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The King 2019


Young Henry V encounters deceit, war and treachery after becoming King of England in the 15th century, in the aftermath of his brother's death.


Wonderful, best movie I've seen on netflix, best movie I've seen in a while, Joel Edgerton did a great job co-writing and producing this, not to mention give a spot on Northern accent, great cast of actors, too many to name. Five stars for me.



Don't forget to check out The Train too, Takoma; it's often forgotten about in his body of work, but it's the best Frankenheimer I've seen, to be honest.
I’ll also throw in recommendations for Grand Prix, The Challenge and 52 Pickup. The last one is a great sleazy thriller in its own right, but also provides a great anecdote that was recounted in another classic, Things.
Added these all to my watchlist.

Hong Chau has an interesting kind of small part as a loyal, laser-focused minion
While I don't think that the film needed more runtime, I do with that there'd been a little more of a sense of the history of characters like hers. The way she delivered the line
WARNING: spoilers below
"You will eat less than you desire, but more than you deserve"
was so great! I appreciated the subplot with the line chef who
WARNING: spoilers below
had been sexually harassed and then punished for not complying with Slowik's advances, and that he let her use that experience to offer her an apology and let her vent her anger about it.
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I forgot the opening line.

By Paramount Pictures - Impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11644865

Hot Rod - (2007)

Akiva Schaffer - he's hanging in there. Some of his films, like Hot Rod and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, which came out in 2016, are building cult followings. I've seen Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers getting some good reviews here. Personally, I thought Hot Rod was extremely good - it was really funny, and nothing about it was laboured or contrived. Of course, comedy is such a subjective thing - so much so that some people won't like this - but if you like films like Black Dynamite you might find yourself loving Hot Rod. That offbeat and bizarre kind of comedy that the Zucker brothers really perfected prevails, and there seems to be much natural talent among the cast of Andy Samberg, Isla Fisher, Jorma Taccone, Bill Hader and Danny McBride. I'd never heard of Hot Rod before trying it out, and right from the start it had me laughing out loud. There are some good comedies out there where I only laugh on the inside - so external laughter is a big deal for me. I must check out Popstar.

7/10


By https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2883512/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42420335

Chef - (2014)

This film was next in my rotation, and it felt really weird to have such a coincidence on the same day I went to see The Menu. I spend a lot of the film simply thinking, " Jon Favreau, how wealthy are you? You're probably 9-figures rich, right?" Actually appearing as the main star in a film is just something he's doing for the hell of it. Chef is an enjoyable enough film about a divorced man and his young son - Favreau plays Carl Casper, a well-known chef who gets into an online flame war with a food critic, and being unfamiliar with the internet lets it spill out into the public domain, with disastrous results. From there he has to rebuild his life, which he does with aplomb. Just like Favreau himself, Carl really has his mind in good order and is great at what he does. That includes bonding with his boy, and repairing broken personal relationships.

6.5/10 - edit - I think I'm under-rating this a little.


By Box Office Mojo, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57044619

Beetlejuice - (1988)

Beetlejuice: Ah. Well... I attended Juilliard... I'm a graduate of the Harvard business school. I travel quite extensively. I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that. I've seen the EXORCIST ABOUT A HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN TIMES, AND IT KEEPS GETTING FUNNIER EVERY SINGLE TIME I SEE IT... NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT YOU'RE TALKING TO A DEAD GUY... NOW WHAT DO YOU THINK? You think I'm qualified?
I never really liked this all that much back in the day, but I'm much more fond of it now. I'd love a sequel, but have been around long enough to realise it would be nothing but a let-down. A lot of imagination from Tim Burton and his art designers, prop people, make-up artists and the rest of the team. Today, there would have been heaps of CGI used and the film would have been completely charmless.

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



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

By https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2883512/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42420335

Chef - (2014)

This film was next in my rotation, and it felt really weird to have such a coincidence on the same day I went to see The Menu. I spend a lot of the film simply thinking, " Jon Favreau, how wealthy are you? You're probably 9-figures rich, right?" Actually appearing as the main star in a film is just something he's doing for the hell of it. Chef is an enjoyable enough film about a divorced man and his young son - Favreau plays Carl Casper, a well-known chef who gets into an online flame war with a food critic, and being unfamiliar with the internet lets it spill out into the public domain, with disastrous results. From there he has to rebuild his life, which he does with aplomb. Just like Favreau himself, Carl really has his mind in good order and is great at what he does. That includes bonding with his boy, and repairing broken personal relationships.

6.5/10 - edit - I think I'm under-rating this a little.

I loved Chef. It might even make my countdown list.
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I hope that included Things.
sigh

fine


Chef - (2014)

This film was next in my rotation, and it felt really weird to have such a coincidence on the same day I went to see The Menu. I spend a lot of the film simply thinking, " Jon Favreau, how wealthy are you? You're probably 9-figures rich, right?" Actually appearing as the main star in a film is just something he's doing for the hell of it. Chef is an enjoyable enough film about a divorced man and his young son - Favreau plays Carl Casper, a well-known chef who gets into an online flame war with a food critic, and being unfamiliar with the internet lets it spill out into the public domain, with disastrous results. From there he has to rebuild his life, which he does with aplomb. Just like Favreau himself, Carl really has his mind in good order and is great at what he does. That includes bonding with his boy, and repairing broken personal relationships.

6.5/10 - edit - I think I'm under-rating this a little.
I quite enjoyed Chef when I watched it many years ago. Aside from the initial blow-out at the restaurant, it's a pretty gentle, funny, positive story. I mostly appreciated that they didn't go out of their way to throw in a bunch of unnecessary conflict.



