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Pretty fun satire of our internet-based culture which is too much focused on nonsense, so society is unable to get a grip regarding a serious issue. I found some of the jokes a bit cringe but overall not a bad movie. Loved the jokes on big-tech and hillary.

Still, if you look at Covid, the lack of seriousness was perhaps not the biggest issue, instead, it was the polarization of measures: excessive measures some people took while others did not take any measures.



Judy (2019)

Won't rate this as it's not really my sort of film and I don't know much about Garland....what I will say is that it dragged in long sections but I did manage to hang on till the end.



I found this film to be a really pleasant surprise. I find Daniel Radcliffe to be such an affable presence that I'm willing to give almost anything with him in it a try. And then the rest of the cast was great as well.

I think that the argument on the beach (and the situation leading up to it) is a great little subversion of romance tropes.



[Don't Look Up] Interesting. I keep having people tell me I need to see it and how good it is but I didn't have a good feeling.
If you have good friends that recommend it, then it would surely warrant a watch. You might like it.

I did note that even folks or reviewers who agree with the supposed philosophy behind the picture pooh-poohed it. Now watch it win an Oscar!...



I found this film to be a really pleasant surprise. I find Daniel Radcliffe to be such an affable presence that I'm willing to give almost anything with him in it a try. And then the rest of the cast was great as well
Same here. I recommend seeing the miniseries The Young Doctor's Handbook and Other Stories and Swiss Army Man if you haven't already if you're up for more non-Potter Radcliffe.

As for What If, I finally got motivated to see it thanks to a Ratatouille clip, of all things:




The trick is not minding
I found this film to be a really pleasant surprise. I find Daniel Radcliffe to be such an affable presence that I'm willing to give almost anything with him in it a try. And then the rest of the cast was great as well.

I think that the argument on the beach (and the situation leading up to it) is a great little subversion of romance tropes.
I have this saved to watch soon, but that’s mostly because of Zoe Kazan, who I feel is a talented actress.



Same here. I recommend seeing the miniseries The Young Doctor's Handbook and Other Stories and Swiss Army Man if you haven't already if you're up for more non-Potter Radcliffe.
Seen the former, not sure how much I'm interested in the latter, but I do keep almost watching it.

I have this saved to watch soon, but that’s mostly because of Zoe Kazan, who I feel is a talented actress.
She's very good in it. Honestly, all four of the main actors are really good in it.





Funny Girl, 1968

In this based-on-a-true-story film, Fanny Brice (Barbra Streisand) goes from being an unsuccessful dance hall girl to a successful comedienne and stage performer. Along the way, however, she must grapple with her complicated relationship with professional gambler Nick (Omar Sharif).

As with many biographical films, I had to give myself some distance with this one. As I just wrote about with tick tick BOOM!, I always struggle with the knowledge that I am being shown a "true story" where in reality alterations have been made to suit a narrative film.

That said, this is a mostly very charming film and Streisand's lead performance is palpably a breakthrough moment.

I read a lot of trivia about how mad people were about how controlling Streisand was on the set of the film. My main reaction? Good for her! This trivia actually mirrors one of the points of the film that I thought was most impactful: Fanny is (in the reality of the film) not a pretty girl. She's a funny girl. And she is very sensitive to the difference between being laughed AT and laughed WITH. Even more specifically, she wants to have control over moments in which she is being laughed AT, with it being important that moments of self-deprecation are by choice.

I enjoyed many of the musical numbers in the film, especially a comedic take on "Swan Lake" that comes later in the story. Streisand is an assured performer, whether in the within-film setpieces or in scenes like one where she is asked to perform on roller skates. "I thought you said you could roller skate!" protests the stage manager who is also her good friend and ally. "I didn't know I couldn't!!" Fanny exclaims, propelling herself back into the chaos of the piece. It's solidly entertaining.

Sharif, as love interest Nick, is also perfect in his role. In the first half, we see his confidence and how this seduces Fanny. But later in the film, we see the way that her success takes a toll on him. I have a friend who split from her husband, and a huge issue in their marriage was the fact that she is more successful and recognized in her career than he is (they are both writers). Nick's building resentment is wonderfully portrayed by Sharif, and capably counterbalanced by the way that Streisand shows how Fanny's attempts to "help" Nick only make him feel more bitter toward the situation.

