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TC 2000 (T.J. Scott, 1993)
Kickfight movie with Billy Blanks and Bolo Yeung and that's all you really need to know.
Rate The Last Movie You Saw
TC 2000 (T.J. Scott, 1993)
Kickfight movie with Billy Blanks and Bolo Yeung and that's all you really need to know.
I did a Zulawski double feature last night. The Most Important Thing: Love which definitely left an impression on me when I first saw it years ago, but I absolutely love it now after finally rewatching it. I don't think there's very many people who can go toe to toe with Klaus Kinski for intensity but Romy holds her own. It has everything a boy could want in a film: Romy, storyline about a photographer, seedy grotesque pornographers, crumbling Paris apartments, orgies... such a lovely piece of cinema! I'd actually really like to read the novel it's based on, but I can't find an English edition of it.
Then I watched The Third Part of the Night, and it does not have those things.
Then I watched The Third Part of the Night, and it does not have those things.
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Kayden Kross
5th Shorts Hall of Fame
A Gun for George (2011) -
This short centers around Terry Finch, an unsuccessful writer of pulp-fiction crime novels who struggles to find publishing for them. Given the lack of success he finds throughout the short and the trouble he gets himself into in the process, it seems clear that he should give up. Via flashback though, it's implied his brother was killed by a group of carjackers, thus making the main character in his novels a stand-in for his brother and the act of publishing them a tribute to him. As a result, I felt sympathy for Terry and hoped for him to find success. Terry copes with the setbacks he experiences throughout the short by imagining himself as the character in his novels who "kills" the people who give him trouble throughout the short. As others have noted, these scenes are technically impressive for how they accurately recreate the look and feel of a 70's grindhouse film. They're also quite humorous given how Terry often shoots people in their balls in them. With that being said though, while this short offers a handful of interesting concepts, I don't think it wrapped itself up well. Since the short wasn't about Terry facing death, the implication that his life might be in danger at the end didn't work for me and seemed to come out of nowhere. Maybe if the short fleshed out the "fantasy and reality becoming intertwined" theme more, the ending would've appropriately chilled me. Still though, I found a lot to like about this short and I'm glad I watched it.
A Gun for George (2011) -
This short centers around Terry Finch, an unsuccessful writer of pulp-fiction crime novels who struggles to find publishing for them. Given the lack of success he finds throughout the short and the trouble he gets himself into in the process, it seems clear that he should give up. Via flashback though, it's implied his brother was killed by a group of carjackers, thus making the main character in his novels a stand-in for his brother and the act of publishing them a tribute to him. As a result, I felt sympathy for Terry and hoped for him to find success. Terry copes with the setbacks he experiences throughout the short by imagining himself as the character in his novels who "kills" the people who give him trouble throughout the short. As others have noted, these scenes are technically impressive for how they accurately recreate the look and feel of a 70's grindhouse film. They're also quite humorous given how Terry often shoots people in their balls in them. With that being said though, while this short offers a handful of interesting concepts, I don't think it wrapped itself up well. Since the short wasn't about Terry facing death, the implication that his life might be in danger at the end didn't work for me and seemed to come out of nowhere. Maybe if the short fleshed out the "fantasy and reality becoming intertwined" theme more, the ending would've appropriately chilled me. Still though, I found a lot to like about this short and I'm glad I watched it.
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Uncharted (2022)
Uncharted tells the story of orphan bartender who gets tied into an international gold hunt with some shady characters. The film makes absolutely no sense the CGI and filmmaking sucks. Mark Wahlberg's character is good but he's wasted in this dull heartless exercise in Hollywood excess. When you become nostalgic for National Treasure you know you've got a bad film.
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The Party, 2017
Janet (Kristen Scott Thomas) and her husband Bill (Timothy Spall) are throwing a party to celebrate Janet's new appointment to a high position in the government. They are joined by friends April (Patricia Clarkson) and her husband Gottfried (Bruno Ganz); expecting couple Martha (Cherry Jones) and Jinny (Emily Mortimer); and the husband of Janet's co-worker, Tom (Cillian Murphy).
From the very get-go, you know just what kind of movie this is. As the minutes go by, the veneer of highbrow, civilized company is going to corrode and corrode until all of the group's ugly secrets are revealed.
So the premise itself is very familiar and predictable. Despite this, I would say that the film still mostly works, thanks to engaging performances from the actors and a slightly unreal, off-kilter atmosphere cultivated by the way that Potter shoots the film.
The best performance is easily Clarkson as a character who is cynical, but also honest and loyal. Often, the "blunt outspoken friend" character can feel flat---like a vehicle for making cutting remarks/jokes--but Clarkson manages to give April a kind of weary warmth.