I quite enjoyed Chef when I watched it many years ago. Aside from the initial blow-out at the restaurant, it's a pretty gentle, funny, positive story. I mostly appreciated that they didn't go out of their way to throw in a bunch of unnecessary conflict.
Have you watched The Bear? It’s like they heard everyone say they loved that about Chef and went “but what if it were more like Uncut Gems?”



Have you watched The Bear? It’s like they heard everyone say they loved that about Chef and went “but what if it were more like Uncut Gems?”
I watched The Bear in a sprint of three days. I really enjoyed it. Great performances, funny and poignant. And, yes, I did appreciate that in its heart it was optimistic.



I watched The Bear in a sprint of three days. I really enjoyed it. Great performances, funny and poignant. And, yes, I did appreciate that in its heart it was optimistic.
Yup. It’s still about a great chef going back to basics and making sandwiches with a theme of optimism, but boy do they yell at each other with a great deal of stress and intensity. That long take episode was phenomenal.



Victim of The Night

By Box Office Mojo, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57044619

Beetlejuice - (1988)



I never really liked this all that much back in the day, but I'm much more fond of it now. I'd love a sequel, but have been around long enough to realise it would be nothing but a let-down. A lot of imagination from Tim Burton and his art designers, prop people, make-up artists and the rest of the team. Today, there would have been heaps of CGI used and the film would have been completely charmless.

8/10
Yes.
This is a movie I liked but had reservations about when I was younger. There was so much about it to like but other things I took issue with. Oddly, as I got older the film just kept getting better and better to me and now I can hardly even remember what I took umbrage with back when.
And there is apparently a sequel in the works and it is going to be heaps of CGI and charmless and I am going to be sad.



I’ll also jump on the bandwagons for Chef and The Bear. Excellent restaurant-focused stories.



Wildlife (Paul Dano, 2018)


Solid nuanced film with strong performances that make it quietly emotionally stirring. A very good debut.

Unbreakable (M. Night Shyamalan, 2000)


Confident and assured in how it handles mythology and the ridiculous in such a serious, human way. Low-key, shot with aplomb, a beautiful little films in so many ways.

28 Days Later (Danny Boyle, 2002)


Too frantic and lacking in any sort of formal consistency. Admirable in what it achieves on a low-budget but not enjoyable for me.

Sunshine (Danny Boyle, 2007)


Didn't expect to like this especially tackling sci-fi/horror territory that feels very familiar, but I found myself gripped by the suspense. Even with the drastic tonal shift, it still just about worked.

Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016)


A beautiful sensual film, as its title suggest painting an erotic masterfully crafted portrait that really is packed with emotion. Gorgeous and affecting, I can see why so many people love this.

American Gigolo (Paul Schrader, 1980)


A fantastic Paul Schrader double-bill. I caught Gigolo on TV and was blown away, the style, the music, just my type of film. Every frame, every scene oozing with style. Essentially a modern day Pickpocket with the most pleasantly surprising element being the emotional impact the ending had on me.

Cat People (Paul Schrader, 1982)


Enjoying it so much I finally got round to watching Cat People which had always intrigued me as a fan of the Tourneur original and the David Bowie song, so masterfully used by Tarantino in Inglourious Basterds. This film is a completely different beast but once again Schrader manages to create a visual erotically charged film that I totally got on board with.

Primal Fear (Gregory Hoblit, 1996)


Nothing of note in the direction (see how Lumet uses the camera in 12 Angry Men for example) and could see what was happening from a mile away. I admire Ed Norton but I struggle with performances like this where actors depict disabled characters.

Starship Troopers (Paul Verhoeven, 1997)


Essentially the anti-Top Gun, a proper adult film taking attack on modern industrial complex/warfare whilst fully embracing the cinematic possibilities available in such a film. Verhoeven uses effects amazingly, edits sequences brilliantly, gives us videos within films, great dialogue etc. It's the type of film that makes me so happy because it's such a great showcase for the medium.

Good Time (Joshua Safdie, Benny Safdie, 2017)


Big fan of Uncut Gems but was disappointed with this. The story and the characters weren't likeable and I found everything quite disorientating and uninteresting, not really caring about the stakes unlike Gems.
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Terminator Genisys (2015)
The first two films were highly driven by emotion. Here it’s completely lost in this timeline head scratcher. Packed full of horrible CGI and a plot which just loses it’s way from the beginning. This is just another example of desperation film making riding on the coat tails of two classics. I’m so glad this was a TV watch and not a purchase.



Good Time (Joshua Safdie, Benny Safdie, 2017)


Big fan of Uncut Gems but was disappointed with this. The story and the characters weren't likeable and I found everything quite disorientating and uninteresting, not really caring about the stakes unlike Gems.
Aww, too bad, I really like this one. I'm a little biased because I love "one crazy night" movies, but I enjoyed seeing Connie realizing that he's not exactly a good guy and what it took for him to come to terms with this fact, with the series of events leading up to this moment escalating in the best, most gradual way. It was also nice to see Pattinson play a role like this, which he pulled off beautifully, and Buddy Duress is pretty hilarious as Ray.



Aww, too bad, I really like this one. I'm a little biased because I love "one crazy night" movies, but I enjoyed seeing Connie realizing that he's not exactly a good guy and what it took for him to come to terms with this fact, with the series of events leading up to this moment escalating in the best, most gradual way. It was also nice to see Pattinson play a role like this, which he pulled off beautifully, and Buddy Duress is pretty hilarious as Ray.
Agreed, it's a lock for my 2010s ballot.
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