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Kimi -


This is a lean, mean and very fun techno-thriller that sort of plays out like Rear Window for the 2020s. Kimi is not the name of Zoe Kravitz's character - it's Angela - but the name of an Alexa-like device for which she provides production support, a job that lets her afford a dream Seattle apartment. COVID and its resulting lockdown exists in this movie, and this combined with anxiety that strikes at the mere thought of going outside makes Angela's apartment seem more like jail than home. This situation also frustrates Terry (Byron Bowers), a neighbor and frequent visitor, if you will, for how it prevents them from taking their relationship further. Life gets more complicated for Angela when she intercepts a Kimi recording that not only indicates that a crime may have occurred, but also one that certain people would rather she didn't investigate.

Having enjoyed Kravitz's work in Mad Max: Fury Road and Big Little Lies, it was nice to see her play the lead, and she's more than up to the task. Whenever she conveys Angela's fear of leaving her confines - the highlight is when she makes it to the door but cannot go any further - she in turn conveys how so many of us in the same situation still feel about walking into a potential hot zone. The nature of her job and her multiple screens with whom she chats with everyone from her concerned mother (Robin Givens) to her funny if not perverted Romanian hacker friend Darius (Alex Dobrenko) also accurately convey how this decade has made us more comfortable with interacting with devices instead of people. There’s also Angela's pursuit for justice and the higher-ups who stand in her way, which mirrors this decade’s typical front page news story. As for the parts of the movie that label it as a thriller, they highlight Soderbergh's underrated skills in the genre, feature both high- and low-tech solutions to dilemmas and, most importantly, are always tense and surprising, which says a lot since many of them recall moments in classic thrillers like The Conversation and again, Rear Window. Does this mean this movie stands alongside those classics? No, but Soderbergh and company still deserve credit for giving these moments a modern twist and for making them unpredictable despite their familiarity. It ends up being a movie that not only successfully captures 2020s life, but also might make you feel better about it, technological intrusions, depressing news cycle at all. It also has more of a reason to exist than other movies in this specific subgenre (I'm looking at you, Locked Down and How it Ends).



I watched the new Netflix movie, Day Shift. Directed by J.J. Perry, Jamie Foxx stars in this horror comedy as a vampire hunter. I'm happy to say that this is much better than the last Netflix movie I watched (the dreadful Gray Man). Foxx does a decent job and the rest of the cast do what they need in order to keep things moving in a satisfactory way. Snoop Dogg is fun and makes the most of his limited screentime. There is enough humour and action to keep viewers entertained and the film moves at a fast pace. It doesn't always work and the screenplay is somewhat mediocre, but Day Shift is a pretty enjoyable flick that will give the average viewer what they are looking for.



Here he's a fully despicable character. But Dan Stevens' Tim isn't much better and by the end you are actively rooting for and hoping that Gloria is able to rid herself of these two millstones around her neck
It's a movie in which all the male characters are kind of despicable, without the message being aren't men just awful?!. I think it's more about how Gloria is living her life and the kind of crappy relationships (romantic and friendships) she ends up in as a result.







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



Victim of The Night



Colossal - This is probably the only Anne Hathaway starring movie I've ever wanted to catch (well, there's Nicholas Nickleby and Interstellar but she wasn't the main draw in those). It certainly starts out like something she's made in the past. She plays Gloria, a hard drinking partygirl in NYC. She's been out of work for a year and living with her boyfriend Tim (Dan Stevens). As the movie opens Tim has finally had enough and throws her out, forcing her to move back to her hometown of Mainhead, New Hampshire. While there and living in her parents old and threadbare home she runs into childhood acquaintance Oscar (Jason Sudeikis). He subsequently hires her to work in his bar which only gives her more opportunities to continue her perpetually inebriated lifestyle.

The film eventually takes a quirky detour when Gloria finds out that a giant creature has appeared out of nowhere in Seoul, South Korea. She starts to notice odd similarities between the creatures behavior and mannerisms and her own. When it does materialize it does so at the exact same time and she slowly comes to accept the implausible likelihood that she and the creature are somehow linked.

