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I forgot the opening line.

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The Last Castle - (2001)

Anybody remember Brubaker? Well, Robert Redford was back at it in 2001, cleaning up another dirty prison - this time as a convicted general going head to head with a military prison's warden (played by James Gandolfini.) I have to admit I enjoyed this immensely. Under the surface there are a number of problems with The Last Castle, especially in regard to it's over-the-top finish, but I felt all the buttons were expertly pushed and I got carried away the way I sometimes do with the familiar prison movie tropes. If you enjoy those films in general then you'll enjoy The Last Castle, where a bunch of court-martialed malcontents (including one played by Mark Ruffalo) go up against a murderous commandant in a literal all out war. (Just never mind the plot-holes, and don't expect anything too intellectual - and mind that this was a box office flop which received middling reviews.) Really like this one.

7/10


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I Am Sam - (2001)

Tropic Thunder - that scene in it is all I can think about when approaching I Am Sam. Anyway, I got curious, especially about Sean Penn's performance as someone with a severe intellectual disability, who nonetheless fathers a daughter and then loses her when she turns 7 and she's taken by protective services. It's a performance that isn't subtle, but he's extremely likeable so the film works for the most part. Sam manages to get himself a lawyer (played in a ruffled manner by Michelle Pfeiffer) and fight for his kid. Dakota Fanning launched her career as the young child (Lucy) in this, but she comes off just a little creepy to me - acting like an adult in the face of Penn's child-like antics. If you're at all cynical, don't go near this film - if you think you might be able to buy it, you might be surprised and like it. It was criticized as being too manipulative and trying to convince us that Sam should get to raise his daughter - but in my eyes it didn't go for that exactly, and all films try to manipulate. I felt for the character, but conceded that he couldn't do the job without serious help and I felt the film was saying that also - that the issue was complex, and neither side were all right and all wrong. I've stayed well away from this film for 20 years because of what the critics were saying when it came out - but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting.

6.5/10


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28 Days Later - (2002)

Watching this apocalyptic film about a pandemic while in the midst of a bona-fide pandemic is a little eerie, especially when the docos (made years ago) in the special features talk about how it's possible a global pandemic might come along one day and kill millions of people. Instead of bats and cats at a market in China it's chimps in a lab in England that manage to pass on a virus to humans that enrage them and sent them on murderous sprees. Nobody got to tell Jim (Cillian Murphy) who was unconscious in hospital when the whole world went away. Now he wanders around a deserted London, eventually teaming up with a young Naomi Harris and others while fighting the infected. Eventually they're captured by somewhat dishonorable British military men intent on starting over (an excuse to rape the females in the group) and must use their wits to survive both the infected and non-infected who want to harm them. After Trainspotting and The Beach Danny Boyle really showed he had great range as a director with this.

8/10

I quite like Splinter. It was a random watch for me when it first came out, and it was a really pleasant surprise. I thought the actors were all really solid.
It has surprisingly large and robust fan base that one.
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The message is colonialism = rape/exploitation.
Which is basically the caricature I had issues with the film. It's a good movie but basically, just another "white man bad" proclamation which we're not in shortage of.
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Dangerous (2021)

A run-of-the-mill action film that doesn't seem to know if it's a comedy or not. Scott Eastwood may not have his father's charisma (yet?), but he sure looks like Clint. Gibson is good in his joke of a role, but Eastwood's character suffers from similar treatment (pun intended).

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Rambo: First Blood Part 2 (1985)

An nth rewatch. A good 80s action that also suffers from the normal issues of its time - somewhat wooden action sequences and terrible gun handling. It's a little hit-and-miss film for me but fortunately, it clicked this time.

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Last Night in Soho (2021)

This year's best film this far. It owns a lot to certain types of Giallo (like The Psychic) and largely manages to give similar vibes. It looks beautiful, and the use of music is brilliant. Both McKenzie and Taylor-Joy are excellent in their roles. The transitions between the characters and the dates are done with style and wit.

My main gripes are the boyfriend who's not well-written at all (he's just a mandatory love interest with no personality besides being nice and, obviously, a token black character) and the moral justification offered in the end (I don't mind the film taking such stance, but being human, I find an opposing message slightly annoying).



