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Excellent movie. The original was good too. Jake G. is exceptionally good.




Very good movie. Just wish the writer & director Paul Schrader had given at least some credit to Ingmar Bergman for lifting several plot points from his movie Winter Light.

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Saw Babylon last night, I will give it a 8/10 it has all the elements you want in a thriller.




By http://www.moviegoods.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10359012

Paint Your Wagon - (1969)

No expense was spared making Paint Your Wagon, but oh boy, they could have spared us by making it an hour or so shorter. The fact that it was a musical that ran on Broadway and the West End before this adaptation spared Paramount a "What were they thinking??" but still. What were they thinking?? I don't mind watching this occasionally though - call it a guilty pleasure. Lee Marvin's version of "Wand'rin' Star" was actually a big hit here in Australia, and it hit No 1 in the U.K. - it is by far the best song in the film, though I might have liked "Gold Fever" a lot more if it wasn't being sung by Clint Eastwood - man, he mangles it so bad. I don't know why they just didn't dub him and be done with it. This Musical Western is crazy enough to be entertaining, with it's polygamy, hard drinkin', carousing, homoerotic moments and attempts at big showtunes. I'm giving it a score I think it deserves - but that doesn't mean I don't kind of love the thing. I also really dig that moment in the Simpsons where Homer rents it on VHS thinking it's a straight cowboy picture - only to see Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef (who wasn't in this) and Lee Marvin break out into song.

5/10

I love musicals but I have tried at least half a dozen times to watch this movie from beginning to end and always end up falling asleep.



WIND
(2019, Chang)



"If everyone reaches far enough in their history, there’s one person that propelled the family forward and gave up a lot of their own opportunities. I hope people remember that person, because that gives you introspection about what you’re doing for the next generation."

Set in a weird gravity-challenged chasm, Wind follows a kid and his grandmother as they both try to use the few resources they have at hand to escape. The short is part of Pixar's SparkShorts initiative to encourage young animators and storytellers to tell personal stories through animation.

Grade:



Full review on my Movie Loot
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Exactly what you would expect, no more, no less.
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I forgot the opening line.
I love musicals but I have tried at least half a dozen times to watch this movie from beginning to end and always end up falling asleep.
Yeah, it's way too long (about an hour too long) and there's nothing really there to necessitate such epic length.
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Latest Review : Le Circle Rouge (1970)



I forgot the opening line.

By Impawards.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21650122

The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming - (1966)

Does everyone here remember Steven Spielberg's 1941? The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (the mid-60s was really a time for wacky film titles) is a gargantuan comedic production along the lines of It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, with a plot reminiscent of 1941. A Russian submarine runs aground off the coast of the U.S. island of Gloucester, and as such a select band of Russian naval personnel scour the island for a boat to help tow their stricken craft. The more islanders they come across, the more panic spreads as the population takes their presence as the start of a Russian invasion of the U.S. Madcap hijinks ensue. Alan Arkin, in his first big starring role, is the real standout here as Russian Rozanov, and the cast includes Carl Reiner and Eva Marie Saint. My biggest gripe with it is the fact that this is a 1-joke movie. The only aspect played for laughs is the panic that sweeps the island. I did enjoy the fact that both Americans and Russians in this are treated equally, and the film really inspires a sense of equality and comradeship - with Russians and Americans joining together to save a small boy, and realising they both have the same human impulses and shouldn't be so wary of each other.

The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming was nominated for 4 Oscars in 1967, including Best Picture! It was a critical darling of it's time, but has since been somewhat forgotten. It's the film that made Alan Arkin, and a special trailer was put together which features his character being interviewed. I'm kind of torn - I just didn't think it was that funny, and the joke of "Russian Attack Paranoia Panic" sure wore thin after the first hour and a half. Arkin was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar - and he's the saving grace here. I know some people here will have loved this film, and I have a slight affection for it, but it didn't work for me. Maybe you need to be in the midst of the Cold War to feel the right vibes.

5/10






The Pope's Exorcist (Julius Avery, 2023)

I made plans to go to the movies tonight with a friend. I thought we were seeing Beau Is Afraid. She thought we were seeing this and she was in charge of getting the tickets before we left, so this is what we saw. Fortunately I had wanted to see this too. What can I say? Despite garbage like The Man With the Iron Fists, Winter's Tale, and Unhinged, my love of Russell Crowe remains intact.

Although I probably would've been happier with the three hours of Joaquin Phoenix I was expecting when I left my house, I can't say I was truly disappointed with the hour and forty-seven minutes of Russell Crowe that I got.

Overall this movie was considerably better than I expected. Admittedly, what I expected was absolute garbage, but still, I genuinely enjoyed this. The possession scenes were laughably bad and this movie was not the least bit frightening, but it was entertaining even as the ending cranked the ridiculous factor up to eleven. I also thought Crowe was quite good. His character was likable and provided a surprising amount of intentional humor and, to my very ignorant American ears at least, he was quite convincing as an Italian-speaking priest. (Russell Crowe is the best damn Austral-Italian there ever was. Fight me.)

Not at all a bad way to waste some time. Will watch again.




BURROW
(2020, Sharafian)



"I saw that door of opportunity open a crack and it was time to throw my whole body through."

