later in the movie.
2. The doctor she is dating has little remorse after seeing the video of himself from years earlier, immediately verbally attacking her.
3. The groom at the end shows little remorse while handcuffed to the bed and eventually killing her (a second victim of his now).
Maybe the intent was to make her seem a bit naive, but her notebook having countless encounters of guys like this makes me think she was kind of wasting her time and life away...which her parents and others try to communicate to her in other ways.
But I thought that was the whole point was that she was just wasting her life out of grief for her friend. It's just sad and futile and she is totally wasting her life which is why Dad Clancy Brown is so sad. It's really a sad and poignant movie until it decides to take it to that next level. And I mean, she almost breaks out of it, almost. Of course, you could tell a mile away that the boyfriend thing was going to happen that way, but still, it plays. The movie is really not about a serial-killer woman or a potential serial-killer woman it's about this woman tragically throwing her life away in no small part because our society allows things like this to happen.
SEPTEMBER 5
(2024, Fehlbaum)
https://i.imgur.com/dsP3kaF.jpeg
"Our job is really straightforward. We put the camera in the right place, and we follow the story as it unfolds in real time. News can tell us what it all meant after it's over. And I'm sure they're gonna try. But this is our story. And we're keeping it."
On September 5, 1972, during the Summer Olympics, a Palestinian terrorist group called Black September infiltrated the Olympic village and took the Israeli Olympic team hostage. This film follows the ABC Sports crew that found themselves in the middle of it all, and ended up covering the events by putting the camera in the right place, and following the story as it unfolded.
September 5 Best Original Screenplay nomination might have been the main reason why I checked it out. However, the real life events are notorious and have been successfully dramatized before in Munich so I knew it would be a compelling watch. It is one of those films where you already know the outcome, so I commend director Tim Fehlbaum and his writers for managing to still deliver the tension.
Grade: 4
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2543947#post2543947)
KUNG POW! ENTER THE FIST
(2002, Oedekerk)
https://i.imgur.com/CIL8dla.jpeg
Master Tang: "I remember a long time ago, when a friend told me there would be a chosen one."
[flashback to a younger Tang talking to Master Doe]
Master Doe: "There will be a chosen one."
For the sake of this written review, I'll try to summarize its plot. Kung Pow! Enter the Fist follows "The Chosen One" (Steve Oedekerk) as he tries to master his powers while seeking revenge against the killer of his parents, Master Betty. What sets it apart is the fact that Oedekerk (who also wrote, produced, and directed the film) takes the footage of a 1970s martial arts film and digitally inserts himself as a character, while also humorously dubbing all the voices.
I suppose that the effectiveness of the film will depend on everyone's latitude with it, but I believe that if you're able to get on its wavelength, you will have a hell of a time with it. It goes beyond the silliness of Oedekerk's dubbing, but also the way that he manages to mold and shape this existing story to fit his comedic goals is hilariously impressive. Ironically, the moments that were filmed originally for the film – most notably, the cow fight and the meeting with Whoa – are probably the least effective.
Grade: 4
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2543984#post2543984)
GulfportDoc
03-18-25, 05:38 PM
Don’t Bother to Knock (1952)
[Could not load poster: "Internal server error"]
I hadn’t seen this picture in years, so while re-watching it last night I was stunned to realize what a first rate dramatic performance Marilyn Monroe gave. Obvious from the film’s poster, in her previous 15 films she had already been gradually typecast as a sexpot, so the reviewers of this film at that time tended to be biased, and most of them characterized Monroe’s role as simply her attempt to be taken seriously as an actress. However, looking back without the clouded lens of 1952, Monroe’s portrayal of the mentally disturbed Nell Forbes is one of her finest dramatic performances-- one that is emotionally deep, straightforward, and believable.
Arranged by her uncle, who is an elevator operator in a NYC hotel, a young woman is pressed into service as a babysitter for a child whose parents are staying at the hotel where they will be attending an awards ceremony. At the same time an airline pilot is staying at the hotel, and is attempting to resuscitate a relationship with a chanteuse who performs at the hotel’s lounge. The babysitter gradually slips into a fantasy world while becoming infatuated with the pilot. The story plays out from there to a gratifying ending.
