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The Cranes Are Flying (1957)

A Russian melodrama about lovers torn apart by war. I have little mixed feelings about the film. Cinematography and direction are superb, acting (especially the female lead) is good but to me, the story isn't very interesting and I'm not sure if the script is that good either. One could also argue that the flamboyant camera work is little out of place in a film like this but then again if you remove it there's very little to stand out here. Despite all this, my rating is heavily influenced by the visual style which I loved.

I'm glad you liked it, but I have to say that the story and script were superb. Tatiana Samoilova is breathtaking, one of the great Russian actresses. Kalatozov is one of the greatest directors of all time, and The Cranes Are Flying is the movie of his that gets the most recognition. It won the Palme d'Or, only the most prestisous award a film can possibly win, the highest prize at Cannes. I remember the first time I saw it, at the time to me it was just an obscure film. I had never heard of Kalatozov, knew nothing of the movie's awards, and just thought it looked good. When I watched it the first time I was blown away. There was something breathless about it, but I only found out afterwards that it was held in such high esteems by film fanatics and critics alike, and rightly so.



“I was cured, all right!”
I'm glad you liked it, but I have to say that the story and script were superb. Tatiana Samoilova is breathtaking, one of the great Russian actresses. Kalatozov is one of the greatest directors of all time, and The Cranes Are Flying is the movie of his that gets the most recognition. It won the Palme d'Or, only the most prestisous award a film can possibly win, the highest prize at Cannes. I remember the first time I saw it, at the time to me it was just an obscure film. I had never heard of Kalatozov, knew nothing of the movie's awards, and just thought it looked good. When I watched it the first time I was blown away. There was something breathless about it, but I only found out afterwards that it was held in such high esteems by film fanatics and critics alike, and rightly so.
I absolutely agree with your thoughts about this movie.



"Honor is not in the Weapon. It is in the Man"

Color Out of Space (Richard Stanley, 2020)
This film based on the story by H.P Lovecraft is actually quite good with Nicolas Cage playing Nathan Gardner, whose family get affected when a meteor arrives in his yard.The supporting cast is great and as the film goes on, there are more twists going and a very surprising ending that made my jaw drop.


Abstruse (Harley Wallen, 2019)
A woman goes from being the victim to being the accused when her friend is murdered in Harley Wallen's latest thriller. Tom Sizemore makes the most of his screen time as the woman's ex-con father, who intends to get the truth out of those responsible. The big surprise comes in Dennis Haskins...yes Mr. Belding goes full-180 as an unscrupulous politician whose involvement in the matter forces him to make very dangerous decisions.


The Knight of Shadows (Vash, 2019)
Jackie Chan plays Pu Songling (a real life Chinese author in the 17th century), a demon hunter who instead of hunting to kill demons, would rather rehab them in hopes they will do good. He and a lawman help investigate the kidnapping of young women from a succubus, whose form was the long lost love of the lawman. Some nice twists and OTT CGI effects, but its clear this one is geared towards kids and families. The funniest scene involves Chan finding himself halfway trapped in a mirror with the lower half attempting to put himself back together. Major twist at the end of the film also helps.
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matt72582's Avatar
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Osânda- 7.5/10
An ex-convict seeks a quiet life in the mountains, falls in love, and becomes a crime suspect. I think this movie was very good, and I think 95% of the people here would like it as well.


I found one with English subtitles on YouTube (below)





“I was cured, all right!”

Color Out of Space (Richard Stanley, 2020)
This film based on the story by H.P Lovecraft is actually quite good with Nicolas Cage playing Nathan Gardner, whose family get affected when a meteor arrives in his yard.The supporting cast is great and as the film goes on, there are more twists going and a very surprising ending that made my jaw drop.
I'm sold!



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.

When I Grow Up (Michael Kanin, 1951)
6.5/10 Love Bobby Driscoll & Jerome Moross' score
Bright Road (Gerald Mayer, 1953)
6/10
Blackboard Jungle (Richard Brooks, 1955)
6.5/10
Four Hands (Oliver Kienle, 2017)
6/10

Traumatized at an early age, sisters Friederike Becht & Frida-Lovisa Hamann undergo some more craziness.
Jacob (Jon Stahl, 2019)
6/10
The Tall Target (Anthony Mann, 1951)
- 6.5/10
A Patch of Blue (Guy Green, 1965)
- 7/10
School's Out (Sébastien Marnier, 2018)
6/10

Substitute teacher Laurent Lafitte worries that his class has some dangerous students.
Something of Value (Richard Brooks, 1957)
6/10
Edge of the City (Martin Ritt, 1957)
+ 6.5/10
The Landlord (Hal Ashby, 1970)
+ 6/10
Ginza 24 chou AKA Tales of Ginza (Yûzô Kawashima, 1955)
- 6.5/10

