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Frozen 2, 2019

Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel) are back in this sequel to Frozen. Along with companions Olaf (Josh Gad) and Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) they set off for an enchanted forest to discover the origins of Elsa's powers. But the answer may reveal a dark secret about their kingdom, Arendelle.

This is not an honest-to-goodness review because I had a really hard time paying attention to this film and just ended up mostly half-listening to it.

The positives are that the voice acting is great, and that includes new additions like Evan Rachel Wood, Alfred Molina, and Sterling K Brown. One of the best bits includes Olaf quickly reenacting the first film for the benefit of people in the enchanted forest. "Don't worry, their parents will protect them." "Their parents are dead."

I also thought that the music ranged from fine to actually pretty good. ("Into the Unknown" is just the kind of number that would be super fun to see on the big screen, though it lacks the propulsion of "Let It Go").

Ultimately I didn't find the story incredibly compelling. The film tepidly approaches the topic of colonialism and the damage it's done to people and environments, but in the end it kind of wimps out with a "make everyone happy" ending that feels kind of unearned.

Not bad, but didn't make a big impression on me at all.




FUNNY PAGES (2022)


A hilarious movie about a young high school cartoonist looking for a replacement for his recently deceased mentor in a troubled man who was an asisstant colorist until he lost his job for reasons which seem obvious as the movie progresses.
The kid breaks into the school to steal his beloved teacher's work knowing that it will only be thrown away by the administration. He wants to head out on his own so he moves out of his parents' Princeton home to a hovel in Trenton. Actually it is the basement of a hovel which he shares with some down on their luck gentlemen.

He meets the colorist through his lawyer and invites this madman to his parents' house for Christmas. It works out as well as can be hoped.
I know I am not the best at hyping a movie but this came out this July and already has cult status. It reminds me of indie movies of yore. Owen Kline the writer/director is wonderful.
5/5





Barbarian
(2022)
3.5/5

What the hell did I watch?!? I can say it kept me guessing.





Desert Fury, 1947

Paula (Lizabeth Scott) is the 19 year old daughter of a Nevada casino owner named Fritzi (Mary Astor). Paula has returned home after being kicked out of yet another college. As the mother and daughter clash, more fuel gets added to the fire in the form of Eddie Bendix (John Hodiak), a gambler who rolls into town with his watchful partner Johnny (Wendell Corey). Paula and Laura strike up a romance, much to the chagrin of Fritzi and the local policeman, Tom (Burt Lancaster), who has some feelings toward Paula himself.

This is a really fun noir/melodrama mix, with a great performance from Scott in the lead role that really pulls together the film.

There's a really fabulous theme running through the whole film about all of the messed up, complicated reasons that people run toward and/or away from someone else. While a lot of noir films hinge on the deadly attraction of the femme fatale, this film interestingly inverts the dynamic. Yes, Paula is attracted to Eddie, but mainly she is driven toward him by her mother's hatred of Eddie and her overt, manipulative attempts to control Paula. Likewise, the intense, jealous friendship between Johnny and Eddie is, as we slowly discover through the film, driven by something much darker than camaraderie. Skirting on the edge of it all is Lancaster's surprisingly passive Tom, a man who sits somewhat on the sidelines for much of the time, bearing witness to the machinations of the other characters with vague disgust.

Scott and Astor are both really good in their lead roles. I went back and forth on how I felt about Hodiak as Eddie. On one hand, he is not a very compelling presence. On the other hand, I almost feel like that's part of the point. Eddie is a loser, and Paula can't see it because she's so determined to run in the opposite direction of whatever her mother wants. The halo around Eddie is all due to her mother's disapproval, and we wait for her to realize just what kind of person she's decided to hitch her wagon to.

The look of the film is also really neat, contrasting the sun-baked, rural exteriors with the more closed, cold interiors.

A solid noir drama with a satisfying plot progression, if somehow a bit slight.




