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I think "Scarlet" is a good film, but both Duryea and Bennett were way over the top. Of course most of that was in the writing. It was actually a pretty brutal story.
Yes it was. It didn't pull any punches or try to sugarcoat Kitty and Johnny's overall seediness. I also thought the writing leaned a little too heavily on the slang. All the "lazylegs" and "for cat's sake". But the part with the
WARNING: spoilers below
ice pick caught me by surprise. And then Chris surviving his suicide attempt.
.
OTOH I thought The Woman In The Window was brilliant. Same basic cast, but good story, acting, and a wonderful ending, which thrilled me.
I do need to watch that. It doesn't have as strong a Tomatometer rating as SS but that's not always indicative of a better movie.



Hard Times is my hands down favorite Bronson movie. I think it's closer to an 8/10.



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What to watch next - La Dolce Vita, Double Life of Veronique, Singing in the Rain, All That Jazz, A Woman Under the Influence, La Strada, Solaris, etc.

If you're asking, I'd say "La Strada" (my #2) and "A Woman Under The Influence" (#8) which is also on YouTube in full for free.






The Domestics (2018)




It's almost like a post apocalyptic version of The Warriors if The Warriors were a couple whose marriage was on the rocks. Don't come for the plot, performances, or visuals, but if you just want some action/horror then this movie is for you. It doesn't waste any time and was better than I had expected.



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Hard Times is my hands down favorite Bronson movie. I think it's closer to an 8/10.

I think he's very good in it, but the movie seemed more like an outline. Lots of dialogue over inane things, but so little between Bronson and his woman, or inter-relationships between the other guys. I think I'm done with movies set in a period before the 40s.. The same problems -- so much emphasis on costume, and the stereotypical (Strothers?) Southerner, beating around the bush in a "hillbilly poetic" fashion that annoys the hell out of me. He does the same thing in "Cool Hand Luke"! Ironic considering there's a few mentions of appreciating one who gets right to the point, but regardless of the movie (except "Los Olvidados"), it's the same characters, and a reminder it's 1930 every few seconds. And the movie itself was so predictable, and redundant - fighting, money, money issues, loans..


I had this on my IMDB watch-list, but I was actually watching Louie CK on this YouTube show called "Flagrant 2", and when he was asked what if favorite movies were, he gave the typical, "It's so hard" and only mentioned this movie, so I saw it.


Have you seen the movie, "Fat City"? It was made a few years before, but I think it's one of Huston's best, and I think Stacy Keach delivers one of the greatest performances I have ever seen.



I think he's very good in it, but the movie seemed more like an outline. Lots of dialogue over inane things, but so little between Bronson and his woman, or inter-relationships between the other guys. I think I'm done with movies set in a period before the 40s.. The same problems -- so much emphasis on costume, and the stereotypical (Strothers?) Southerner, beating around the bush in a "hillbilly poetic" fashion that annoys the hell out of me. He does the same thing in "Cool Hand Luke"! Ironic considering there's a few mentions of appreciating one who gets right to the point, but regardless of the movie (except "Los Olvidados"), it's the same characters, and a reminder it's 1930 every few seconds. And the movie itself was so predictable, and redundant - fighting, money, money issues, loans..


I had this on my IMDB watch-list, but I was actually watching Louie CK on this YouTube show called "Flagrant 2", and when he was asked what if favorite movies were, he gave the typical, "It's so hard" and only mentioned this movie, so I saw it.
Have you seen the movie, "Fat City"? It was made a few years before, but I think it's one of Huston's best, and I think Stacy Keach delivers one of the greatest performances I have ever seen.
I have seen Fat City and did enjoy Keach's immersive performance. I also thought Jeff Bridges and Susan Tyrell did a great job. Plus Candy Clark and Nicholas Colasanto. Good movie. And overlooked.

But I think HT was meant to be more elegiac. Poeticized. At least that's how I took it. And Strother Martin's Poe might have come off a little threadbare but that was the character in a nutshell. Alcoholic and a drug addict to boot. It worked for me. Walter Hill was never much for frills but his unfussy style seemed to really mesh with the story. And it especially played to Bronson's strengths. I don't know. I've always been really fond of the movie.



[The Woman in the Window]
...
I do need to watch that. It doesn't have as strong a Tomatometer rating as SS but that's not always indicative of a better movie.
I think you're going to like it, WH. I could never understand the high praise for Scarlet Street, except that it was a good example of noir.



While the City Sleeps (1956)



This was a very good noir, really more of a serial killer movie. Good story, good acting.

What tickles me about this scene, as Fabulous has cited here, is that everyone in this particular picture --Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, Thomas Mitchell, and Ida Lupino-- were all bombed. They got to drinking before filming the scene, and by the time they got a good take, everyone was drunk. Fritz Lang knew it, but kept the take because of its authenticity...



Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)


My turn to finally see this, since I don't think I've seen a negative review on it yet. Very glad I did! A multiverse movie that views like a videogame on steroids.

It did tire for me in the middle a bit, but the last third of the movie really brings everything together well emotionally. I think my rating may go up or down a half based on how I feel about this a few months from now.



I forgot the opening line.

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Troy - (2004)

I found Troy to be a much better film than it's reputation suggests. It's not quite empty spectacle - but even if it was than the spectacle itself is a cut above almost all other films of it's ilk. It's actually exciting, very well edited, and visually clear, strong and arresting. The bulk of the film transforms Homer's Iliad and Quintus Smyrnaeus's Posthomerica into a condensed battle - and as such the fates of great warrior Achilles (Brad Pitt) and the royal families of either side combine - the result usually being tragic. Of course, this is an epic fantasy version of those tales - and it takes liberties. I was surprised by the screenplay - expecting melodrama, but receiving something far more philosophical and grand, with the actors delivering their lines with convincing belief. Wolfgang Petersen really had everybody on board for this. The bright blues and golden sands were backed up with character, excitement and interest. I'd avoided Troy like the plague up until now, so my surprise was great - this is actually not too bad at all. A grand historical epic backed by a solid screenplay and performances.

7.5/10


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Catch a Fire - (2006)

Catch a Fire is about resistance during the apartheid regime in South Africa, and is a semi-biopic about one man who was driven to extreme action. It features Tim Robbins - who gives an absolutely marvelous performance (a bit of a waste in this film.) There's nothing else that really stands out - but the film's heart is in the right place. It just needed a better structure to really engage and excite us. It doesn't push us as far as it needs to, so we can completely identify with real-life activist Patrick Chamusso (Derek Luke) and condemn what's happening around him. Instead, a lot of important detail is only alluded to, and the film makes large leaps in narrative that we don't see.

6/10


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Clerks - (1994)

I like Clerks, but I'd love to love it as much as Kevin Smith's fans do. Every now and then I watch it again to see if my stance has changed - because fortunately it is a rewatchable film.

6/10


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Intolerable Cruelty - (2003)

I'm actually starting to like this film - really didn't the first time I saw it, but it's so light-hearted and silly that I think I approached it from the wrong angle the first time around.

6.5/10
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In the Line of Fire, 1993

Frank Horrigan (Clint Eastwood) is a secret service agent who is haunted by his failure to save JFK in the Dallas assassination. When a demented killer (John Malkovich) sets his sights on murdering the president, Frank must give everything he has to track down the man's identity. Assisted by a mentee (Dylan McDermott) and an intelligent agent named Lilly (Rene Russo).

Overall I thought that this was a decent thriller, slightly hamstrung by Eastwood's lead role.

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with Eastwood's performance. He does a good job of holding the center of the film and he is by turns intense and funny. But simply put, he is too old for the character he's playing and it has negative ripples through the whole film. To begin with, it doesn't feel realistic that he's still being asked to do this very physical job. I did feel slightly vindicated by reading in the trivia section that the character is meant to be in his 50s, while Eastwood was in his 60s when he made the film. Eastwood's age also creates an age gap between him and love interest Russo (the actress is literally the same age as Eastwood's daughter). It lends an even ickier edge to what already feels inappropriate as Frank flirts with and pursues Lilly. (Yes, Lilly is also into him, but he's definitely the one instigating things, including after she says she doesn't want to make a professional mistake). The movie even seems a bit embarrassed of the idea of sex between the two, shying away in favor of visual jokes, and literally the last shot is
WARNING: spoilers below
them watching pigeons together like a woman caring for her elderly father
We are also asked to believe that he's a physical match for a man 20 years his junior and it starts to feel like some weird fantasy wish-fulfillment.

The story itself moves along with engaging thriller twists and turns as Malkovich's killer works to keep several steps ahead of the secret service agents. I really like films like this or like Day of the Jackal where you see the detail of the leg-work that the investigators have to do. Characters searching passenger manifests or questioning bank employees, yes please!

The supporting actors all do a good job in their roles. I wish that Russo's character hadn't been so relegated to being Frank's, like, emotional support partner. Most of what we see of her is her defending Frank to other agents and it starts to feel kind of one-dimensional. Bu Russo is a very engaging presence. McDermott is not an actor I have strong feelings about either way, but I was pleasantly surprised by his turn as the young agent who is struggling to cope with the trauma of an investigation that nearly resulted in his death. I did think that it was a bit too cliched to have the scene where
WARNING: spoilers below
Frank convinces Al not to quit, which, okay, if it wasn't already incredibly obvious that the killer is going to kill Al, it is now!!


I bet there are some people who really dig this film. For me it just had a few too many cliches and asked a bit too much of me with the main character.