I do have to say that I found the first half of the film a lot more fun and interesting than the second half. While the dynamics of their marriage are portrayed in a way that is realistic, it's also not very fun watching a woman trying to please a man who is so insecure that he takes her success personally. The first half where we watch Fanny fight for her place on the stage and also fight to do numbers her way is really good stuff.

Overall a solid film and a particularly good first half.




SCANNERS
(1981, Cronenberg)



"It's the voices in my head. They're driving me crazy. How do you stop them?"

Scanners follows the titular subjects who've been found to have special mental abilities. When one of them called Daryl Revok (Michael Ironside) starts to wreak havoc, a security and weapons company puts its trust in Vale to find him and stop him, before he takes over the world.

Probably one of the weakest points of the film is Lack, who is barely serviceable as the lead. Even though his performance is not bad, it's just too bland to get us all pumped up. Ironside, on the other hand, is all the opposite. His performance is energetic and in-your-face, and Ironside chews it all up pretty well.

Grade:



Full review on my Movie Loot
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[center]SCANNERS
(1981, Cronenberg)

Ironside, on the other hand, is all the opposite. His performance is energetic and in-your-face, and Ironside chews it all up pretty well.
Have you seen Visiting Hours? Because a major side effect of watching Scanners was that I wished I was watching Visiting Hours instead.



Have you seen Visiting Hours? Because a major side effect of watching Scanners was that I wished I was watching Visiting Hours instead.
Not that I remember. But "funny story" about Visiting Hours is that when I was a kid I saw that trailer with the hospital windows/lights forming the skull...



...and it stuck with me. I became obsessed with that and frequently drew that image in notebooks. Don't remember if I ever saw the film, though. Should I?



It's on YouTube, but doesn't seem to be legit streaming anywhere.

I think it's kind of a hidden gem that isn't discussed nearly enough, and I really like the interplay between the three main female characters with Ironside's violent killer in the center of it all.



The Way Way Back (2013)



Only saw the last 3/4 of this movie during a free cable channel preview.

I really liked it as an understated comedy / drama that has almost no laugh-out-loud moments, but rather the subtle humor of a bitter-sweet coming-of-age movie.

I think I related to it on the level of the main character finding himself at his first job. Unlike the character, my home life lacked the strife he had. I didn't come from a broken home, but high school was miserable for me... until I started working my first job. Mine wasn't at a water park, but at a restaurant. I suddenly went from a friendless outcast to being treated with respect & interest by people older than myself. It was the complete opposite of high school - I got no interest from girls my own age, but as soon as I started my job I had dozens of college-age and older women being friendly with me every shift I worked.

Interesting cast (with Steve Carrel as an against-type antagonist) & great movie for a lazy afternoon.




I forgot the opening line.

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Incendies - (2010)

Incendies packs a lot into it's 130 minutes of drama and pain - a whole lifetime full in fact. On the death of their eccentric and troubled mother, a brother and sister are instructed to find the father they thought was dead, and a brother they never knew they had - to deliver a letter to them both. To find them, they have to backtrack and learn about what their mother went through in the Middle East. She'd disgraced her family by bearing a child out of wedlock, went to study after having it sent to an orphanage and then became involved in a war between Christians and Muslims. Her transformation from student to warrior is brutal and shocking, and what happens to her after that is even more brutal, and even more shocking. Learning the whole story is transformative for the brother and sister - and they learn things about themselves and their mother that she hopes will end in love and forgiveness. Denis Villeneuve never dwells for too long on one aspect of the story - which moves along at a steady pace with one pounding revelation after the other. With strong musical accompaniment, bright and harsh visuals and intimate flash-backs it tells a story you want to go back to and hear again. I feel aggrieved that this lost to In a Better World when it came to the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, which I thought was average (but need to see again.)