The Battle of Algiers - I have now seen this and think it was interesting with some lines of dialogue that was rather quotable such as: "Starting a revolution is hard, and it’s even harder to continue it. Winning is hardest of all. But only afterward, when we have won, will the real hardships begin." Again, I liked the atmosphere and how there were those shooting scenes that looked visible and not too chaotic and confusing(Blackhawk Down which I dislike). There were just enough characters and all of them had a purpose, even the extras(or a pebble like The Fool from La Strada would put it). This thing was very well made in my book and I liked not knowing what was to happen next, despite knowing that Algierians would get freedom from France and that Ali la Pointe would get killed at the end. This thing was a two-hour history lesson on how the Algerians got independence from France. There will be another viewing of this someday.


Duelle - I watched this because I loved Jacques Rivette's other feature Celine & Julie Go Boating so much and also because I was satisfied by watching a minute of Duelle the night before. Curious with what I saw, I decided to watch Duelle and felt like I was in another planet. I was infatuated with the appearances of the two witches in the movie who was after the stone, especially the blonde one who looked dressed up for a magic show most of the time. The other witch was Celine from the other movie who ironically was a magician but not in Duelle. The piano music in the background also added to this movie's charm. The thing was though... I love it now, but after I was done watching this, I was confused with what just happened. I also felt really good after watching this as well and the feeling lasted for days.

I feel like I want to give Duelle a 5/5, but I still feel uncertain about what I saw so I am going to watch it a second time on probably 10/15 when I have more juice. This is the most underrated movie I have ever seen, I advise you to check it out.
bordering on



Deadly Weapons (1974) -



Just imagine waking up to an image like that!

@Rockatansky-core. For a good measure. Why not. A weird mustachioed man and Chesty Morgan whose breasts could suffocate an elephant! Well, I still prefer Hitomi Tanaka of the two, but if anything, Chesty's pair of melons sure call for respect. The film is horrid, but there's a layer of weird enjoyment I got from its silliness.
How dare you sir. That weird mustachioed man is Harry Reems. The man is an inspiration to weird mustachioed men everywhere.

Also, is Paganini Horror the one where the song sounds suspiciously like Living on a Prayer? I remember being bored by the movie (nowhere near as cool as its poster) but liking the killer’s appearance. I do quite like Contamination from the same director. Amazing gore scenes in that one.

Also, as for Kirk Wong, have you seen Rock n Roll Cop? I mostly liked it but was a bit put off by how it treated Carrie Ng’s character.

(For the record, I liked the post for the wealth of HK reviews, not just the mention. No other national cinema hits the spot in the same way.)



Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right
How dare you sir. That weird mustachioed man is Harry Reems. The man is an inspiration to weird mustachioed men everywhere.
I know, but I prefer @Swan. He and his beard are my inspiration.

Also, is Paganini Horror the one where the song sounds suspiciously like Living on a Prayer?
I guess it reminded me of a song I'd heard before, yeah!

I remember being bored by the movie (nowhere near as cool as its poster) but liking the killer’s appearance. I do quite like Contamination from the same director. Amazing gore scenes in that one.
Yeah, the director is quite nice. He made Starcrash, after all. The Killer Must Kill Again is his second-best!

Also, as for Kirk Wong, have you seen Rock n Roll Cop? I mostly liked it but was a bit put off by how it treated Carrie Ng’s character.
Sure. But it's not that great! Digital Master is my favorite of his. A cyberpunk/sci-film made in HK. Very original!

(For the record, I liked the post for the wealth of HK reviews, not just the mention. No other national cinema hits the spot in the same way.)
Oh yeah! Hong Kong for the win! Too bad the cinema deteriorated so fast after 1997. It's but a joke of its former glory now.
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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.



I forgot the opening line.

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Nope - (2022)

It's nice to go to a movie like this and not be thinking, "That was so stupid" when the credits roll - Jordan Peele's mix of sci-fi and horror slowly develops it's aims, and keeps you fundamentally guessing for a long time, and when the guessing ends it encourages a lot of thought. It also generates one hell of a lot of suspense. At first I would have said I wished there was more horror in it - but the fact that it took us as far as it could go for mere moments made my imagination do the rest of the work - and my imagination often works too well. It's very hard to walk this tightrope of not wanting to give too much away, and Nope is a film of gradual revelation, so the more you initially know the less that aspect works. Broadly it's about our relationship with animals, our exploitation of animals (especially for entertainment) and our need - urge really - to know and see. Exploitation, especially in a visual sense, is explored quite a bit. You'll be asking yourselves of the significance of a certain shoe! This is my second trip to the cinema since the pandemic ended - hoorah for the end of the pandemic!

