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Open Your Eyes (1997)



I'm a big fan of this film. Glad you liked it.
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Night of the Demon (1957, Jacques Tourneur)

Let's face it, this is not scary at all by today's standards, and the demon is more amusing than actually frightening, but... You can't help but appreciate the visual aspect: the beautiful locations, the black-and-white cinematography, the lighting, the special effects - all those things that combine to create the charm of those early 1950s horror classics.
Cool movie.
I liked this film a lot and I agree that it's visually impressive. As for the demon, even though I agree that its look is "more amusing than actually frightening", and I still have some issues with the tacked on opening/ending view of it, I still find those two scenes to be oddly eerie and haunting.



Victim of The Night
I liked this film a lot and I agree that it's visually impressive. As for the demon, even though I agree that its look is "more amusing than actually frightening", and I still have some issues with the tacked on opening/ending view of it, I still find those two scenes to be oddly eerie and haunting.
I agree with you. I think they should have left the appearance of the full demon right in the camera's face out but now that it's there, I can kinda get on board with it in the context.



Victim of The Night
Ya know, oddly, Siskel and Ebert seemed to like this and kept comparing later "teen sex comedies" to it as if it were the standard for a few years, but when I tried to revisit it I found it pretty tough sledding.



MANK
(2020, Fincher)
A film nominated for a Best Picture or Best Int'l Feature Film this year



"You cannot capture a man's entire life in two hours. All you can hope is to leave the impression of one."

That's how notoriously talented yet problematic screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) described the struggle of writing a biopic, specifically Citizen Kane. Two hours is not enough to encapsulate decades and decades of a lifetime, which is why most biopics have chosen to focus on specific chapters in the life of their subject. Mank – the film, not the writer – is no exception.

David Fincher's latest film follows Mankiewicz as he deals with the struggles to write Kane, how he navigated the perilous waters of Hollywood life in the years prior, and his clashes with Orson Welles, while also dealing with his own alcoholism. In a script written by his late father, Fincher chooses to focus on roughly the 10-year period prior to the release of the film.

Grade:



Full review on my Movie Loot




Night of the Demon (1957, Jacques Tourneur)

Let's face it, this is not scary at all by today's standards, and the demon is more amusing than actually frightening, but... You can't help but appreciate the visual aspect: the beautiful locations, the black-and-white cinematography, the lighting, the special effects - all those things that combine to create the charm of those early 1950s horror classics.
Cool movie.
I absolutely love this film. I think that the atmosphere is fabulous.



I was thrown by that Night of the Demon title. I've only ever known it as Curse of the Demon. But you can't go wrong with Jacques Tourneur. The demon might not be great shakes by today's standards but it was still plenty effective in combination with Tourneur's all encompassing sense of trepidation. Those first glimpses of it approaching through the trees? Or the ending at the railway station? Good stuff.





The Silencing, 2020

Rayburn (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is a former fur trapper who now runs an animal sanctuary. Living a life of muted alcoholism and busting local poachers, his world is shaken when the body of a dead young woman is found and Rayburn realizes the man who hunted her is using the sanctuary as hunting grounds. But what is the connection to the disappearance of Rayburn's own daughter years earlier?

For better or for worse, this is mostly an action/thriller set to cruise control, albeit with a few scenes and dynamics that lift it above average.

Coster-Waldau, in the films where I have seen him, always feels pretty "real" to me, and there's something relatable about his character despite being a total cliche from head to toe. The supporting cast is also pretty good, including Annabelle Wallis as the new sheriff who may have a personal connection to the case.

Plot wise, the film is decent. There are some nice scares along the way from the mysterious hunter figure, who prowls the woods in a ghillie suit. Interestingly, there is one point in which the film seems poised to go in a very dark and unexpected direction, only for it to pull back on the reins at the last moment and instead trundle down a much more predictable route.

The writing is fine, though you could probably mouth the dialogue before the characters speak it half the time. Why yes, there is a scene where Rayburn finds a victim in the woods and has to gravely tell her "I'm not going to hurt you." Why yes, there is a scene where one character tells another character with a shared past "I should have been there for you."

The answer to who the killer is, once resolved, is quite silly and honestly doesn't make a ton of sense. It sits uncomfortably between the motivation of "just because" and actually wanting to add in a psychological element. The problem is that the (absurd) nature of how the women are killed totally flies in the face of the explanation we are given.

If you are a fan of action/thriller/mystery type films, this one is plenty solid. If it's not your preferred genre, no reason to seek it out in particular.




Robot Jox

One of the last few Stuart Gordon films I had to see. It is tonally and stylistically somewhere between a Saturday Morning Cartoon and a Verhoeven sci-fi political satire (and odd Iliad homage?) that makes fully use of Gordon’s strengths as he pushes its miniatures and miniature budget to the limits. Very enjoyable fluff and a clear predecessor to Pacific Rim, even if Del Toro has seemingly never acknowledged it (shades of Tarantino and City on Fire here).




Ya know, oddly, Siskel and Ebert seemed to like this and kept comparing later "teen sex comedies" to it as if it were the standard for a few years, but when I tried to revisit it I found it pretty tough sledding.
Murray and Reitman went on to do better work (like, almost immediately), but I liked this. Apparently it was originally intended to be more of an ensemble piece, but Reitman realized that the Murray-Makepeace relationship was the best thing about the movie, so made that the centre. Not super funny, but the vibes are good.



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.