And what a cast. Richard Widmark is the male lead, Elijah Cook, Jr. lends noir bona fides, and Anne Bancroft is impressive in her film debut. The daughter is played by familiar child actress Donna Corcoran. Jim Backus and Lurene Tuttle have recognizable roles as the parents. Director Roy Ward Baker manages to unfold an interesting story with a very small budget and confined sets.
A solid “A” picture, it has a “B” film length of only 76 minutes. Despite its low budget, 20th Century Fox birthed a surprisingly strong movie that still holds up today. Available here: https://archive.org/details/dont-bother-to-knock-1952
Doc’s rating: 7/10
Calibre (2018) 4
https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Calibre-2018-thriller-films-Netflix.jpg
matt72582
03-18-25, 06:17 PM
Joan Baez: I Am A Noise
https://youtu.be/dhcV1gEat_c
BigBendHiker68
03-18-25, 08:25 PM
https://kiff.gr/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/arracht_edit-703x1024.jpg
Set in 1845 on the eve of Ireland's devastating potato famine, Tomás Ó Súilleabháin's dark and brooding historical drama/thriller pulls no punches as it charts one man's struggle to survive both starvation and betrayal.
Dónall Ó Héalaí stars as Còlman Sharkey, a peasant farmer/fisherman/family man who, after taking in an ex-sailor and fellow countryman, soon finds himself on the run for a murder he didn't commit, struggling both to fend off starvation and preserve his sanity.
A beautifully filmed tragedy that isn't easy to watch at times, and could stand a bit more clarity during the second half. Still, the film as a whole ultimately succeeds in bringing one of Ireland's most turbulent periods to vivid, unflinching life through the lens of one man's personal fight for survival and redemption.
4
iluv2viddyfilms
03-19-25, 01:20 AM
Tucker: the Man and His Dream (1988, Coppola) - B
DUNE: PART TWO
(2024, Villeneuve)
https://i.imgur.com/WGBUEnN.jpeg
Dune: Part Two continues the journey of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as he joins the native Fremen of Arrakis to fight against his enemies from House Harkonnen. Paul continues to be haunted by visions and dreams; the same that warned him not to try to stop the process of life, but to "flow" with it now warns him of horrors if he gains control. But again, we can't stop the process.
I saw this a day after watching the first one, as part of my journey to catch up on as many Best Picture nominees as I could. Even though I enjoyed the first one, I found this one to be better. Maybe it's the thrill of the climax, or maybe it's the fact that it brings closure to most of the plotlines that were set up in the first one. Whatever the reason, I found myself glued to the TV during the last act and I loved the places the story went to.
Grade: 4
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2543818#post2543818)
I watched part of it on the small screen first, and I shrugged. Then I went and saw it in the theater and I was floored. When they say "meant to be seen on the big screen" they're talking about this.
Fabulous
03-19-25, 02:08 AM
God Bless America (2011)
3.5
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/acIAN5ID5eWOd9zg0cvy08d6ubA.jpg
Stirchley
03-19-25, 12:43 PM
https://kiff.gr/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/arracht_edit-703x1024.jpg
Set in 1845 on the eve of Ireland's devastating potato famine, Tomás Ó Súilleabháin's dark and brooding historical drama/thriller pulls no punches as it charts one man's struggle to survive both starvation and betrayal.
Dónall Ó Héalaí stars as Còlman Sharkey, a peasant farmer/fisherman/family man who, after taking in an ex-sailor and fellow countryman, soon finds himself on the run for a murder he didn't commit, struggling both to fend off starvation and preserve his sanity.
A beautifully filmed tragedy that isn't easy to watch at times, and could stand a bit more clarity during the second half. Still, the film as a whole ultimately succeeds in bringing one of Ireland's most turbulent periods to vivid, unflinching life through the lens of one man's personal fight for survival and redemption.
4
Wonder why I can’t find it in Letterboxd.
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