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You've got a strong point there. Asher Angel and Zachary Levi's parts and performances didn't match, but they were supposed to be one and the same person. The only stretch I could apply to overlook it is that it felt a lot different to be a superhero and that affected the character's personality.
It felt like Billy was supposed to fit into something more Snyder-verse. Endlessly dour. It made the orphan melodrama feel like a slog too.

I’m hoping they rectify this with the next one as there’s no longer any pressure to fit into Snyder’s style.



Victim of The Night


Just enjoyed this quite a bit.
Took me a little bit to get into it but it’s very good, she’s pretty amazing and the footage of her work makes Shark Week look like the actual garbage that it is.
She was essentially the "star" (but also photographer and major-contributor) of the 1969 documentary phenomenon, Blue Water, White Death (which I remember from my childhood). It was her work, along with her husband, that made Jaws possible, first in inspiring Peter Benchley to write the book in the first place, and second in that she and her husband and their crew actually shot the underwater footage of the real Great Whites that was mixed in with the doll in Spielberg's film (and there's an awesome story about how their footage changed the film). And, honestly, she's just such an honest straight-shooter that her voiceover, which seems like it's gonna maybe gonna be almost cloying at first, becomes the stiff spine of the film. And watching her feed the Great Whites by hand off a step on the back of her boat - and when she reaches down and pats a Great White on his head...
Just a solid time.



I just watched RRR. *Butthead voice* This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.



Victim of The Night
Buh? It's one of my go to Halloween movies. I like the whole look of it.
It's a weird one for me. There's a lot to enjoy about it but every time I actually finish it I think, "What a dumb movie."



I just watched RRR. *Butthead voice* This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.
Now repeat it in normal Des voice so we know you’ve joined our ranks truly.





Just enjoyed this quite a bit.
Took me a little bit to get into it but it’s very good, she’s pretty amazing and the footage of her work makes Shark Week look like the actual garbage that it is.
She was essentially the "star" (but also photographer and major-contributor) of the 1969 documentary phenomenon, Blue Water, White Death (which I remember from my childhood). It was her work, along with her husband, that made Jaws possible, first in inspiring Peter Benchley to write the book in the first place, and second in that she and her husband and their crew actually shot the underwater footage of the real Great Whites that was mixed in with the doll in Spielberg's film (and there's an awesome story about how their footage changed the film). And, honestly, she's just such an honest straight-shooter that her voiceover, which seems like it's gonna maybe gonna be almost cloying at first, becomes the stiff spine of the film. And watching her feed the Great Whites by hand off a step on the back of her boat - and when she reaches down and pats a Great White on his head...
Just a solid time.
So this is a documentary? Not a movie?
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Victim of The Night
So this is a documentary? Not a movie?
Yes. A documentary about the life of this woman, Valerie Taylor, and the groundbreaking work she and her husband did with sharks and then with conservation.
The shark footage, which is almost all shot by her group, is better, inspired by awe and letting the wonder of it all just breathe, than any contemporary stuff I've seen. The tone of all of this is just so much better than the Cheap Thrills version The Discovery Channel vomits out.





The Black Phone, 2021

Finn (Mason Thames) is a teenager living in a Colorado suburb in the late 1970s, where there's a spate of child abductions. Finn lives with his alcoholic father (Jeremy Davies) and sort-of psychic sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw). Despite his generally cautious nature, Finn is kidnapped one day by the Grabber (Ethan Hawke), who stashes the boy in an enormous--but soundproof--basement. As Finn tries to survive his captivity, and unconnected phone on the wall rings. When Finn answers it, he finds himself speaking with the spirits of the Grabber's past victims.

This film is an adaptation of Joe Hill's short story of the same name from the collection 20th Century Ghosts. Adapting a short story into a feature length film rarely results in something great, but this is a solid enough flick thanks to the premise and engaging performances from the cast.

The original story took place entirely inside the basement room. It makes sense that in adapting the story, subplots outside of Finn's captivity would be added, and they have quite the range of success.