This is an odd movie but the director Nacho Vigalondo makes the mix of genres and tones work. He was also responsible for 2007's Timecrimes which took the well worn concept of time travel and reinvigorated it by not only embracing the inherent paradoxes associated with the genre but folding them neatly into a murder mystery of sorts. Here he deftly incorporates compelling commentary on ways that the men in Gloria's life seek to subjugate her. For some reason I've always felt that Jason Sudeikis is a natural at playing slimeball types. There's just something untrustworthy about him. I've never seen Ted Lasso so maybe it's been the roles he's offered. Here he's a fully despicable character. But Dan Stevens' Tim isn't much better and by the end you are actively rooting for and hoping that Gloria is able to rid herself of these two millstones around her neck.

This turned out to be a surprisingly potent character study with an engaging performance by Anne Hathaway. Sudeikis and Stevens both fulfilled the role of foils without falling into caricature and Austin Stowell and Tim Blake Nelson provided more than able support as two of Oscars drinking buddies.

80/100
I was really surprised at how well this odd premise worked.



Victim of The Night
It's a movie in which all the male characters are kind of despicable, without the message being aren't men just awful?!. I think it's more about how Gloria is living her life and the kind of crappy relationships (romantic and friendships) she ends up in as a result.
Maybe but
WARNING: "sperlah" spoilers below
Sudeikis' character was just awful. I loathed him. I couldn't wait for her to get the final better of him and was really worried as darkly as the film shifted tone, that she might not.



Maybe but
WARNING: "sperlah" spoilers below
Sudeikis' character was just awful. I loathed him. I couldn't wait for her to get the final better of him and was really worried as darkly as the film shifted tone, that she might not.
Oh, his specific character was a horrible human being. But I think that the movie did a good job of having several guys who were pretty awful in their own ways without it seeming like that was the point or message of the narrative.





ET (1982)

A film that likely should have won BP returns to IMAX this week and it's amazing. This is the original print (guns not walkie talkies) and when you watch the film again it's remarkable to see all the bits and pieces you forget about. When you are a kid I think you view the film though Elliot's eyes when you're older you see it through the Mom's. The craziest thing is even though the film is 40 years old and everyone knows it I still heard people crying at parts of it in the theater.



I was really surprised at how well this odd premise worked.
Right? Vigalondo has shown storytelling dexterity in the past. I thought TImecrimes was one of the most fascinating time travel films I've ever watched.



It's a movie in which all the male characters are kind of despicable, without the message being aren't men just awful?!. I think it's more about how Gloria is living her life and the kind of crappy relationships (romantic and friendships) she ends up in as a result.
Well yeah. I got that. She was well on her way to sobriety despite Oscar's blackmailing her into drinking. And once she was sober she also realized how much of a gaslighter Tim was as well.



Well yeah. I got that. She was well on her way to sobriety despite Oscar's blackmailing her into drinking. And once she was sober she also realized how much of a gaslighter Tim was as well.
The way that it shows two really different versions of "I just want to help you!" type manipulation is really interesting.

Especially because, with Tim, our introduction to their relationship puts him in a very understandable position of being frustrated with her.



Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right
To Sir, With Love - (1967)
I watched it thanks to your post. Thanks! Here's my take on the movie:

WARNING: "To Sir, with Love 1967" spoilers below
So good! Man, being Sidney Poitier is so nice. Not only can you call your female pupils sluts but also call your male pupils uncouth hobos and get away with it. You don't really have to follow any curriculum whatsoever, so you just talk with your students about life, marriage, and sex, and even take them to a museum. I mean, they're a bunch of hoodlums, but you're Sidney Bleeding Poitier, so they will respect you. Not only that, but a proto-anime trope of your hot female student developing a crush on you is here, too! I mean, you're after the hot blonde teacher, but the hot blonde student is there for you ready to clean your desk! You cannot really do anything except for dancing with her but it's still badass. And at the end everybody loves you and they gift you some steel mug or something and then you decide to stay in the school, hoping some more hot student chicks will come next term. Great!
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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.



ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS
(1955, Sirk)
All That Heaven Allows follows Cary (Jane Wyman), a mature widow with two adult children, that ends up falling in love with Ron (Rock Hudson), a young gardener that works at her home. To complicate things, Cary is affluent which prompts gossip around the neighborhood about Ron's reasons to fall in love with her. Although obviously smitten by Ron, Cary seems to be too worried about what will people in town think about her relationship, and if her children will approve of her relationship.

