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Very good movie. I know I gave it a 7.5-8/10. Unique. As it started, I was expecting conflict, but don't remember Cybele getting "sexual", and only remember little-girl, charming prince fantasy.
Cybele definitely makes some sexual advances throughout the film. It starts out as a harmless comment on how she wishes to marry Pierre, but culminates with her sexually licking blood off of his finger. It does a good job at maintaining a creepy atmosphere, imo.





Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
...
That picture sure is reminiscent of the iconic poster for The Exorcist showing Max von Sydow looking up into the house with the light beaming from the window. And I like it.



That picture sure is reminiscent of the iconic poster for The Exorcist showing Max von Sydow looking up into the house with the light beaming from the window. And I like it.

The film definitely has some good moments in it, and it's got some strong ties to Exorcist III but it really misses the mark.


It's very odd how The Conjuring appears to get worse as the series goes on but Annabelle is getting better.



The Young and the Damned 1950 ‘Los olvidados’ Luis Buñuel

+

The Pawnbroker 1964 Sidney Lumet

-

The Gambler 1974 Karel Reisz

(I think I understand the ending, but I'm not sure?)
+

Chungking Express 1994 Wong Kar-wai

-



I forgot the opening line.

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51138666

Kong : Skull Island - (2017)

At the very least Kong : Skull Island is entertaining. I've held off on this movie for some time, and I'm kind of glad I did. If I spend $50 going to a cinema, I always feel a little bit cheated. My last really great cinematic experience was seeing Hereditary (or it may have been 1917) and I usually only go for a visual spectacle. Skull Island might have been that, but why do characters fade so fast? Brie Larson's character is a case in point. If you've seen this King Kong movie, do you remember one single thing about her character? (Other than she's a photographer.) Does anyone remember anything, other than John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson and a faint recollection of John Goodman?

I guess a lot of people just want the monsters - and there are some great monsters in this movie. But the human element is seriously lacking, aside from the surprisingly endearing Marlow (Reilly) who also lights up the film's trailer. The CGI effects get a little better, especially in relation to King Kong himself, but it still can't quite fool the human eye. Still, they're wonderfully designed (if not understated.) The soundtrack is fine. I never thought I'd be hearing Ziggy Stardust in a King Kong movie.

6/10



'After Love' (2020)


Great performance from Joanna Scanlon who finds out after a sudden tragedy that her husband had some secrets. Scanlon is unflinching and raw. The string led score by Chris Roe is also very complimentary to the images.

The setting in Dover and Northern France is portrayed well with some lovely drone shots, and the dialogue makes sure that it's never over dramatic or sentimental at any point. It makes the viewer wonder what other secrets the port areas separated by 20 odd miles hold. Really lovely debut from Aleem Khan.

7.8/10






Definetely the weakest in the franchise. Not much else to say really
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The Gambler 1974 Karel Reisz

(I think I understand the ending, but I'm not sure?)

WARNING: spoilers below
Self-destructive people aren't happy until the blood is real.



WARNING: spoilers below
Self-destructive people aren't happy until the blood is real.
Yeah that's it, well put. I went a little too Freud on this character myself.




By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51138666

Kong : Skull Island - (2017)

At the very least Kong : Skull Island is entertaining. I've held off on this movie for some time, and I'm kind of glad I did. If I spend $50 going to a cinema, I always feel a little bit cheated. My last really great cinematic experience was seeing Hereditary (or it may have been 1917) and I usually only go for a visual spectacle. Skull Island might have been that, but why do characters fade so fast? Brie Larson's character is a case in point. If you've seen this King Kong movie, do you remember one single thing about her character? (Other than she's a photographer.) Does anyone remember anything, other than John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson and a faint recollection of John Goodman?

I guess a lot of people just want the monsters - and there are some great monsters in this movie. But the human element is seriously lacking, aside from the surprisingly endearing Marlow (Reilly) who also lights up the film's trailer. The CGI effects get a little better, especially in relation to King Kong himself, but it still can't quite fool the human eye. Still, they're wonderfully designed (if not understated.) The soundtrack is fine. I never thought I'd be hearing Ziggy Stardust in a King Kong movie.

6/10



Much like Aliens the human element gets better on subsequent rewatchs



Romancing the Stone -


This is one of those movies that's been in my watchlist forever that I finally saw. Is it as light and breezy as one of protagonist Joan Wilder's books? Yes, and that's not a bad thing. It's a fun action adventure movie that is ideal for summer and that I wish I could have seen in a theater.