The other characters feel a bit less developed. The performances themselves are good, but the focus is so much on the various deceptions and dramas, that we never totally get a read on the characters before they are in panic mode. Murphy's character walks in the door and immediately does a huge amount of cocaine. Spall's Bill is spaced out/zapped from the beginning. I think that the film could have used more of a "baseline" before everything went off of the rails.
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Uncharted (2022)
Uncharted tells the story of orphan bartender who gets tied into an international gold hunt with some shady characters. The film makes absolutely no sense the CGI and filmmaking sucks. Mark Wahlberg's character is good but he's wasted in this dull heartless exercise in Hollywood excess. When you become nostalgic for National Treasure you know you've got a bad film.
Honestly, not busting your balls in any way, it's something I've thought a lot about for quite a while. I watch a lot of "bad" movies but I have a reason for why I watch them (discussed in another thread), but I will pretty much never watch a movie I perceive as just bad. And I see a number of people here watching movies they knew were going to be just garden-variety bad when they went in and watched them anyway, and I've just been thinking a lot about why people do this.
Erik the Conqueror -
This is a pretty good Italian sword and sandal tale set during the Viking invasion of Great Britain. Directed by horror legend Mario Bava, our heroes are Erik (George Ardisson) and Eron (Cameron Mitchell), Viking brothers who are separated during a battle, and as grownups, end up being in line for the thrones of the two nations. If historical accuracy is important to you, you'll obviously be disappointed, but for those who enjoy historical fiction - especially if there is plenty of action, romance and betrayal - this is precisely your cup of tea (or flagon of mead). The lavish look and feel that make Bava's horror movies so watchable can be found here, the highlight being the Viking's castle, which they appropriately built around a gigantic tree. The battle and hand-to-hand combat scenes are also as watchable as they are thrilling since they thankfully trade gloss for grit. As for the performances, Mitchell is as reliable and charismatic as the Vikings' reluctant leader as he is in his other Bava collaborations, and German twins Ellen and Alice Kessler are no slouches either - not to mention easy on the eyes - as our brothers' romantic interests (again, it's very much fiction). It's no classic of the genre or anything, but it’s bound to appeal to fans of or newcomers to the genre. Oh, and it proves that Cameron Mitchell was much more than the Santa Claus lookalike from Space Mutiny.
This is a pretty good Italian sword and sandal tale set during the Viking invasion of Great Britain. Directed by horror legend Mario Bava, our heroes are Erik (George Ardisson) and Eron (Cameron Mitchell), Viking brothers who are separated during a battle, and as grownups, end up being in line for the thrones of the two nations. If historical accuracy is important to you, you'll obviously be disappointed, but for those who enjoy historical fiction - especially if there is plenty of action, romance and betrayal - this is precisely your cup of tea (or flagon of mead). The lavish look and feel that make Bava's horror movies so watchable can be found here, the highlight being the Viking's castle, which they appropriately built around a gigantic tree. The battle and hand-to-hand combat scenes are also as watchable as they are thrilling since they thankfully trade gloss for grit. As for the performances, Mitchell is as reliable and charismatic as the Vikings' reluctant leader as he is in his other Bava collaborations, and German twins Ellen and Alice Kessler are no slouches either - not to mention easy on the eyes - as our brothers' romantic interests (again, it's very much fiction). It's no classic of the genre or anything, but it’s bound to appeal to fans of or newcomers to the genre. Oh, and it proves that Cameron Mitchell was much more than the Santa Claus lookalike from Space Mutiny.
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RUNAWAY TRAIN
(1985, Konchalovsky)
(1985, Konchalovsky)
"I'm at war with the world and everybody in it."
Runaway Train follows Manny (Jon Voight), a dangerous convict at a secluded maximum security prison in Alaska. Set to be transferred, he plans to escape with the help of Buck (Eric Roberts), a young, impressionable prisoner who idolizes him. After getting out, they hop on a nearby train, not realizing that the engineer has died, leaving the locomotive on the loose. Meanwhile, the ruthless prison warden (John P. Ryan) sets out to find Manny no matter what.
This is a film that is packaged and marketed as an action thriller – and it is – but still, there is something a bit more complex under the surface. There are themes of obsession, loyalty, humanity, and freedom lurking underneath the roaring of the locomotive. Voight is a complicated character to root for since he seems to be "at war with the world and everybody in it"; a man in search of his freedom and humanity, perhaps, and the film does seem to focus on his psyche as much as it does on the action setpieces.