Burrow follows a friendly but shy rabbit that has a plan to build the burrow of her dreams. However, her creative process is affected as she finds "obstacles" in every hole that she opens. The "obstacles" are none other than fellow creatures and "neighbors" that inhabit the same space, but the rabbit is too shy to allow others to see her project, moreover ask for help.

Grade:



Full review on my Movie Loot



KITBULL
(2019, Sullivan)



"I related to this kitten because it never really stepped out of its comfort zone to be vulnerable and make a connection."

Kitbull follows the unlikely bond formed between a stray cat and an abused pitbull. The third of Pixar's SparkShorts initiative that I saw this month, it was written and directed by Rosana Sullivan, a storyboard artist that has worked with Pixar since 2011. She described the experience of writing the short with the above quote.

Grade:



Full review on my Movie Loot



The Mission (1999) -


You can read the full review and many others in my Hong Kong thread.



Haha what a coincidence, this is on my to-watch list right now, I'm going through the movies of Johnnie To, including:


Election (parts 1 and 2)

For my money, Johnie To is the most underrated gangster/crime movie director out there. Election is an epic two-part story in the style of Scorsese that follows a traditional election among Hong Kong gang bosses to decide on the head boss of the entire syndicate. It's a tale of ancient triad traditions crumbling in the face of modernity and the fundamental absurdity of trying to impose norms on criminal gang bosses who are willing to engage in increasingly savage tactics to seize power.

Strong recommend if you like Goodfellas or Casino.



I forgot the opening line.

Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16189573

Jane Eyre - (1996)

It's been 12 years since the last adaptation of Jane Eyre was released, which means we're pretty much due for another one when you consider the time gap between adaptations. There were two made during the 90s, only 1 year apart, but generally it's a decade by decade prospect. Some time last year I decided I'd take on a little side project, and compare all the adaptations - my first experience was with the 2011 Mia Wasikowska/Michael Fassbender version. Last night I gave the 1996 Charlotte Gainsbourg/William Hurt version a go - produced and distributed by Miramax, so unfortunately it includes Harvey Weinstein's name prominently in the opening credits. Gainsbourg's name never came up as one of the ladies he abused, so hopefully she avoided the big-bodied producer in his bathrobe asking for a "massage". This adaptation was fine - everything you'd expect, and I really liked Gainsbourg in this. Although William Hurt came in for come criticism for being wrong for the part, I thought he acquitted himself well also. He's no Timothy Dalton or Michael Fassbender though. But, as Jane Eyre herself says, "Remember, the shadows are just as important as the light." This version makes itself unique in character by casting him.

7/10



Interesting, sorta good, AIR. It's an odd movie, about Micheal Jordan and the development and release of the "Air Jordan", the shoe that saved the fortunes of Nike and is still made, sold on Amazon for like $500 as of tonight. I don't get it, but it is what it is. The movie catches Jordan as a rising star and the guys at Nike, recognizing his talent, manage to get a contract with Jordan to use his name, blindsiding everybody else who wants a piece of his image.

It was one of the first times that a sports figure got not just paid to license a name, but got a piece of every sale, so even now Jordan gets paid a piece of every shoe, a nice deal. Since that deal, all sports heroes need a shoe or a jersey or something sellable that people will buy.

The movie is fairly pedestrian, and, for reasons I don't quite understand, probably something about image licensing, "Jordan" (portrayed by an actor) appears in a bunch of scenes, but we never get a clear view. This is the way old movies portrayed Jesus. Often sports movies are lost on me. This one is no exception.

5/10




Moby Dick (1930)



Not sure what to say about this early talkie starring John Barrymore as the famous "Captain Ahab".

I never read the book so I can't REALLY compare, but I have seen some of the other movie adaptations... and this is nothing like those.
I always thought "Ahab" was the captain's last name - but in this movie it's his first name (and he has a brother named Derek)!
I know the book starts out with the line "Call me Ishmael" - but there's no character called Ishmael in this movie (although there are a couple others from the book).

This movie might have been more appropriately titled "Ahab the Early Years" as much of the story focuses on his life as an acrobatic, anti-religion, devil-may-care sailor & drinker who falls for the same girl his brother is in love with (but the girl, who is the local Chaplin's daughter, doesn't love his brother, and instead falls for Ahab - why, I'm not sure; guess she's one of those women who want the bad boy even if he is a drunk),

Ahab does ultimately lose his leg to the white whale of the title (with some "special effects" that almost have to be seen to be believed... and by that I mean, they are not particularly good even for the era).

WARNING: "Unlike other versions I've seen..." spoilers below
This one ends with Ahab killing the whale, returning home and getting the girl (which are another few reasons it's hard to believe they named this after the book)!


This movie comes off more like a romantic comedy than an adventure at sea (but while Barrymore doesn't drown, he does do a lot of scenery chewing throughout).




KITBULL
(2019, Sullivan)





Kitbull follows the unlikely bond formed between a stray cat and an abused pitbull. The third of Pixar's SparkShorts initiative that I saw this month, it was written and directed by Rosana Sullivan, a storyboard artist that has worked with Pixar since 2011. She described the experience of writing the short with the above quote.

Grade:



Full review on my Movie Loot
I actually watched this somewhat recently. I don't remember the exact why of it since most of my short film watching experiences stem from reading your reviews. Maybe someone else here watched it and wrote it up. I did like it though.