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WRECK-IT RALPH
(2012, Moore)





Wreck-It Ralph introduces us to a world inside and "behind" classic arcade games. A world where video game characters travel from game to game and mingle in a surge protector that acts like a "train" station to each game. When Ralph, the "bad guy" in a game called Fix-It Felix, Jr. gets tired of rejection, he sets out to win a medal in another game, any game, to prove to the residents of his game that he can be a hero.

My main issue with the film comes up in the last act. The motivations of King Candy and the "twist revelation" about Vanellope ends up feeling like an unnecessary deus-ex-machina, and it ultimately muddles what seemed to be the main message of the film of accepting outcasts for who they are, which Ralph proudly proclaims in the end ("there's no one I'd rather be than me"). Unfortunately, in order to be accepted and "win" her place, Vanellope is forced to become someone else which feels like a betrayal.

Grade:



Full review on my Movie Loot
loved this movie



Blood Vessel (2019)

This Ozzie horror begins like a joke, "American, Brit, Ozzie and Russian are on a lifeboat... " It looks okay for a modern B-movie, but otherwise it's just bad. Probably the most original idea in the film is to bring Die Hard's bare-footed joke to WW2 horror.
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Victim of The Night


The Quiet Man (John Ford, 1952)
8.5/10

Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne wave goodbye to all their friends in Ireland in this sparkling romantic comedy.

I love this movie.



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
I've loved everything about it since I first saw it at UC Irvine in 1976. The audience laughed so hard I couldn't make out many of the funniest lines. Of course, it's only grown better each year since I watch it at least once a year, and it also looks and sounds more beautiful now than when I originally saw it.
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Triangle (2009)

Following a few recs on here (thanks guys) I searched this one out.

Damn, its good! Eerie and well thought out.




You see, poor people who are nice were really rich people all along!!
Ugh, don't get me started. I mean, it was baffling because the revelation was ultimately unnecessary and pointless...

WARNING: spoilers below

I mean, she had already managed to control her glitch, she had won the race, King Candy was defeated... why did they have to come up with that? It kinda reminded me of Allison in The Breakfast Club or *sigh* Rey in Rise of the Skywalker. But anyway, if the overall film weren't so much fun and clever, I would've been more harsh, but that certainly took it down a notch for me.
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Ugh, don't get me started. I mean, it was baffling because the revelation was ultimately unnecessary and pointless...

WARNING: spoilers below

I mean, she had already managed to control her glitch, she had won the race, King Candy was defeated... why did they have to come up with that? It kinda reminded me of Allison in The Breakfast Club or *sigh* Rey in Rise of the Skywalker. But anyway, if the overall film weren't so much fun and clever, I would've been more harsh, but that certainly took it down a notch for me.
I think that there's this thing in pop culture that totally dates back to very very outdated notions about class/race/ethnicity that people who are good must actually belong to a certain demographic.

I think it's nuts that kids are still getting the message "maybe you were born a princess/the chosen one!" instead of something more like "Go out and make yourself a princess/the chosen one!".



Victim of The Night


Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (aka Night Warning), 1981

...
I have heard this title before, but had always dismissed it as just another dopey 80s film with a 10/10 title that would probably be a 6/10 experience. Much to my surprise, I borderline loved this movie...

The film does a nice job of pushing this inappropriate intimacy in several scenes. And, wisely, it's mostly done as something that we the viewer notice, but does not register for the characters. Cheryl is constantly touching, kissing, or holding onto Billy. And while he does not reciprocate, he does not pull away from the attention--it is his normal. In one sequence Billy and Cheryl argue . . . as Billy stands naked in front of the shower. The whole thing lends an uncomfortable air, and it is interesting to see a younger male character on the receiving end of the more exploitative portrayal...

This is my favorite kind of horror film, something along the lines of Brain Damage, where you have an over the top story (with many MANY elements that, on paper, would sound ridiculous) that still manages to retain a human element. I cared about Billy, Julie, and coach Landers. And the more the film piled on absurdities and improbabilities, the more interested I was in seeing them through the storm.