9/10

Foreign Language Countdown films seen : 59/100


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Knife in the Water - (1962)

Something very different here. Modern movie-making and thrillers made me expect rape, torture and death in a film called Knife in the Water, Roman Polanski's first full-length feature film. What it is though, is a more subtle interplay between three characters - a husband, wife and interloper. The interloper doesn't forcefully intrude on this duo's 24-hour sailing trip, he's almost forcefully brought along by the domineering husband who picks him up hitchhiking out of spite, to prove a point. There begins a game of machismo and wits, with both men trying to outdo the other, whether it be with words, actions, knowledge or physical prowess. Awfully difficult to shoot, if you look behind the scenes - but this seems to be the kind of film the Dogme 95 group of filmmakers were trying to reestablish. There's no cheap shocks or trickery to try and engender reactions from an audience - just a sense of foreboding these two men foster in their attempts to prove themselves superior, which this films examines uncomfortably closely.

8/10

Foreign Language Countdown films seen : 60/100

I also watched a whole progression of Roman Polanski's early short films :

Murder : Barely a minute long. A man enters a room, stabs some poor guy to death, and then leaves - thereby establishing the dead-on accuracy of it's title. 1/10

Teeth Smile : Creepy, creepy short about a peeping-tom looking in at an undressed lady, leering with a horrible toothy grin. He flees when interrupted, and when he goes for a second look it's the woman's husband that's there, leering in a similar manner. 5/10

Break Up the Dance : The most interesting thing about this short are the pictures of Stalin everywhere at this student dance, reminding one of the era in Poland this was made. Aside from that there's a silent-era type brawl that breaks out. There's a strong sense of this silent era in a lot of Polanski's early shorts. 2/10

Two Men and a Wardrobe : Two men carrying a wardrobe come out of the sea, like primordial creatures and venture around, trying to carry out their day-to-day life carrying this thing everywhere with them. Polanski himself has a short role as a thug who beats one of the guys up. This short has an unbearable segment where a bunch of guys stone a kitten to death. WHY? WHY???? No way/10

The Lamp : A dollmakers business, with unsettling creations abounding, catches fire and the dolls seem to burn in anguish as people outside pass by without noticing. This one was quite good - the imagery very catching and enthralling. 7/10

When Angels Fall : I think this was Polanski's thesis production, and it plays out like a large-budget epic of a short. An old, haggard woman holds down a job as lavatory attendant - but things she sees takes her back in time (with lavish colour) to her youth, and romance with soldiers from invading armies, heartbreak, having a child and that child growing up, disowning her and dying during the First World War. This prompts her to break down crying, and a visit from an angel. The scale of this, compared to the other shorts, is off the charts. It's like the Ben-Hur and Gone With the Wind of Polish short films. 7/10

The Fat and the Lean : A silly short with an older aristocrat and his poor, disheveled servant (played by Polanski) who keeps trying to please him, attempting to run away, being pacified and repeating that cycle again and again. Very much like an old silent short, played at the same frame-rate they were played back then. 3/10

Mammals : Another Keaton/Chaplin/Arbuckle-type comedic short with two men - one pulls the sled and the other rests. They keep feigning injury and sickness to get the other one to pull, swapping places again and again until they lose their sled - whereupon they start carrying each other on their back. 2/10

All of those shorts were put together from around 1957 to 1962, the year Polanski made Knife in the Water
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I watched Goldstone, a solid sequel to Mystery Road. Elements of the plot feel like a rehash of the first movie but the new characters were intriguing, especially Josh, a cop who starts out easily corruptible and manipulated because of how naive and inexperienced he is. If you like slow burn outback thrillers give these a watch.



I watched Goldstone, a solid sequel to Mystery Road. Elements of the plot feel like a rehash of the first movie but the new characters were intriguing, especially Josh, a cop who starts out easily corruptible and manipulated because of how naive and inexperienced he is. If you like slow burn outback thrillers give these a watch.
I watched this for Noirvember after discovering it at a Dollar Store. I was a fan of Mystery Road (after accidentally ordering it through Amazon whilst the phone became sentient in my pocket) but didn’t know it had a sequel. So imagine my extra surprise when I learned not only did Goldstone exist, but it spawned a multi season TV series with the cast that I’ve not yet had a chance to see.

They did a good job with this 2 film/TV format for Wolf Creek so I hope the results are comparable.