The best subplot is Gwen's ability to see glimpses of the crimes in her dreams. Living in the shadow of her mother--a woman who had similar abilities but who also eventually took her own life--Gwen has had it literally beaten into her by their father that she is not to take her dreams seriously. McGraw is really likable in the role, at times saving some dicey or overly cutesy dialogue. (Kids swearing is an unending source of amusement to the writers of this film.)

Less successful is the time given to two detectives working the case. They are ludicrous at best, and extraneous and useless at worst. Similarly a subplot about a man who is determined to piece together the case, complete with conspiracy board, does not earn any kind of worthwhile payoff.

The central horror of the film--Finn's captivity and the sadism of his captor--works well thanks to an engaging performance by Thames and some committed physicality by Hawke, who isn't given a ton to work with dialogue-wise, but makes for an imposing and eerie presence. The Grabber's motives, and even what specifically he does to the children he kidnaps, are left largely unspoken except for hints here and there. It makes it both a bit more palatable and a lot creepier to watch.

The scenes where Finn talks to the previous murder victims are staged in different ways, and for the most part they work pretty well. Whoever cast these small roles did a good job of finding charismatic and fun actors to play the parts, especially Miguel Cazarez Mora as Robin, a tough kid who nonetheless is a good friend to Finn.

There are plenty of "wait a minute . . . " moments here that don't totally add up. And the portrayals of fights between middle school kids are so over-the-top violent that it's almost laughable. (During several fights between kids we see multiple blows that would have left the kids with fractured skulls, if not just out and out dead.) And like I wrote earlier, there are definitely moments where you can sense the film struggling to fill the time to be a full-length feature.

Still, overall, not a bad film at all and grounded by two child protagonists who are easy to root for and some genuinely creepy moments.




Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.

He Laughed Last (Blake Edwards, 1956)
6-/10
Abandoned (Spencer Squire, 2022)
5/10
Air Doll (Hirokazu Koreeda, 2009)
6/10
The Caine Mutiny (Edward Dmytryk, 1954)
8/10

"Ahh, but the strawberries! That's - that's where I had them. They laughed at me and made jokes, but I proved beyond the shadow of a doubt and with - geometric logic - that a duplicate key to the wardroom icebox DID exist!"
Five Miles to Midnight (Anatole Litvack, 1962)
6/10
The Princess (Le-Van Kiet, 2022)
5+/10
The Dead Don't Die (Curtis Harrington, 1975)
6-/10
Repo Man (Alex Cox, 1984)
- 6.5/10

"Whatcha got in the trunk?" "Oh... You don't wanna look in there."
Sioux City (Lou Diamond Phillips, 1994)
6/10
Little Girl (Ekwa Msangi, 2020)
6/10
Nobody's Perfect (Alan Rafkin, 1968)
5.5/10
Watcher (Chloe Okuno, 2022)
6/10

In Bucharest, American Maika Monroe believes she's being followed by a serial killer who may also be watching her from across the street, but nobody believes her.
Bride for Sale (William D. Russell, 1949)
6/10
Murder at Yellowstone City (Richard Gray, 2022)
5/10
And Now Miguel (Joseph Krumgold,1953)
+ 6/10
a.k.a. Cassius Clay (Jim Jacobs, 1970)
6.5/10

World heavyweight champion Sonny Liston battles Muhammad Ali just before the latter joins the Black Muslims and becomes a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War.
The Beggar's Opera (Peter Brook, 1953)
+ 6/10
You'll Never See Me Again (Jeannot Szwarc, 1973)
6-/10
Press Play (Greg Björkman, 2022)
+ 5/10
Shooter (Antoine Fuqua, 2007)
6/10

Retired sharpshooter Mark Wahlberg is hired by the Feds to protect the President from asassination but is set up as the shooter. He escapes and they incompetently pursue him except for FBI agent Michael Peña who acts as his ally.
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I saw quite a ton of great movies this 4th of July weekend.
Moonrise Kingdom - Fantastic dramedy film by Wes Anderson that was such a nice movie. I felt good after watching this great film.