So, yeah, this is my kind of film. I'm sure someone somewhere has complaints about this movie, but I dug it from opening credits to ending credits. It is over the top and full of ridiculous 80s-style bloodletting with decapitated heads and severed limbs and more blood splatter than you can shake a stick at, but all with a beating human heart at the center. It's blatant condemnation of homophobia--especially within the horror genre--feels ahead of its time. Highly recommended, especially for horror fans.

Color me intrigued.



I watched Father of the Bride (1950) on dvd. I enjoyed it. It was a charming and pleasant film. Spencer Tracy did a good job and Elizabeth Taylor looked beautiful. My rating is a
.
So very strange that i haven't seen it, it goes right to my list. Thanks for the reminder, i love Spencer Tracy



matt72582's Avatar
Please Quote/Tag Or I'll Miss Your Responses
The Caine Mutiny - 7.5/10
3rd watch.. First hour is very slow. One of my favorite scenes is when Queeg (Bogart) asks for help, but gets none. By the time I finish it, I feel more for Queeg, mostly thanks to that one scene (and the conversation about it afterwards), but also the end. It seems the movie wanted you to be against Queeg initially, but then emphasize with him. I do love how Queeg comes into all this, which begs the question -- an officer can't be too lax, but he also can't be too strict. I love finding that line, and the disparity, cause and effect.





matt72582's Avatar
Please Quote/Tag Or I'll Miss Your Responses
I've loved everything about it since I first saw it at UC Irvine in 1976. The audience laughed so hard I couldn't make out many of the funniest lines. Of course, it's only grown better each year since I watch it at least once a year, and it also looks and sounds more beautiful now than when I originally saw it.

Which movie?





On Borrowed Time - This 1939 fantasy/drama is a bit of a two hankie movie. Lionel Barrymore plays Julian Northrup, the grandfather of recently orphaned Pud (Bobs Watson). He and his wife Nellie (Beulah Bondi) have taken in the little boy after death personified Mr. Brink (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) hitches a ride with his mother and father. There's also Demetria Riffle, (a very effective Eily Malyon) his villainous spinster aunt who's after the generous trust fund that was left to Pud by his physician father. When Mr. Brink shows up to collect souls Julian tricks him into climbing his magical apple tree where he remains trapped until such time the old man should decide to free him. This leads to some interesting side commentary on the pros and cons of not having the Grim Reaper around to balance the scales. The cast is uniformly excellent with Barrymore as the roguish old man who delights at thumbing his nose at propriety and the kid actor doing an especially fine job as his adoring grandson. It would have been easy for the kid's performance to cross the line into obnoxious but he manages to walk that fine line. Hardwicke is also especially memorable as the urbane and ultimately pitiless Brink. This could be considered melodrama but it acquits itself well and avoids being cloying.




The Quiet Man (John Ford, 1952)
8.5/10

Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne wave goodbye to all their friends in Ireland in this sparkling romantic comedy.

Wow, Mark. I don't think I've ever seen you rate a movie this high before, especially one that's traditional.. But I agree with your rating. No weaknesses in this film. They simply don't make 'em like that anymore.




The Caine Mutiny - 7.5/10
3rd watch.. First hour is very slow. One of my favorite scenes is when Queeg (Bogart) asks for help, but gets none. By the time I finish it, I feel more for Queeg, mostly thanks to that one scene (and the conversation about it afterwards), but also the end. It seems the movie wanted you to be against Queeg initially, but then emphasize with him. I do love how Queeg comes into all this, which begs the question -- an officer can't be too lax, but he also can't be too strict. I love finding that line, and the disparity, cause and effect.
I was always fascinated by that movie ever since I saw it in the theater in 1954, and have re-watched it 4-5 times. It had a sensational effect on moviegoers then.