Grade:
Full review on my Movie Loot
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Erik the Conqueror -
This is a pretty good Italian sword and sandal tale set during the Viking invasion of Great Britain. Directed by horror legend Mario Bava, our heroes are Erik (George Ardisson) and Eron (Cameron Mitchell), Viking brothers who are separated during a battle, and as grownups, end up being in line for the thrones of the two nations. If historical accuracy is important to you, you'll obviously be disappointed, but for those who enjoy historical fiction - especially if there is plenty of action, romance and betrayal - this is precisely your cup of tea (or flagon of mead). The lavish look and feel that make Bava's horror movies so watchable can be found here, the highlight being the Viking's castle, which they appropriately built around a gigantic tree. The battle and hand-to-hand combat scenes are also as watchable as they are thrilling since they thankfully trade gloss for grit. As for the performances, Mitchell is as reliable and charismatic as the Vikings' reluctant leader as he is in his other Bava collaborations, and German twins Ellen and Alice Kessler are no slouches either - not to mention easy on the eyes - as our brothers' romantic interests (again, it's very much fiction). It's no classic of the genre or anything, but it’s bound to appeal to fans of or newcomers to the genre. Oh, and it proves that Cameron Mitchell was much more than the Santa Claus lookalike from Space Mutiny.
This is a pretty good Italian sword and sandal tale set during the Viking invasion of Great Britain. Directed by horror legend Mario Bava, our heroes are Erik (George Ardisson) and Eron (Cameron Mitchell), Viking brothers who are separated during a battle, and as grownups, end up being in line for the thrones of the two nations. If historical accuracy is important to you, you'll obviously be disappointed, but for those who enjoy historical fiction - especially if there is plenty of action, romance and betrayal - this is precisely your cup of tea (or flagon of mead). The lavish look and feel that make Bava's horror movies so watchable can be found here, the highlight being the Viking's castle, which they appropriately built around a gigantic tree. The battle and hand-to-hand combat scenes are also as watchable as they are thrilling since they thankfully trade gloss for grit. As for the performances, Mitchell is as reliable and charismatic as the Vikings' reluctant leader as he is in his other Bava collaborations, and German twins Ellen and Alice Kessler are no slouches either - not to mention easy on the eyes - as our brothers' romantic interests (again, it's very much fiction). It's no classic of the genre or anything, but it’s bound to appeal to fans of or newcomers to the genre. Oh, and it proves that Cameron Mitchell was much more than the Santa Claus lookalike from Space Mutiny.
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I actually haven't seen this one yet but Knives of the Avenger is another Bava Viking flick I can recommend. It's also on Tubi so it was probably already on your radar, just thought I'd throw it out there.
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MAD MAX 2
(1981, Miller)
(1981, Miller)
"Do you think you're the only one that's suffered? We've all been through it in here. But we haven't given up. We're still human beings, with dignity. But you? You're out there with the garbage. You're nothing."
Mad Max 2 picks up right where the first one ended, with a more desolate and barren land, more ruthless villains, and a more detached and hardened hero in Max Rockatansky (Gibson). As he roams the desert for fuel, he is led to an abandoned oil refinery, where he is forced to defend a group of settlers from a gang of violent bikers led by Lord Humungus.
What follows are a few skillfully built setpieces that culminate with a kickass clash on board of a tanker across the highway (am I the only one that got serious Terminator 2 vibes from this?). There really isn't much else to it, but there doesn't have to be. The film succeeds in what it sets out to achieve as far as a straightforward post-apocalyptic action film goes. The characters are likable, the bad guys are evil and "showy", and the action is fast-paced and well staged. What more do we need?
Grade:
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I like that film. Good write up of a very watchable chamber piece. Did you ever see the Italian film 'Perfect Strangers' (2016) ? Some similar themes in that one.
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IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
(1934, Capra)
(1934, Capra)
"You think I'm a fool and a spoiled brat. Well, perhaps I am, although I don't see how I can be. People who are spoiled are accustomed to having their own way. I never have. On the contrary. I've always been told what to do, and how to do it, and when, and with whom. Would you believe it?"
It Happened One Night follows Ellie, who has eloped with a renowned pilot and alleged "gold digger". As her father (Walter Connolly) is trying to have the marriage annulled, she escapes from him and takes a bus to reunite with her husband, only to meet Peter Warne (Clark Gable), a cynical reporter that sees the opportunity for a story but ends up falling for her instead.
This is one of those films that everybody mentions, but that for some reason I hadn't gotten to. Notable for being one of only three "Big Five" Oscar winners, the film earns its reputation on the strength of its witty dialogue, solid performances and an excellent chemistry from Gable and Colbert. Released in 1934, there are certain things that are obviously dated or that haven't aged that well, especially regarding the gender politics, but it more than makes up for it with the great banter between the two leads.
Grade:
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One of my favorite Capra films.
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One of my favorite Capra films.
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I've only seen three of his films, counting this one. I've also seen It's a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, but even those I haven't seen in a loooong time.
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