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You mean me? Kei's cousin?

Your Name (2016) - Rewatch on Blu-ray


Review
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Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.

5 Steps to Danger (Henry S. Kesler, 1956)
5.5/10
Apex (Edward Drake, 2021)
5/10
Love Hard (Hernan Jimenez, 2021)
+ 6/10
Marty (Delbert Mann, 1955)
- 7/10

Teacher Betsy Blair and butcher Ernest Borgnine enjoy spending time together no matter what anybody else says.
Flag Day (Sean Penn, 2021)
+ 5/10
Mrs. Parkington (Tay Garnett, 1944)
- 6.5/10
Yara (Marco Tullio Giordana, 2021)
5.5/10
The Subject Was Roses (Ulu Grosbard, 1968)
6.5/10

The unhappiness of the marriage of Jack Albertson and Patricia Neal becomes clear when their son Martin Sheen returns from WWII.
Mark, Mary & Some Other People (Hannah Marks, 2021)
6/10
Heart (Jeong Ga-Young, 2019)
5/10
Les abysses (Nikos Papatakis, 1963)
5.5/10
The Andromeda Strain (Robert Wise, 1971)
7+/10

The team (Arthur Hill, James Olson, David Wayne & Kate Reid) trying to save the world in a race against time learns a bit more.
Shield for Murder (Edmond O'Brien & Howard W. Koch, 1954)
5.5/10
Joe Cocker: Mad Dogs & Englishmen (Pierre Adidge, 1971)
6.5/10
Amina (Izu Ojukwu, 2021)
5.5/10
Up the Down Staircase (Robert Mulligan, 1967)
+ 6.5/10

Teacher Sandy Dennis goes to work in an NYC inner city high school and gets through to several students but it's an uphill battle.
It's a Dog's Life (Herman Hoffman, 1955)
6.5/10
One Shot (James Nunn, 2021)
5/10
Little Orvie (Ray McCarey, 1940)
6/10
Sounder (Martin Ritt, 1972)
7/10

Loving family during the Deep South sharecropper days has to overcome racism.
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OUT OF THE PAST
(1947, Tourneur)



"You liked me because you could use me. You could use me because I was smart."

Out of the Past follows Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum), a former private investigator trying to escape the past. Unfortunately, it all comes back to haunt him when Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas), a greedy former client and his alluring and mysterious girlfriend Kathie (Jane Greer) reappear in his life.

I remember that back when I first saw it, I couldn't stop grinning at how much I was enjoying this and how great it was. Rewatching it now, already knowing what will happen, made me pay more attention to the nuances in the performances, and I think I liked it even more. Considering that I had given it a 5/5 already, not sure how much higher I could go. This is an undeniable masterpiece.

Grade:



Full review on my Movie Loot
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Passage to Marseilles - This is a reunion of sorts for a lot of the people who worked on Casablanca. Several of the cast plus director Michael Curtiz were back in this 1944 wartime drama. Humphrey Bogart stars as Jean Matrac, a crusading French journalist jailed on trumped up charges for speaking out against his government and their willingness to placate Hitler and his Nazi party. Unfortunately (and that depends on your tolerance for narrative contortions) this basic plot point is revealed in a flashback within a flashback within another flashback. It's not a dealbreaker or anything and even though you're still able to follow the action it might come off to some as needlessly convoluted.

Just to backtrack, a journalist named Manning (John Loder ) arrives at a Britsh air base to do a story on the Free French squadron. He interviews Captain Freycinet (Claude Rains) and asks him about a seemingly single-minded gunner named Matrac. Freycinet then relates the story about how he first met Matrac (flashback #1). He's crossing the Atlantic on a tramp steamer loaded with nickel ore at the onset of the war. On board is the inflexible and treacherous Maj. Duval (Sydney Greenstreet) who is firmly on the side of the Petain regime and wishes to cooperate with the Nazis. The ship spots and picks up five men adrift in a canoe. Duval pegs them as criminals and escaped convicts from Devil's Island. Freycinet learns they're all French citizens and, knowing that France will need every able bodied man willing to fight, asks how they came to be out on the ocean in a small dugout. The men admit they are indeed escapees from Cayenne prison and start telling Freycinet about their time there and how they escaped (flashback #2). They meet freed prisoner Grandpère, who is unable to leave the island. He has money saved up and offers to bankroll their freedom if they swear to go home and fight for their country. They agree but only on the condition that Matrac is able to come along and lead them. When the old man asks about Matrac the men start in on his backstory (flashback #3). His refusal to kowtow to the growing fascism and the constant threats to shut down his newspaper. One day an organized mob break into his offices, wreck his presses and kill one of his workers. He's blamed for it of course, put on trial and sentenced to hard labor in the French Guyana colony.

The movie then Inceptions itself up a level and finally hits it's stride with a bravura setpiece involving a German warplane. The ship's Capt. Malo (Victor Francen) decides to ignore orders to sail to Marseille and turn the valuable ore shipment over to the Nazi sympathizer government. Once he assures himself that Freycinet is on his side he orders select crewmen to alter course to Liverpool. Duval get's wind of this and attempts a takeover but the convicts and most of the crew members fight back. The radioman (played by a young Hans Conried) sneaks away and transmits their coordinates to a German plane. This is easily the highlight of the movie with the Germans repeatedly strafing the ship and dropping incendiary devices. It's staged quite convincingly and there's even one shot where it seems like they blew Humphrey Bogart to hell and gone.

