Thief's Monthly Movie Loot - 2022 Edition

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If asked to rank her favorite movies, my mom would probably consider this Top 5 easy, so although I haven't seen it in many years it's one I've seen a bunch and I agree. An Oscar-winning performance from ODH and a recent Criterion release should have put this on the radar of more film buffs. She's incredible here.
I need to see more of her stuff. I've only seen this one, Captain Blood, and Gone with the Wind, which is way overdue for a rewatch.


EDIT: I did see Airport '77 and The Swarm when I was a kid, but I don't remember anything about those.
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THEY LIVE
(1988, Carpenter)
A film from the TSPDT 1000 Greatest Pictures list whose ranking includes the #4 (#947)



"They're free-enterprisers. The earth is just another developing planet. Their third world."

What if the people around you weren't who you thought they are? What if they were determined to herd people into uncontrollable consumerism? What if that was all a scheme to take control of the planet and human life? Worst! What if they were ugly as fu¢k? Well, at least we have John Carpenter to tell us how things might go.

They Live follows a nameless drifter (Roddy Piper), who stumbles upon an alien conspiracy to manipulate people's thoughts and behaviors through subliminal messages. He realizes this when he finds out some special sunglasses that are designed to reveal not only these hidden messages, but the aliens hidden in plain sight that are behind them.

I honestly don't understand how this film escaped me back in the 80s, because it seems like the kind of thing I would've been all over when I was a kid. Still, discovering it now was probably just as fun. Carpenter manages to take jabs at the "yuppie" subculture, capitalism and consumerism in a way that's effective, but also entertaining.

Piper might not be the best actor, but I think he's perfect for this role. There's an "everyday guy" vibe and an innocent charm to his performance that you can't help but root for him. Plus, he's helped by Keith David who, as usual, is all kinds of awesome. Aside from that, Carpenter's direction is very assured and efficient.

That said, I thought that the iconic fight between Piper and David went on for too long. It got to the point where I was "Ok, we get it. Move on". Judging from what I've read about it, it seems I'm the only one to feel that way, but well. I also felt that the climax and conclusion were too abrupt and underwhelming, considering what they were building up to. Regardless of that, this was a lot of fun.

Grade:



THEY LIVE
(1988, Carpenter)
A film from the TSPDT 1000 Greatest Pictures list whose ranking includes the #4 (#947)





What if the people around you weren't who you thought they are? What if they were determined to herd people into uncontrollable consumerism? What if that was all a scheme to take control of the planet and human life? Worst! What if they were ugly as fu¢k? Well, at least we have John Carpenter to tell us how things might go.

They Live follows a nameless drifter (Roddy Piper), who stumbles upon an alien conspiracy to manipulate people's thoughts and behaviors through subliminal messages. He realizes this when he finds out some special sunglasses that are designed to reveal not only these hidden messages, but the aliens hidden in plain sight that are behind them.

I honestly don't understand how this film escaped me back in the 80s, because it seems like the kind of thing I would've been all over when I was a kid. Still, discovering it now was probably just as fun. Carpenter manages to take jabs at the "yuppie" subculture, capitalism and consumerism in a way that's effective, but also entertaining.

Piper might not be the best actor, but I think he's perfect for this role. There's an "everyday guy" vibe and an innocent charm to his performance that you can't help but root for him. Plus, he's helped by Keith David who, as usual, is all kinds of awesome. Aside from that, Carpenter's direction is very assured and efficient.

That said, I thought that the iconic fight between Piper and David went on for too long. It got to the point where I was "Ok, we get it. Move on". Judging from what I've read about it, it seems I'm the only one to feel that way, but well. I also felt that the climax and conclusion were too abrupt and underwhelming, considering what they were building up to. Regardless of that, this was a lot of fun.

Grade:
I'd probably rate it a bit higher, but nice review as usual.



For those interested, I dropped the latest episode of The Movie Loot this morning, Episode 59, where me and Darin Lundberg (from the NostalgiaCast podcast) talk about nostalgia, how valid it is when critiquing a film, the dangers and benefits of it. We close sharing 5 films we're nostalgic about for being integral in certain phases of our lives. Check it out!

The Movie Loot 59: The Nostalgic Loot (with Darin Lundberg from NostalgiaCast)

Remember you can also check it out on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all the main podcast platforms. Thanks for the support!



Had another guest appearance to talk about The Godfather at another podcast called Silver Screeners, hosted by Frank Mandosa. Here is the Spotify link, in case anybody wants to check it out, but it's available in most other podcast platforms.

Silver Screeners: Episode 50 - The Godfather with special guest Carlo from The Movie Loot

Hope you like it!



Why not continue with the nostalgia trip? Check out Special Episode 11 of my podcast, where I talk about one scene from Transformers: The Movie, specifically the first scene where Megatron and the Decepticons ambush a group of Autobots on their ship and slaughter them:

The Movie Loot - Special Episode XI (The Transformers: The Movie)

Remember you can also listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and most podcast platforms.



FOUR
(2021, Petersen)
A film with the number 4 (Four, Fourth, etc.) in its title



"We keep living our lives. You're the one missing out."

In 1969, psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced the "five stages of grief" model, which states that people that are grieving experience five different stages or emotions: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Although contested and criticized by some, the model is widely referenced by fellow experts, but also in popular media.