One criticism I do not agree with is that it's just an Indiana Jones knockoff. Sure, it's an action movie, it's partially set in a jungle and the MacGuffin is a treasure, but the similarities end there. All the same, it is an attempt, albeit a less successful one to make a B movie look like an A movie. Despite some surprises in the final act, it's too predictable to do this and the characters are too stock. I like Kathleen Turner a lot as Wilder as well as Danny DeVito in a role Peter Lorre would have played, but I couldn't totally buy Michael Douglas as Jack. A lifetime of seeing him play upper class types might be doing the talking here, but I couldn't help but think that he's yet another one moonlighting as a schemer here. I still enjoyed it as fun, light summer entertainment and I wouldn't turn off if I caught it again on cable. Oh, and as for that ending, which I loved, and I'm sure others have made this joke several times before, but
WARNING: spoilers below
let's hope there aren't any traffic signals on their road to the sea because they or the boat are going to be knocked over.



Romancing the Stone -


This is one of those movies that's been in my watchlist forever that I finally saw. Is it as light and breezy as one of protagonist Joan Wilder's books? Yes, and that's not a bad thing. It's a fun action adventure movie that is ideal for summer and that I wish I could have seen in a theater.

One criticism I do not agree with is that it's just an Indiana Jones knockoff. Sure, it's an action movie, it's partially set in a jungle and the MacGuffin is a treasure, but the similarities end there. All the same, it is an attempt, albeit a less successful one to make a B movie look like an A movie. Despite some surprises in the final act, it's too predictable to do this and the characters are too stock. I like Kathleen Turner a lot as Wilder as well as Danny DeVito in a role Peter Lorre would have played, but I couldn't totally buy Michael Douglas as Jack. A lifetime of seeing him play upper class types might be doing the talking here, but I couldn't help but think that he's yet another one moonlighting as a schemer here. I still enjoyed it as fun, light summer entertainment and I wouldn't turn off if I caught it again on cable. Oh, and as for that ending, which I loved, and I'm sure other have made this joke several times before, but
WARNING: spoilers below
let's hope there aren't any traffic signals on their road to the sea because they or the boat are going to be knocked over.
I grew up watching that one. Agree re: Douglas being comically unsuited to the role. But the bus to Cartagena moment is gold! Something about this film is very endearing despite its general silliness. Curiously, having seen it 10+ times at least, I never felt it was an Indiana Jones ripoff just because Joan isn’t really interested in any of that stuff except when it comes to her sister - and she is the protagonist.



Curiously, having seen it 10+ times at least, I never felt it was an Indiana Jones ripoff just because Joan isn’t really interested in any of that stuff except when it comes to her sister - and she is the protagonist.
Good point. I also couldn't find a place in my review that
WARNING: spoilers below
I like the use of the necklace Jack gives Joan to indicate that everything really happened and that Joan's adventure didn't just take place in her imagination. Did Christopher Nolan get the idea for the totems in Inception from this? I wouldn't be surprised if he did.


Should I bother seeing Jewel of the Nile? I didn't even know it existed until very recently.



Good point. I also couldn't find a place in my review that
WARNING: spoilers below
I like the use of the necklace Jack gives Joan to indicate that everything really happened and that Joan's adventure didn't just take place in her imagination. Did Christopher Nolan get the idea for the totems in Inception from this? I wouldn't be surprised if he did.


Should I bother seeing Jewel of the Nile? I didn't even know it existed until very recently.
Could well be true. Everyone borrows.

The sequel is very over-the-top and the sort of thing that’s likely to ruin the impression of the original. I’ve seen it plenty times as well, so I’d say if you were to come across it on TV, you wouldn’t turn it off, either. But it’s ever so much worse - the usual thing, capitalising on the original while they can, etc etc. Perhaps give it a miss until you’ve really got nothing to do.



Should I bother seeing Jewel of the Nile? I didn't even know it existed until very recently.
Haven't seen it since childhood but I seem to remember that Danny Devito's role was amplified too much for my liking. Kind of like Pesci in Lethal Weapon 3. They took the comic relief guy and overused him. But keep in mind I was 14.
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THE PROWLER
(1981, Zito)
A horror film



"For others - the G.I.s of the 'Dear John' letters - it means starting over, replacing what they have lost. They faced one challenge and won. They can win this one too."

The Prowler opens in 1945 with a soldier being dumped via a "Dear John" letter by her girlfriend. This leads to someone, presumably her boyfriend, murdering her and her new boyfriend during the graduation dance three months later. Fast forward to 1981 and, for some reason, the "prowler" is back again targeting young women during the graduation dance, the first to be held since 1945.

The plot revolves around Pam (Vicky Dawson), a senior that is trying to figure out what's happening, along with her boyfriend, Deputy Mark London (Christopher Goutman). The Prowler features most of the typical tropes of the sub-genre, which is why some might dismiss it as "just another slasher", but one can give it some leeway considering it's one of the first to try the formula. Another thing that kinda sets it apart is that the characters don't feel inherently "dumb", or at least not as much as the genre would lean to in other films that followed.

Grade:



Full review on my Movie Loot
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Cut and Run (1985)




This was originally supposed to be directed by Wes Craven but it ended up in the hands of Ruggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust). The result is a much more sleazy type of action film and that's good for me. Unfortunately it was too cheesy for my taste and just not very good. Find the uncut version if for some reason you decide to watch it.