]I fully believe they are good films. I just . . . always find myself hovering over them and then watching an episode of a baking show instead. Maybe because they seem like they might be downers? I don't know.
I guess you could call Wind River a downer, but it still tried to find hope where it could, and its overall tone was still fully justified (IMO) because it dealt with lingering, unsolved social issues facing Native Americans, one that it couldn't put on a "happy face" to deal with, so I think "honest" would be a more accurate descriptor (sort of like with Schindler's List, to be honest with you). It certainly didn't go out of its way to wallow in misery for no reason the whole time, like something like It Comes At Night...



'Bulado' (2021)


Coming of age type story about a young girl in the Dutch Antilles Island of Curacao who is at a crossroads in her life as her studies collide with her increased consciousness of the grieving process. The film is interwoven with the importance of heritage and culture. Some superb cinematography, and although there is a slight dip around the halfway mark, it's a film that is worth the final pay off. It's only director Eche Janga's 2nd feature.

Tiara Richards is superb in the central role.

7.0/10




Prayers for the Stolen (Tatiana Huezo, 2021)
- 6.5/10
Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus (Dalibor Baric, 2020)
+ 6.5/10
These 2 look right up my street, thanks Mark.



ONE CUT OF THE DEAD
(2017, Ueda)





Without giving too much away, One Cut of the Dead follows a crew of filmmakers tasked with shooting a zombie film while facing a series of unexpected and often hilarious constraints and problems. The nature and reasons of those constraints is best explained by watching the actual film, and being patient enough to stick with it all the way through the payoff.

If you haven't heard much or anything about this, then give it a chance as soon as possible. Especially if you're a zombie or horror fan, this is a film that rewards you for walking in blind. It is a film that moves at a breezy pace, and even though it may look cheap, average it ain't.

Grade:



Full review on my Movie Loot

This made my top 25 for the foreign language countdown. I have recommended it a few times and its gone over very well for those who have actually watched it but it's a hard one to explain why it's so good without giving away what makes it so much fun. I always say the same thing when recommending it - be patient!



The message is colonialism = rape/exploitation.
Right, that part I got. I was just confused as to where my sympathies were supposed to lie. Lots of terrible things happen to our main character, who then goes on to treat the indigenous characters with disdain. Who am I rooting for here?

It's been over a year since I watched it, so that's an oversimplified version of my dilemma, but that was the gist of it I think. It was similar to the film Hounddog, in that whatever payoff there was was not enough to justify the wretched stuff I had to sit through to get there.
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Right, that part I got.
I figured. But this is what I mean by the "paper-thin script". There really isn't much more there that I can discern. Very predictable and not very satisfying.


Babadook, on the other hand, dealt with the issue of
WARNING: spoilers below
a mother secretly desiring to kill her special needs child
which I feel is much darker, more complex and complicated subject matter, and which resulted in a less ambivalent resolution. I think it definitely points to the kinds of films that maybe I prefer.



CASUALTIES OF WAR
(1989, De Palma)



"First you don't know s-hit, then you don't give a s-hit."

Casualties of War follows a squad led by Sergeant Meserve (Sean Penn) that after an ambush, decide to kidnap and rape a young Vietnamese woman. Although most of his fellow soldiers go along with the plan, Private Eriksson (Michael J. Fox) is against it, which leads to tension, confrontations, and the moral dilemma of whether he should "give a s-hit" and who ultimately "gives a s-hit" in the end.

The primary burden of the film lies in the performances of the two leads. If they can convincingly sell the two attitudes ("giving a s-hit" and "not giving a s-hit"), most of the work is done. Fortunately, although not at 100%, Penn and Fox are both capable enough in their roles. Fox does a pretty good job conveying Eriksson's idealism and naivete. He does feel a bit too naïve and aloof at times, but I guess that's the point. Penn has the showier role and although he does go a bit overboard at times, he's pretty good as the despicable Meserve.

Grade:



Full review on my Movie Loot
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CASUALTIES OF WAR
(1989, De Palma)





Casualties of War follows a squad led by Sergeant Meserve (Sean Penn) that after an ambush, decide to kidnap and rape a young Vietnamese woman. Although most of his fellow soldiers go along with the plan, Private Eriksson (Michael J. Fox) is against it, which leads to tension, confrontations, and the moral dilemma of whether he should "give a s-hit" and who ultimately "gives a s-hit" in the end.