The Vampire's Ghost (Lesley Selander, 1945)
6/10
The Great Commandment (Irving Pichel, 1939)
5/10
Dream Girl (Mitchell Leisen, 1948)
6/10
Shiva Baby (Emma Seligman, 2020)
- 6.5/10

Attending a Jewish funeral with her parents, twentysomething Rachel Sennott encounters her current married boyfriend and her former girlfriend (Molly Gordon).
Get Hep to Love (Charles Lamont, 1942)
6/10
Kentucky Blue Streak (Raymond K. Johnson, 1935)
+ 4.5/10
A Guy Could Change (William K. Howard, 1946)
5/10
Five Easy Pieces (Bob Rafelson, 1970)
8/10

Great honesty, performances, dialogue, cinematography, creative restaurant ordering, etc. in an iconic film.
On Your Guard (George Crone, 1933)
5/10
Spring Reunion (Robert Pirosh, 1957)
6/10
Long Shot (Charles Lamont, 1939)
5/10
The Father (Florian Zeller, 2020)
7/10 Second Viewing

Understanding daughter Olivia Colman tries to help her father (Anthony Hopkins) through his dementia.
Female Teacher Rope Hell (Shôgorô Nishimura, 1981)
5/10
Let's Face It (Sidney Lanfield, 1943)
6/10
Murder in the Clouds (D. Ross Lederman, 1934)
5/10
Nightmare (Tim Whelan, 1942)
6/10

Underseen film noir (with Brian Donlevy & Diana Barrymore) which plays out as a literal nightmare involving murder and Nazi spies.
The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw (Shelley Niro, 2019)
+ 5/10
World for Ransom (Robert Aldrich, 1954)
5.5/10
Beautiful Teacher in Torture Hell (Masahito Segawa, 1985)
5/10
Tiger Bay (J. Lee Thompson, 1959)
7/10

Natural liar Hayley Mills witnesses Polish sailor Horst Buchholz commit a murder but does everything to protect him
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Shiva Baby (Emma Seligman, 2020)
- 6.5/10
mark f, you dirty boy!
Five Easy Pieces (Bob Rafelson, 1970)
8/10
Watched it, too.
Pretty good considering it's basically 98 minutes of Nicholson being an asshoe.
The Father (Florian Zeller, 2020)
7/10 Second Viewing
Watched it, too. Finally a good Oscar film.
. At times close to
. Pretty moving and harrowing. A true horror film!
Beautiful Teacher in Torture Hell (Masahito Segawa, 1985)
5/10
MARK F, YOU DIRTY BOY!!! I love this pink film.
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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.



Victim of The Night
I was thrown by that Night of the Demon title. I've only ever known it as Curse of the Demon. But you can't go wrong with Jacques Tourneur. The demon might not be great shakes by today's standards but it was still plenty effective in combination with Tourneur's all encompassing sense of trepidation. Those first glimpses of it approaching through the trees? Or the ending at the railway station? Good stuff.
If I remember right (and it's been a while so I may be a little off) Curse Of The Demon is the slightly shorter edit of Night Of The Demon.



Promising Young Woman (2020)




I watch a lot of movies that have a similar story as this, but most are horror or exploitation. It's an easy sell for me. The way the situations are presented in this movie might not always be that cut and dry, but there's still a lot of sad reality here. It's a big problem for young women. I don't know how it is now but in my wild days this could and would happen to anyone. I could go on all day about it. While I pretty much loved this movie, I didn't see it as best picture material. I do adore Carey Mulligan and she's awesome in this.

I believe there's a saying about a nice guy vs a good man. I found this on one site-

1. A nice guy’s kindness is an act, a facade he keeps for the purpose of making himself more appealing. But, a good man sees kindness as a lifestyle, and more importantly, it comes from his heart. When the walls are down, the good man is still a good man.

2. A nice guy lacks confidence, so he needs validation, usually from women. A good man is confident because he knows that he has value. He doesn’t need others to validate him.

3. A nice guy thinks he’s God’s gift to women. A good man believes women are a gift from God.

4. A nice guy is entitled and uses acts of kindness as a means to get something. A good man is kind solely because it’s the right thing to do. He will be kind and helpful whether he is recognized or not.

5. A nice guy handles rejection poorly, feeling that his good acts have been wasted on an “ungrateful” recipient. He may feel insulted by the fact he didn’t get the girl he “deserves.” A good man handles rejection with grace. He may feel hurt (nobody likes rejection), but he doesn’t give in to anger. He knows a kind act is never wasted, be it reciprocated or not.

6. A nice guy may tear a woman down in an attempt to elevate his pride. A good man will elevate a woman (or anyone else for that matter) simply because he has confidence and it’s the right thing to do.

7. A nice guy fears rejection. He gets stuck in the friend zone because he’s not bold enough to actually pursue a woman with strength and intention. A good man, however, is bold because he knows that rejection is the worst that can happen. He has the strength and confidence to handle rejection gracefully.

8. A nice guy is only worried about his reputation. A good man, however, is more concerned about his character.

In the end, the differences come down to authenticity and confidence. Is the kindness a facade or is it the core of the man? And is he timid and weak, or is he strong, confident, and bold?



Promising Young Woman (2020)

Yes this was a good movie but spoiler alert...







do the avenging women have to die at the end. I am reminded of Thelma and Louise where driving off a cliff was preferable to living in a male infested world.

C'mon ladies... directors and writers give me something that takes on problems like this where the female protagonists survive or even thrive. Is that too much to ask.


I give it





A timeless classic. I've watched this movie so many times when I was a kid. And now a rewatch with my kid. He loved it too.
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