Yumeji Tsukioka, Tatsuya Mihashi & Mie Kitahara in a plot about memories, first love and hidden identities.
Andy Hardy's Private Secretary (George B. Seitz, 1941)
5.5/10
Emanuel (Brian Ivie, 2019)
6.5/10
Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble (George B. Seitz, 1944)
5.5/10
What Did Jack Do? (David Lynch, 2017)
6.5/10

Does detective David Lynch roll a seven or can Jack raise and bluff him?
Maggie (Yi Ok-seop, 2018)
+ 5/10
Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (Willis Goldbeck, 1946)
5.5/10
Raton Pass (Edwin L. Marin, 1951)
5/10
Terminator: Dark Fate (Tim Miller, 2019)
- 6.5/10

Fast-paced, if overlong, rehash of T1&2 is completely unnecessary, but it's nice to see Linda and Arnie (Carl ) back together.
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"Honor is not in the Weapon. It is in the Man"

Goalie (Adriana Maggs, 2019)
Terry Sawchuk was one of the greatest hockey players in history. Off the ice though was a different story, when his career would eventually affect his personal life, which in turn would affect his professional career. This is not a sugarcoated film, but an honest portrayal of the legend, who passed away in 1970 at the age of 40. Mark O'Brien, Kevin Pollak, and Georgina Reilly belted out excellent performances as Terry, Detroit Red Wings manager Jack Adams, and Terry's wife Pat respectively. This is one excellent biopic worth checking out.



Doctor Sleep (2019)

Watched the director's cut and was constantly asking myself "why isn't this a series?" With the chapter titles, the looks and general pacing it felt like a truncated mini-series. It was also better than I expected. The vampiric villains were good (reminded me of Near Dark a lot) and the story mostly worked (a bit too much fan service for Kubrick's The Shining and some things were way too obviously telegraphed). It's not really a scary horror film but more like dark fantasy. But yeah, it has to be at least a little good when three hours go by comfortably.

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Scott Pilgrim vs. the World 5/10.

Will be added to my list of popular films I don't like. It's in the 80s in Rotten Tomatoes in both audience score and the Tomatometer.



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Honey Boy (2019)


Tells the true story of LaBeouf's childhood, with Shia playing the part of his own father. Found it really heart-breaking in so many parts, probably from viewing it from point of being a parent now. I was never a massive fan of LaBeouf and maybe never will but I certainly have a new found respect for him. Vey straight forward film but very raw. I see it dividing audiences quite a bit.
I loved it.


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Every decision Eggers made before they began shooting was the right one. Black and white, aspect ratio, actors - all perfect. Both actors brought it for this one. I preferred Dafoe's performance but Pattinson was also outstanding and is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors.



I just watched Richard Jewell. It's amazing that Eastwood is still making movies.

Now this one had its clichés, especially Jon Hamm and Olivia Wilde's characters, but overall it was a good flick.

Also it's absolutely boggles my mind to see Paul Walter Hauser not nominated for Oscar. That was some performance. Just for that final scene in the diner.




Honey Boy (2019)


Tells the true story of LaBeouf's childhood, with Shia playing the part of his own father. Found it really heart-breaking in so many parts, probably from viewing it from point of being a parent now. I was never a massive fan of LaBeouf and maybe never will but I certainly have a new found respect for him. Vey straight forward film but very raw. I see it dividing audiences quite a bit.
I loved it.


I liked it. Didn't love it as much as I thought I would. Lucas Hedges' parts were all very melodramatic. The kid is amazing in it though. La Boeuf was also great in 'The Peanut Butter Falcon'...he can act.



"Honor is not in the Weapon. It is in the Man"

The Trigonal: Fight for Justice (Vincent Soberano, 2019)
Do you miss the days when you would go to your local video store and find martial arts films like Bloodfist and its numerous sequels as well as Bloodsport? Then look no further than this Filipino martial arts action film that makes good use of its cast and is a welcome throwback to the glory days of B-martial arts flicks. The film's star is taekwondo black belt Ian Ignacio, who plays a former MMA fighter who helps the police infiltrate an underground tournament when his initial refusal to enter the tournament results in the death of his best friend and an attack on his pregnant wife that leaves her comatose and the baby stillborn. Sarah Chang joins the fray as a Chinese kung fu expert who becomes Ignacio's most trusted ally along with his former teacher (played by Ignacio's real life martial arts teacher, Monsour Del Rosario). Chang also served as the film's action director and did a welcome job with the fight scenes, bringing a throwback to the aforementioned 80's 90's B-movies.
A solid




Honey Boy (2019)


Tells the true story of LaBeouf's childhood, with Shia playing the part of his own father. Found it really heart-breaking in so many parts, probably from viewing it from point of being a parent now. I was never a massive fan of LaBeouf and maybe never will but I certainly have a new found respect for him. Vey straight forward film but very raw. I see it dividing audiences quite a bit.
I loved it.