This film was recommended by a good Internet friend and it was so much better than I was expecting. For the first half, the film is carried by some solid performances from Wyman and Hudson, and good chemistry between them. The relationship feels real and not like others 50's more cliché romantic dramas. However, towards the middle of the film, there is a shift to more serious territory as the burden of gossip and those "external variables" start to take a toll on Cary and Ron's relationship, especially with Cary's children. All through the film, the script by Peg Fenwick allows for some great exchanges between the different characters

Grade:
It's a good film. I've always felt R. Hudson to be a lightweight actor who never seemed really sincere, but here he was very good.



It's a good film. I've always felt R. Hudson to be a lightweight actor who never seemed really sincere, but here he was very good.
I think I've only seen two films of his: this and Winchester 73, where he briefly plays a Native American. I've heard Seconds is pretty good, but I'm not sure if that has to do more with the plot than with his performance.
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Yeah, this film was disappointing. I had some brief commentary on it:

It's perplexing to me that this film had such eye popping action scenes, but was dragged down by such a trite story.

The action and fight scenes were as good as anything in a Bond or Bourne film. But the hackneyed idiotic story made it seem almost a satire. With a better story, this could have been a top action film.

To my surprise Billy Bob Thorton co-starred in the movie, which I hadn't known before we watched it. I'm a big BBT fan, but try as he might he couldn't overcome the worn out writing of his character.

Despite his buffoonish character, Chris Evans got to let it out a bit, whereas Ryan Gosling pretty much mumbled through his part.

If a person has Netflix you might give TGM a watch, but I couldn't have recommended that anyone buy movie tickets to see this one.



[Rock Hudson] I think I've only seen two films of his: this and Winchester 73, where he briefly plays a Native American. I've heard Seconds is pretty good, but I'm not sure if that has to do more with the plot than with his performance.
You've never seen Giant (1956), with James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor? You must watch it this weekend!..



You've never seen Giant (1956), with James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor? You must watch it this weekend!..
That one's been on the watchlist since forever Need to prioritize it.





The Favourite, 2018

In the early 1700s, Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) suffers from a range of maladies and much of the running of the state actually falls into the hands of her most trusted confidant, Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz). But when an ambitious new servant, Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives at court and makes sure to put herself on Queen Anne's radar, the dynamics between the three women have serious implications on both the personal and political well-being of the individuals and the country.

There's something really spectacular about films where the actors just feel absolutely perfect for the material, and I found this movie to be just such a case.

Though I hadn't seen the movie at the time, I remember that there were discussions about who would be nominated for which Academy Award: the film splits its time almost perfectly between its three lead characters, though with her dominating and unforgettable performance as Queen Anne, it's not surprising that ultimately Colman was given the Best Actress nod.

The story itself is a brilliantly told cautionary tale about the danger of playing games with and for power, making great use of a setting where many people do not see themselves as having a choice whether or not to engage in some of those games. While Stone's Abigail is certainly manipulative, she comes from a background that involved sexual violence and endures physical abuse from her fellow servants. As she articulates in one scene when contemplating an action she admits is immoral, what good will her morality do her if she loses her place in the court and is forced into prostitution? Sarah is likewise easy to dislike, but her position is also easy to understand. Further, she seems to have a genuine love for Anne, even if it expresses itself in a manipulative way.

But looming over it all is Colman's Queen Anne, a woman whose struggles and illnesses make her vulnerable, yet those things combined with her power make her very dangerous. She's a brilliant character--and brilliantly portrayed--because every action that Lady Sarah or Abigail takes has the potential to explode in their face. Every time they do something to amp up Anne's paranoia, or every misstep they make in trying to make themselves appear essential is like laying down a trap for themselves. Queen Anne is like a wounded animal--alone and hurting, but capable of great injury. She is so used to her life of luxury and obedience that it blinds her to the real motivations of those around her.

The look of the film is incredibly strong, with wonderful textures and shapes in the costuming and the set design. There's a neat mix in many of the rooms and outfits between opulence and squalor.

The film also makes great use of the comedic chops of its cast. All three actresses have a different kind of humor, and they are well supported by Nicholas Hoult as a politician who becomes a part of the power games being played. Joe Alwyn also gets quite a few laughs as a lord who is sent by Hoult's character to seduce and dominate Abigail, but ends up under her power. A bemused debrief between the two men after the attempted seduction ("How did it go?" " . . . she bit me.") establishes Abigail's savvy---not disregarding their attentions, but submitting to them on her own terms.

Lastly, shout out to Horatio, the Fastest Duck in the City!