7.5/10


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Neighbors 2 : Sorority Rising - (2016)

Nicholas Stoller eventually manages to wrangle his cast into the fine comedic form they all had in the first Neighbors movie, but it takes him a while, as more time is devoted to some of the film's characters - and while normally I'm all for character development, it does slow the film down to a crawl. I very much prefer the first film, but this second one has it's moments, and if you did enjoy the first there's more generally silly set-ups and even some further pay-offs from events that happened in the first.

6/10
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The Gentlemen (2019)




For me this was Guy Ritchie's best film since his first two. I didn't even always know what was going on or being said but I was always entertained. This will probably result in my wife calling me a c**t for the next 6 months just like she did after seeing Sexy Beast.





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Neighbors 2 : Sorority Rising - (2016)

Nicholas Stoller eventually manages to wrangle his cast into the fine comedic form they all had in the first Neighbors movie, but it takes him a while, as more time is devoted to some of the film's characters - and while normally I'm all for character development, it does slow the film down to a crawl. I very much prefer the first film, but this second one has it's moments, and if you did enjoy the first there's more generally silly set-ups and even some further pay-offs from events that happened in the first.

6/10
I'm sorry, I thought this movie was stupid.



I forgot the opening line.
I'm sorry, I thought this movie was stupid.
I got a few laughs out of it, but it was typical sequel stuff and the movie wasn't taken seriously (apart from the girl power/respect angle) - you probably mean a different kind of stupid, but director and actors seemed to not really care how stupid the film got - the more the better really. I've plumbed the depths and seen a lot worse.



I forgot the opening line.

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Inherit the Wind - (1960)

So, this was a recommendation for me from a friend with a lot of oomph behind it, and the film has a rating of 8.1/10 on the IMDb - so my expectations were probably far too demanding. Even the topic - the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial, where a teacher was on trial for teaching evolution in the classroom contrary to a Tennessee law at the time, interests me. I was thinking more Judgement at Nuremberg but I got My Cousin Vinnie instead - with less comedy, but a lighter tone than I was expecting. Spencer Tracey plays defense lawyer Henry Drummond, with Dick York the teacher in the dock. One actor who quite unexpectedly turns up is Gene Kelly, as a cynical acid-tongued journalist covering the story - which did work, but still felt very strange. We've all seen fanatics, so everyone knows what these townspeople are like - a teacher wants to teach science (observation and fact) and the nice people of Hillsboro want to hang him. Amazingly, they learn nothing from the religion they so fervently follow - which is the tragic irony of all this. Fredric March is prosecutor Matthew Harrison Brady whose own zeal eats him alive. Overall, a film which espouses free thought - most winningly, at the end Tracey exits the courtroom with both the Bible and Charles Darwin's Origin of the Species tucked under his arm. Wherever we see fanatics, we see pain, death, horror and utter destruction - to learn is the way forward, always questioning and using our mind. Only the wise are really holy, and religious fanatics are not wise. An important and interesting film.

7.5/10


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Top Gun - (1986)

There was a chance I was going to go see Top Gun : Maverick the other day (I ended up seeing Nope instead - it started an hour and a half sooner) - so since I was going to watch this again anyway, I got it out of the way. I don't really get this movie's appeal - the jet fighter stuff is very confusing (from the cuts I can't follow the action - which is probably why all the characters spell it out - "he's on my tail!" - "I'm coming up right beside you" - "I'll swing around...") and the stuff on the ground is pure b-picture. I like the actors in this - Val Kilmer and Anthony Edwards especially, but overall the film doesn't stand out as superior. I guess the soundtrack does though - it's a big winner there. Just an average, okay movie.

6/10



I just finished watching Blonde on Netflix. I can confidently say, regardless of what else comes out this year, this will be the most divisive film of 2022. Some of the reviews have been crazy and people have had strong reactions, both good and bad. So let me address a few questions first.