The primary burden of the film lies in the performances of the two leads. If they can convincingly sell the two attitudes ("giving a s-hit" and "not giving a s-hit"), most of the work is done. Fortunately, although not at 100%, Penn and Fox are both capable enough in their roles. Fox does a pretty good job conveying Eriksson's idealism and naivete. He does feel a bit too naïve and aloof at times, but I guess that's the point. Penn has the showier role and although he does go a bit overboard at times, he's pretty good as the despicable Meserve.

Grade:



Full review on my Movie Loot
Saw this on TV when I was a fair deal too young for its themes and content and it was very upsetting.

It's interesting, because I'm halfway through The Visitors and in that film the lead character talks about how his squad in Vietnam
WARNING: spoilers below
kidnapped a young Vietnamese girl, raped her, and then killed her to cover up their crime.



Saw this on TV when I was a fair deal too young for its themes and content and it was very upsetting.

It's interesting, because I'm halfway through The Visitors and in that film the lead character talks about how his squad in Vietnam
WARNING: spoilers below
kidnapped a young Vietnamese girl, raped her, and then killed her to cover up their crime.
Haven't seen it, but it's the same story. Both are based on Daniel Lang's article about the "Incident on Hill 192".



Babadook, on the other hand, dealt with the issue of
WARNING: spoilers below
a mother secretly desiring to kill her special needs child
which I feel is much darker, more complex and complicated subject matter, and which resulted in a less ambivalent resolution. I think it definitely points to the kinds of films that maybe I prefer.

This film, on the surface, was not all that terrifying, but when you consider the psychological reading of the terror, wow.



...
I still long for someone to produce a symphony background for Forbidden Planet instead of that awful incessant Moog!
I know what you mean. But the electronic score for the film was very impressive and distinctive when the picture came out in 1956. The composers used electronic machinery that they constructed themselves. Their score predated the Moog by a number of years.

I loved that film, and it left a lasting impression on me. Some of the set designs and the special effects were galvanizing for their time.



I went and saw Ghostbusters: Afterlife today. I enjoyed it. This is a fun, charming film that honours the legacy of the original while still doing its own thing. The little Marshmallow Man babies alone are worth the price of admission. My rating is








Those Who Wish Me Dead - I don't think it's a stretch to say that Taylor Sheridan writes and sometimes directs (two so far including this one) "guy" movies. He's definitely mining in John Milius territory even though his central characters are usually women. I watched and liked Wind River even though I felt Elizabeth Olson's FBI agent Jane Banner was a little too much like Emily Blunt's Kate Macer in Sicario. The in-over-her-head "greenhorn" getting schooled by the resolute and capable male archetype. This one has another female protagonist in Angelina Jolie's Hannah and she's a bit of a damaged soul, shouldering a lot of the guilt after her smoke-jumper crew is trapped by a forest fire. She also blames herself for three boys losing their lives, a plot detail that, of course, has a direct bearing on the story.

After a failed psych evaluation she's been assigned to a fire lookout tower. It's there where she runs across 12 year old Connor Casserley (Finn Little), whose father Owen (Jake Weber) has just been ambushed and murdered by two ex-soldier types, Jack (Aiden Gillen) and Patrick (Nicholas Hoult). Owen was a forensic accountant working for the District Attorney's office and had uncovered spmething that had gotten his boss killed. Figuring he was next he flees with his son to his brother-in-law's home in Montana. Ethan Sawyer (Jon Bernthal) is a deputy sheriff who also runs a survival school on the side with his very pregnant (and formidably competent) wife Alison (Medina Senghore).

Sheridan is very adept at moving a story along towards what are usually strong denouements and this is no exception. I don't know if Jolie was the right person to cast as Hannah but she does okay because it's the supporting cast who does most of the heavy lifting. Little, Bernthal and especially Senghore are the ones who end up selling this. And at the very least Sheridan is making progress with his female leads. Hannah ultimately takes care of business with no patriarchal figure looking over her shoulder.

80/100