Also (and NO, this didn't impact my rating!) is this just a fashion thing I do not understand: in the sexy scene with Frank and Lilly was Lilly wearing a sexy slip thing . . . under her pants? Someone please explain!






In the Line of Fire, 1993
This has an all-timer phone conversation:


"You have a rendezvous with my ass, mother****er!"






Raw Deal - There's a significant number of things to like in this 1948 noir. Directed by Anthony Mann who was responsible for a string of nifty westerns starring Jimmy Stewart as well as Border Incident. And I still haven't forgotten about Tak's recommendation of The Furies. Mann is an expert guide when it comes to these types of crime thrillers.

Dennis O'Keefe stars as Joe Sullivan, currently serving prison time and anxious to get out. His longtime girlfriend/moll, Pat Regan (Claire Trevor), has arranged with Joe's old boss Rick Coyle (Raymond Burr) to bust him out. Joe took the fall for Rick and is owed a 50,000 share of their last job. But Coyle has no intention of paying off and is instead playing the odds that Joe will catch a stray bullet during the escape attempt. Also visiting Joe on that last fateful night in prison is Ann Martin (Marsha Hunt), his legal caseworker. She's a bit of a bleeding heart and is convinced that there is good in Joe. After succeeding in breaking out, Joe and Pat are forced to kidnap Ann and take her along as they avoid an ever tightening dragnet. This sets the stage for a potential love triangle as both women vie not only for Joe's attention but his ultimate fate as well.

The cast is quite capable with Trevor, O'Keefe and Hunt doing a crack job in the leads but it's Burr that draws your attention as the quietly menacing and unstable Coyle. John Ireland also turns in a small, key performance as Fantail, one of Coyle's goons. And there's an Easter egg of sorts (at least for me) when Whit Bissell shows up in a quick cameo and goes down in a hail of bullets, suicide-by-cop style. According to the pre-movie intro Mann was known to include set pieces that allowed him to show off his virtuoso skillset and this is no exception. There are any number of shots that can rightly be considered works of art. There's also a fogbound shootout and, in keeping with Coyle's propensity for all things pyro, a blazing finale. Plus there's an innovative use of Cherries Jubilee. Not a bad noir at all.

80/100



The Gray Man



So I watched this movie last week, and after digging through a few reviews, it looks as if it's decisive amongst us movie enthusiasts. I would definitely be on the side of those who look favourably upon this movie. It was a two hour non stop thrill ride with all the charisma and absurdness of movies I grew up with in the early to mid 90s. This movie doesn't hold back for anyone or anything, as it throws away (mostly) all semblance of it's plot and questions the existence of physics on a consistent basis. The airplane fight scene is one I will remember as maybe the craziest plane fight I have seen since the movie Eraser staring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The story while a little cliche and predictable is good enough to keep me engaged. The action does most of the talking in this one, and the performances from the cast lead by Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans are spectacular. The Russo brothers are getting into their groove more as of late, and I enjoy their stylish cinematography and action sequences. I really enjoyed this movie and am eagerly awaiting it's eventual sequel.

4/5
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Mikey and Nicky - (1976)

I've been hearing good word about this film on this forum recently, so I decided to check it out, as I'd never seen it. I really don't regret making that decision. Although it's directed by the ill-fated Elaine May, Mikey and Nicky does have the feeling of a Cassavetes/Falk collaboration, and both actors are in absolute top form. This is the recent cut I'm talking about. The pair play gangsters who are/were devoted friends whose close partnership has been torn asunder, but that fact is unknown to one of the men. It all takes place in one night, and also features Ned Beatty in a supporting role. It has a gritty, easy, uninhibited feel, and it's a shame May was shafted by Paramount instead of the two working out their differences to get the best version they could out to the public at the time - but we all know that age-old story, where studios meddle and artists become unmanageable. Anyway, loved this and it's a firm recommendation to any film fan. It's wound tight, and enthralls from start to finish.

9/10

One of the best kept secret great movies. Even the studio/distributor kept this in the can for years, and sabotaged it (can't remember the source), but it's a great, gritty, naturalistic movies. Tragic, but also hilarious in many parts. I can't help but think that "Buffalo '66" wasn't influenced by Cassavetes and these kinds of movies. I think Elaine May was influenced by Cassavetes. I thought he directed it, until I rated it on IMDB and saw her name, who I know through Mort Sahl.



9/10 and bottom four, lol... I didn't care much for "Heartbreak Kid" (but the beginning was great), and heard horrible things about "Ishtar". Any recommendations?



If anyone interested, this movie is FREE and in full on YouTube:





Fire of Love (2022)

I hate when studios release these one and done films. If you get the chance to see this on the big screen take it. This is likely the BP winner for best documentary...Fire of Love tells the story of a pair of volcano scientists/lovers in the 60's-90's. This is a collection of their work and it's breathtaking. If you can get the chance to catch this locally I highly recommend it.