Wasn't planning on seeing this as I can't stand LaBeouf, but now I'm kinda considering it...




Judy (2019)

One of the most surprising things about this film was that it was made at all. Judy Garland was arguably the finest performer in the 20th Century. Her voice, her charisma, magnetism, star quality, and endless humor filled up a package that few could approach, and no one could duplicate.

So the search for a name actress who could also fulfill Garland's looks, voice and personality, must have been a daunting task. It was close, but no cigar.

The film turned out to be a relatively formulaic treatment of a hugely popular star whose career went down the tubes due to drug and alcohol abuse.

Renee Zellweger obviously gave 100% of her effort to impersonating the star. In fact she was able to perform some of Garland's typical physical movements, jerks, and gesticulations while singing.

But the decision to have the actress use her own singing voice on many of the songs was unfortunate. She did her best, but she wasn't Judy Garland. Her rendition of "Over the Rainbow" was very moving, but it was almost ruined by a trite ending to the scene involving the audience. They should have made more use of lip syncing. My guess is that the few songs selected for performance were the ones that Zellweger could handle, rather than a selection from many of Judy's great hits. Zellweger's continuous lip pursing and squinting were of her own idiosyncrasy, not Garland's.

But there were two major omissions from the screenplay. The first was the absence in Garland's written part of her phenomenal well known sense of humor. It's difficult to find any video of hers, or her many personal accounts where her lively humor wasn't present. Even when the chips were down, she always managed to make light of it.

The second was the virtual non acknowledgement (but for one small scene) of Liza Minnelli. She and Garland remained close to the end of Judy's life. But Minnelli wanted nothing to do with the Judy film project, and was very vocal in distancing herself from it. Garland's other children were well featured in the film, but they had them appear as little kids; whereas Lorna Luft was 16 in 1968, and Joey was 13. The film erroneously made it seem as though Garland abandoned her young children.

The opening of the film, and the frequent reappearance in flashback of L.B. Mayer as Garland's Svengali and oppressor became a bit much. Mayer, along with Garland's mother and Judy's prescription drug use definitely contributed to her emotional problems. But the cinematic portrayal of Mayer's dark dominance over Garland seemed like something from a horror movie.

It was the writing and several miscasting decisions that detracted from this otherwise interesting story. Finn Witrock as Judy's final husband, Mickey Deans, was a miss, but he might have brought it off with better dialogue. Even Garland's English attendant, Rosalyn Wilder, played by Jessie Buckley, was under cast. The role needed more maturity. Rufus Sewell did a believable job as Garland's ex-husband, Sid Luft. And Michael Gambon as her Brit manager turned in some nice work.

Renee Zellweger went all out for her portrayal of Judy Garland, and she deserves praise for it. Unfortunately, mostly due to the writing, it was simply not good Garland.

Doc's rating: 6/10 - chiefly for Zellweger's work

[On a personal note, I performed with Judy Garland in concert at the Cincinnati Gardens, Ohio in May of 1965. On tour she traveled with her manager, conductor, pianist and drummer. The other musicians (including me) were hired locally. We had one band rehearsal in the afternoon, then the concert in the evening. The band of about 12-13 players were set up on stage in the rear. The house was full --about 8-10,000-- and when Garland walked out on stage, one would have thought it was a divine presence. The audience went nuts. Her stage persona was electric. Each song was performed as I'd never heard anyone sing before. The set was short, with only 6-7 songs, separated by stage banter. The intermission dragged on and on. We were finally given the word to get back on stage. But when everyone was settled Garland came out somewhat supported by a man in a suit who was evidently a doctor. She informed the audience that she was running a high fever, was ill, and that she wouldn't be able to continue. With that, she apologized, thanked everyone, and walked off the stage. I'll never know whether she was really flu struck, or whether she was under the influence of booze/drugs. The band rumor was that she had become loaded. So it was no surprise that she was dead just 4 years later from barbiturate poisoning and cirrhosis. But what I witnessed in Garland's performance was like nothing I've seen before or after.]



Battletruck (1982)
aka Warlords of the 21st Century

Post-apocalyptic action from New Zealand. I have a soft spot for these films (as a kid I practically watched every single post-apocalypse, barbarian and ninja movie I found). Battletruck is technically better than most of the Italian "classics" of the genre but it also lacks their campy charm (somehow these films benefit from being over the top). I found it just OK but like I said I'm kind of a fan of this particular brand of stupid. Can't recommend unless you're an enthusiast.




the samoan lawyer's Avatar
Unregistered User
I liked it. Didn't love it as much as I thought I would. Lucas Hedges' parts were all very melodramatic. The kid is amazing in it though. La Boeuf was also great in 'The Peanut Butter Falcon'...he can act.

I think I'll give Peanut Butter Falcon a go tonight.