Is Blonde pornographic? No.
Is Blonde exploitative? No.
Is Blonde misogynistic? No.

Blonde is masterfully directed by Andrew Dominik and features a great performance by Ana de Armas. It's beautifully filmed and effectively haunting. For me, Blonde is one of the best films of the year. Love it or hate it, Blonde is a must see. My rating is a



Moffie (2019)

Interesting biography about a homosxual person being conscripted into the South Africa army in the apartheid era with its brutality. He ends up fighting against the Angolans in a conflict I'm still trying to understand. It was also a centre for there Aversion Therapy Project that used ECT and chemical castration to "realign" folk they suspected to be "deviants". Well acted and good scenery but a bit flat in the writing.






Bad Day at Black Rock, 1955

A non-descript man named Macreedy (Spencer Tracy) steps off of a train in a little Western town called Black Rock. But his arrival rattles the locals because no one ever gets off of the train. As Macreedy genially inquires about a homestead called Adobe Flats, the sweat palpably breaks out on the faces of just about everyone in town. It's clear they're hiding a secret, and it's all centered on a vicious man named Reno Smith (Robert Ryan).

I had watched this movie one time years ago when I was really tired. And while I remembered the beginning pretty vividly, the whole second half was a blur. I never felt comfortable rating it on IMDb because I didn't feel like I'd really seen it.

Well this time there was nothing keeping me from enjoying the film from beginning to end, and it was awesome.

This isn't a thriller that hinges on a mystery. Yes, ostensibly Macreedy is in town to uncover some shady deeds, but anyone with half a brain will know almost immediately what was done and by whom, if not the exact specifics. This is a thriller that hinges on just how the cookie will crumble--how will everything fall out as the townspeople topple into either turning on Macreedy or turning on each other.

Tracy may be a little old to play a recently discharged war veteran (though I guess his past is kept vague enough that he may not be intended to be seen as a soldier), but he is absolutely perfect in the role. Macreedy is virtually unflappable. When a local (Lee Marvin), decides to rattle Macreedy's cage, the man just calmly backs down. Unnerved, Marvin's character notes that he gives in a little too easy. Also on hand are Anne Francis is apparently the only woman in the whole town, and John Ericson as her brother and the man who runs the local hotel. Ryan is a great counterpoint, his masculine posturing a stark contrast to Tracy's calm and collected Macreedy.

There are also some pretty great visuals on hand. It all starts with an astonishing head-on shot of an oncoming train (the shot was apparently accomplished by having a helicopter hover in front of a train and then running the train backwards, then running that footage in reverse). Several shots establish very well just how isolated a rural desert environment can be. It makes the threats to Macreedy seem all the more probable.

I really enjoyed the exploration in the movie of what happens when something bad occurs in a small community in which the perpetrator has a lot of power. There are people who know what happened, and people who don't exactly know what happened and want to keep it that way (including the local sheriff). Things quickly become a "with us or against us" situation the minute Macreedy steps off of the train and starts asking questions. Even theoretically innocent moments, like Francis's character renting Macreedy a car, turns ominous as Smith warns her "That's the most expensive $10 you ever made."

All in all, a satisfying Wester-thriller.





Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters
(2013)

I probably haven't watched this more than 5 times even though it's a lot like The Brothers Grimm and Red Riding Hood which I watch quite a bit. Of course, they are not great films but enjoyable.



I just finished watching Blonde on Netflix. I can confidently say, regardless of what else comes out this year, this will be the most divisive film of 2022. Some of the reviews have been crazy and people have had strong reactions, both good and bad. So let me address a few questions first.

Is Blonde pornographic? No.
Is Blonde exploitative? No.
Is Blonde misogynistic? No.


Blonde is masterfully directed by Andrew Dominik and features a great performance by Ana de Armas. It's beautifully filmed and effectively haunting. For me, Blonde is one of the best films of the year. Love it or hate it, Blonde is a must see. My rating is a
You couldn't get me less excited to watch something



I watched Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters with my niece and we still mention it when talking about movies. We like to keep up a running commentary with these kinds of movies so it was a fun watch.