Green Mile - I was blown by this fantastic movie. Filled with emotion and impressive acting, I was intrigued by this movie from start to finish. I was very invested in the characters of this film, and the ending could have made me cry. Despite being a bit too long, I deem this one to be just as good and maybe better than Shawshank Redemption.

Three Colors: Red - Was quite disappointed while watching it, due to there being too much conversation with the woman and the stalky old man, but I managed to pick everything up and enjoy a new cinematic experience after watching this.

High Plains Drifter - Pretty good cowboy movie that starred Clint Eastwood. I thought that the dwarf character was quite funny and there were some scenes that really stuck out for me such as the hotel scene.

Beavis and Butthead Do The Universe - I expected this to suck when I first heard of this, but then I was deeply impressed with this movie. Mike Judge and company really out did themselves by maintaining the charm of the original show and then make something on par with the Do America movie.

Three Colors: White - Same as Red. I loved that music score and the movie still looked alive. Karol was a crazy fellow.

Upcoming Movies to Watch: The Double Life of Veronique, Three Colors: Blue, La La Land, Singing in the Rain, Cleo From 5 to 7, etc.



Victim of The Night
... Upcoming Movies to Watch: The Double Life of Veronique, Three Colors: Blue, Singing in the Rain, Cleo From 5 to 7, etc.
These are all movies I love. I look forward to your report.



I forgot the opening line.

Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17915345

My Winnipeg - (2007)

"How could this possibly be anything like Brand Upon the Brain!?" I thought. The IMDb, along with classifying it as a comedy and drama calls My Winnipeg a documentary, so how has Guy Maddin managed to finesse all of that with his usual style? It's actually much like Brand Upon the Brain! Winnipeg creates a fantastical snow swept setting for his own personal story in an almost make-believe sense - Winnipeg becoming a city where it's dwellers all wander in their sleep, and it's politicians and upper crust hold seances, worshipping idols and calling forth spirits. Into it he sprinkles much factual information, and it sets the tone for what becomes his own personal story, from birth to childhood to adolescence. It might have a few lulls, but it also has some very enjoyable high points - especially, as in Brand Upon the Brain!, when it deals with Maddin's mother, who takes center stage in this film. I found some of it extremely funny, and as a whole that Maddin style remains true. A few things he has to say about memory, reminiscence and the past really struck me, for my thoughts had been wandering in the same direction for a while now.

8/10
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Latest Review : Le Circle Rouge (1970)







SF = Z


[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it



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Please Quote/Tag Or I'll Miss Your Responses
Has anyone seen "I Could Go On Singing"? If so, can you leave a 1-10 rating? My DVR is getting full, and I gave the movie a whole 20 minutes, but might check something else out as a result of seeing what's been viewed here.



Has anyone seen "I Could Go On Singing"? If so, can you leave a 1-10 rating? My DVR is getting full, and I gave the movie a whole 20 minutes, but might check something else out as a result of seeing what's been viewed here.

I've seen I Could Go on Singing...definitely a curio for Garland fans since it was her last film. It's not a great film, but I think it's the closest thing we ever saw onscreen to the real Garland. Here's a link to my review:

https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/...n-singing.html





4th Rewatch...it's no classic, but it does have enormous rewatch appeal. Jane Fonda returned to the screen for the first time in 16 years and knocked it out of the park as a former talk show hostess who does everything she can to prevent her doctor/son (Michael Vartan) from marrying a temp/dog walker (Jennifer Lopez). Fonda is the show here and the only people she doesn't blow off the screen are Wanda Sykes as her assistant and Elaine Stritch as her ex-mother-in-law.





1st Rewatch...this poor man's Oceans 11 has some serious star power going for it, but suffers from an overly complicated plot. There are standout performances from Ben Stiller, Casey Affleck, Michael Pena, and especially Alan Alda, playing another of those smarmy villains that he does so convincingly.



Registered User
top gun is 8/10



Running Scared - 6/10
Doom - 7/10
Clerks II - 7/10
Pirates 2 - 9/10
Superman Returns - 10/10