Taken as a whole the film certainly has it's merits. Bogart, Rains and Greenstreet do their usual marvelous work and Peter Lorre appears as well in a smaller role. If the narrative flow doesn't bother you then this is certainly a movie you can enjoy.

82/100



Gone with the Pope (1976)

+


I'd been trying to find this ever since seeing Massacre Mafia Style a couple of years ago. I jumped on it as soon as it came to Tubi but sadly it doesn't compare. It is reasonably entertaining but lacks the awesome over the top qualities of the other movie.



I forgot the opening line.

By Can be obtained from the following website: IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12136904

Black Hawk Down - (2001)

I went to see Black Hawk Down at the movies in 2001 and during the battle sequences was so thoroughly confused by what was going on that it left a bad impression. This time it was all reasonably straightforward and I enjoyed the film one hell of a lot more. I doubt that this was all down to this being the extended edition - rather I was ready this time to really concentrate when the bullets and RPGs started flying. It's a greasy, bloody film - the appearance of Tom Sizemore can't help but make you draw comparisons with Saving Private Ryan. It's not on that lofty level, but is one of the better post-Vietnam conflict films out there that gives you the feeling that there is absolutely zero adventure and excitement in being a soldier - only trauma and thankless bloodshed.

I remember Tom Sizemore being involved in some career-destroying controversies, but for the past decade or two he's kept up an Eric Roberts level of output in rubbish - I don't know how well that pays, or how satisfying it is, but it keeps him busy I guess.

8


By IMP Awards / Intl > UK > 2020 Movie Poster Gallery / The Father Poster (#2 of 3), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63838973

The Father - (2020)

One man's sad decline into dementia that is seen completely from his point of view - purposely confusing the audience as to who is who or what is going on. As I watch it I can't help but wonder if one day I'll be wondering around unsure of who anyone is or what's going on - making bizarre accusations and embarrassing mistakes. Anthony Hopkins had done this on a smaller scale in Proof but much more is demanded of him here and he won an Oscar for his troubles. His daughter Anne (Olivia Colman is great here as well) has to deal with losing her father when he's still alive. Now I've seen Nomadland, Promising Young Woman, Minari and this out of this years Best Picture bunch. Still not sure if I've seen the best yet - I have 4 to go - but this is probably the best out of what I've seen.

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




By imdb.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37087843

Searching for Sugar Man - (2012)

There aren't any documentaries that make me feel as good as Searching for Sugar Man does. I have to admit, when I first saw it I found myself doubting it's veracity, because the story it tells is too perfect to naturally occur in any universe. For such a talented musician to go absolutely unnoticed everywhere in the world other than South Africa and Australia seems unfair and proves that Darwinism doesn't exist as far as popular music is concerned - and I have to admit I love the music. I think it's so good it's what made me doubt that Sixto Rodriguez actually made those albums - that it was some sort of hoax. I have to get my hands on those albums now to feel complete.

9/10
Yeah, it's pretty great.






Vampyr - After finishing this 1932 Carl Theodor Dreyer spellbinder I took a breather then went back and watched it again. I just had to confirm if the whammy it put on me the first time was real or not. I had watched it late at night in the dark and Dreyer's use of odd angles and tenuous perspective had drawn me in immediately. Rudolph Maté's cinematography kept me hooked. A young man named Allan Grey (Julian West) shows up in the village of Courtempierre and takes a room at a local inn. He's fascinated with the occult and has heard several rumors that the village is plagued by a vampire. Early the next morning an old man manages to unlock his door and enter his room. He tells Gray to be quiet and listen then says, "She must die. You understand?" Before leaving he places a wrapped package on Gray's table and writes "To be opened upon my death" on the paper.

I won't give any more away but this movie has all the earmarks of a waking dream. Disembodied shadows and skulls that move on their own accord. Spirits of dead malefactors held in sway by an unnamed evil. An ominous ferryman straight out of an Ingmar Bergman film.

Conceived as a silent film by Dreyer it has very little dialogue. An atmospheric score by Wolfgang Zeller serves to add to the overall phantasmagorical vibe. I really liked this one and can see it getting heavy rotation come Halloween. It's readily available too, both on
WARNING: spoilers below
youtube and the Internet Archive


90/100



Pixar triple feature

All of these movies are firmly rooted in the concept of family and deal with unrequited desires. Crossing the boundary between life and death also features heavily in all three. They go about delivering their respective messages in different ways of course but in the end they collectively circle around to a shared bottom line. Family first and the rest of the stuff will work itself out.