Few name actors in the '50s had the guts that Fred MacMurray did in playing a character who was such a heel and a coward. Just goes to show what a craftsman he was. I'm also surprised that the Edward Dmytryk picture didn't win any awards.

And Bogart was sensational as Queeg-- almost as crazy as his Fred C. Dobbs in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. I was so impressed with his character that I got a couple of ball bearings and used to imitate how he'd roll them around in his hand.. [BTW "begs the question" or begging the question does not mean the same as, say, raising the question.]



8MM 1999

nothing special,,I watched it only for Gandolifini.





Destroyer 2018





Rememory (2017)

interesting premise ,,I cant say the same for the characters.





rewatch





One of my favorite films,,makes me feel all warm,calm and good inside,,I love everything about it,,and Chris eigman
is very charismatic and captivating as usual.





Sorry to Bother You, 2018

In an alternate-present, a man named Cassius (LaKeith Stanfield) gets a job at a telemarketing firm to help support himself and his artist girlfriend, Detroit (Tessa Thompson). On the advice of an older worker, Cassius begins using a "white voice" (voiced by David Cross) and suddenly encounters a lot of success. As Cassius begins to rise in the ranks, he is put in a hard place between financial success and the unionization attempts of some of his co-workers (Jermaine Fowler and Steven Yeun).

I am so glad that I didn't know much about this film (aside from some positive word of mouth from trusted friends) going into it. The entire world of the movie is a heightened version of our own world, and I loved the exaggerations--both small and large--of aspects of our culture. We frequently see clips of a popular TV show, "I Had the Sh*t Beat Out of Me", in which contestants are simply assaulted for the enjoyment of the audience. One of the best aspects of the film is the way that some of these gags that seem as if they are throwaway jokes eventually come to play an important part of the plot.

It would be easy to assume, especially based on the plot summary, that the only commentary happening in this film is racial. And while it is true that race is an essential part of the plot, the overarching critique is actually based on class and the dynamic between citizens, workers, large corporations, and the government. At one point Cassius attends a party thrown by the company's founder. After an encounter with the party-goers (which I will not spoil, but which is certainly one of the funniest and most depressing moments of the film) leaves Cassius in despair, a fellow employee tells him, "There's no use being sad about what should be. We only have to take what we can with what is." The problem is not that Cassius can't be successful--it's about what he has to do and who he has to be to achieve that success.

The performances across the board are incredibly strong. Stanfield anchors the film as a man who is under pressure from all sides. We feel his anxiety over what he must do at work, but we also understand the allure of financial success. Thompson is strong as his girlfriend, Detroit, a woman who considers herself an activist and yet must pander to a wealthy white audience. I have also never really seen much of Steven Yeun, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover just how charismatic he is as a performer. I'd also give a nod to Omari Hardwick, as one of the other "high rollers" in the company who takes Cassius under his wing.

This is a film that is bold and weird. So often I didn't anticipate what was coming next, and that was really delightful. Broad cultural critiques can be hard, and I felt that the film really walked the line between telling a personal story and a larger one about social issues. I'm not entirely sure it stuck the landing, but it was a heck of a ride. This is the kind of film that makes you want to be sure you know when the creator's next film hits the theater.




Sorry to Bother You, 2018

This is a film that is bold and weird. So often I didn't anticipate what was coming next, and that was really delightful. Broad cultural critiques can be hard, and I felt that the film really walked the line between telling a personal story and a larger one about social issues. I'm not entirely sure it stuck the landing, but it was a heck of a ride. This is the kind of film that makes you want to be sure you know when the creator's next film hits the theater.

Yep. I pretty much agree with this. Crazy to think that it was Riley's first film.



Yep. I pretty much agree with this. Crazy to think that it was Riley's first film.
And that he has nothing in production right now!!

I mean, don't get me wrong. I don't want people making movies just because. But the film's voice was SO distinct and different.