Soul - Middle school music teacher Joe (Jamie Foxx) is a frustrated wannabe jazz pianist. Just when it's looking like he might finally catch his big break he instead catches a bad one and ends up in the afterlife. This being a Pixar joint the hereafter is presented in a unique and captivating way with the scores of new arrivals carefully collated and assigned a place. Joe is literally trying to keep body and soul together and his efforts to elude the afterlife land him in the Great Before where he's mistaken for a mentor and assigned the problematic 22 (Tina Fey). He's supposed to help her find her passions and her personality traits so that she may complete her badge and be born. Not wanting any part of life on Earth she agrees to help Joe and give him her badge. There are of course lessons to be learned both by Joe and 22 but the voice talents and the writing are so first rate that you don't even notice the tried and true Pixar formula staring you in the face. I don't know if it was because I watched it first but I ultimately liked this one the best of the three.

90/100




Coco - On the other hand I wasn't as enamored of Coco even though there were several scenes where the animation was eye poppingly gorgeous and damn near overwhelming. Miguel is part of a long line of shoemakers, but he wants to be a musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz. His great great grandmother had inexplicably forbidden any mention of music so Miguel has to resort to subterfuge and thievery to enter a talent contest which somehow leads to him crossing over to the Land of the Dead. The rest of the movies runtime is devoted to his adventures there. Yada yada yada. Lessons are learned and wrongs are righted. I guess what I ultimately had a problem with was the Disneyfication of an entire culture. Ethnology for tourists seen from a passing tram. I couldn't get past that.

65/100




Onward - Chris Pratt and Tom Holland play two distinctly dissimilar brothers. Ian Lightfoot (Holland) struggles with self-confidence issues while his older brother Barley (Pratt) is an impulsive role playing fanatic with a fixation on the days of yore. For Ian's 16th birthday their mother gives him a gift that their late father left behind. The combination of a magical staff, a rare gem and a visitation spell will bring their father back for one day. Ian's spell is interrupted by Barley and only the lower half of their father appears. With some major prodding from Barley the two brothers embark on a quest to find a second stone before the spell runs out at sunset.

This is more of a straight up comedy from Pixar with not as much heavy lifting involved. But it's still entertaining and better than most of the animated stuff out there.

80/100




By Can be obtained from the following website: IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12136904

Black Hawk Down - (2001)

I went to see Black Hawk Down at the movies in 2001 and during the battle sequences was so thoroughly confused by what was going on that it left a bad impression. This time it was all reasonably straightforward and I enjoyed the film one hell of a lot more. I doubt that this was all down to this being the extended edition - rather I was ready this time to really concentrate when the bullets and RPGs started flying. It's a greasy, bloody film - the appearance of Tom Sizemore can't help but make you draw comparisons with Saving Private Ryan. It's not on that lofty level, but is one of the better post-Vietnam conflict films out there that gives you the feeling that there is absolutely zero adventure and excitement in being a soldier - only trauma and thankless bloodshed.
I think Scott's emphasis on strategic clarity goes a long way in shaping something coherent out of the chaos. One of the best examples of the manic action style that took hold during the decade.




By imdb.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37087843

Searching for Sugar Man - (2012)

There aren't any documentaries that make me feel as good as Searching for Sugar Man does. I have to admit, when I first saw it I found myself doubting it's veracity, because the story it tells is too perfect to naturally occur in any universe. For such a talented musician to go absolutely unnoticed everywhere in the world other than South Africa and Australia seems unfair and proves that Darwinism doesn't exist as far as popular music is concerned - and I have to admit I love the music. I think it's so good it's what made me doubt that Sixto Rodriguez actually made those albums - that it was some sort of hoax.
It is very fabricated story. Have a read of this if you haven't already. A good documentary but very misleading.

https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Afri...islead-viewers



I forgot the opening line.
It is very fabricated story. Have a read of this if you haven't already. A good documentary but very misleading.

https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Afri...islead-viewers
Yeah, it was just starting to dawn on me when I checked something on Wikipedia and noticed that Rodriguez had toured here in the late 1970s and early 1980s - hardly something he could/would have done if he'd quit the business in total obscurity soon after recording his stuff. I really wanted to believe the whole thing was as they presented it - but it wasn't. Hadn't read that Monitor story before - so that confirms it. That's a real bummer.

I think Scott's emphasis on strategic clarity goes a long way in shaping something coherent out of the chaos. One of the best examples of the manic action style that took hold during the decade.
It really pays to give the film your whole attention and follow exactly what's happening from moment to moment. Watching Black Hawk Down is really a great experience when you're seeing the whole picture.




The Harder They Fall

I like the twist of the movie but it lacks a bit of intensity especially on the ending part of the movie. I wish Nat Love's sidekicks gets to have a sort of intro and what their skillsets are.



'Wildfire' (2021)


This is a very good feature debut from Cathy Brady. It focuses on a family torn apart by the troubles in an unnamed Northern Irish border own. Two great lead performances by the two girls involved and the film is steeped in it's own real life tragedy too. The last 10 minutes is absolutely tear-jerking.

Incidentally, a set piece late into the film is inspired on the real life bone chilling tv documentary 'Madness in the fast lane', which was a real life case captured by a police documentary crew here in the UK - about two sisters who experienced a shared psychosis / follie a deaux.




7.9/10