Four is a short film that follows Ross (Eoin Macken), who seems to be going through this process, while his wife (Rachel Lyn Murray) tries to reason with him. The title is a reference to the stage he's currently in, but also a reference to the four family members, which also include their two children: Naomi and Ben.

With an 8-minute runtime, the short is fairly simple but it has a solid emotional core. Macken and Murray are not excellent, but they are competent enough. It does give the impression to romanticize certain things in the aftermath of the grieving process, but maybe that was a matter of my perception, and not the short film's intention. Still, it's a solid short film to check out.

Grade:



BLACK GIRL
(1966, Sembène)
A film from Senegal



"Never will I be a slave. I did not come here for the apron or the money. Never will she see me again. Never will she scold me again. Never again, Diouana."

Back in the 17th Century, France began its conquest of the African country of Senegal. Starting with small settlements, it became a full-scale thing by the 19th Century. In 1960, Senegal finally gained independence after hundreds of years of French dominance, but not without leaving indelible marks in the country and its population. That is part of what this iconic Senegalese film draws upon.

Black Girl follows Diouana (Mbissine Thérèse Diop), a young Senegalese woman that goes to work for this wealthy French couple as a nanny while they're settled in Senegal. Eventually she moves with them to France hoping to continue her work as a nanny, but finds herself working as a servant instead, and the subject of harsh treatment from the wife (Anne-Marie Jelinek) and apathy from the husband (Robert Fontaine).

Directed by Ousmane Sembène, Black Girl was one of the first films from Africa to gain international attention. The way the director uses the relationships between this European couple and our African lead as an allegory to the relationships between both countries is brilliant and thought-provoking, as he uses it as a way to address the effects of colonialism.

One of the best ways that Sembène highlights this is through an African mask that is passed as a gift from Diouana to her employers, but ends up becoming an important point of contention in the plot and an important symbolism for the themes of the film. The fight for the mask becomes an allegory of the fight for Africa, and Diouana's defiance is a symbol of Senegal finally taking back what is theirs and declaring their independence.

Diouana, as a representation of Senegal, is an interesting character. Through all the film, she complies with her orders, but there is always a resistance that starts subtly, but boils over towards the end. "I did not come here for the apron". She is essentially trapped, enslaved, but decides "never more" and takes control of her destiny, even if it is with tragic results. The marks and effects of colonialism and slavery don't lead to happy endings, and will always be there, but still... never again.

Grade:



JASON X
(2001, Isaac)
Freebie



"What's going on?"
"Jason-fu¢king-Voorhees, that's what's going on!"

You know those frequent jokes about franchises that tend to go too long, where most people say "X in Space" as an inane option? Well, there's a reason for that. In 1997, the Leprechaun franchise sent its titular creature to space in one of the most popular examples (years before he went to "da hood", twice!) So, the people behind the Friday the 13th franchise thought, "why not?"

Jason X, the 10th installment in the immortal Friday the 13th franchise does exactly that, taking Jason-fu¢king-Voorhees to fu¢king space, and it is as much dumb fun as you would expect. The basic premise has a cryogenically frozen Jason waking up in a spaceship in the year 2455, only to wreak havoc again among its passengers. Along for the ride is Rowan (Lexa Doig), a scientist that that was accidentally frozen along with Jason.

Regardless of whatever flaw you can think of, this film pretty much delivers what you would expect from the tenth film in a slasher franchise about a zombie killer that's sent to space, in the future. Still, despite having the biggest budget of the franchise, to that point, the production values are pretty cheap. Also, although it features one of the most memorable kills of the franchise (guess which one!), the film isn't as gory as I would've expected.

As usual with these films, the characters lack any notable trait to make us root for them. Rowan is a pretty decent "final girl", but there's not much else there to latch on to. Still, it's a fun film to watch, especially when it embraces the absurdity and silliness of its plot. I just wish this happened more often.

This time I rewatched the film to prepare for an episode of my podcast. Doing so reminded me of how much this franchise takes me back to my youth, so I'm sure that whenever the people behind it decide to put out a new one, and somebody asks me what's going on, I will probably say "Jason-fu¢king-Voorhees, that's what's going on!"

Grade:



ARMOUR OF GOD
(1986, Chan)
A film from Jackie Chan



The Sword of the Holy Spirit recently put up for auction, was stolen by him from an African tribe. If he has the ability to acquire The Sword, he'll naturally have the ability to acquire the remaining pieces."

Armour of God follows Asian Hawk (Jackie Chan), an Indiana Jones-like adventurer that collects treasures from around the world. When the girlfriend of his former best friend, Alan, is kidnapped by an evil religious cult, he reaches out to Hawk for help. Hawk, in turn, is being recruited by the same evil cult to retrieve the "Armour of God", or something like that.

The truth of the matter is that the plot doesn't matter much. The basic goal is to put Jackie Chan in dangerous situations so he can perform dangerous stunts to get away. The film is notable for being the one where he fractured his skull and almost died during a stunt in the opening scene. Not sure if it's because of this, but most of the stunts are cluttered both in this opening scene and the final scene.

Unfortunately, what's left in the middle is not very good. That section plays more like a buddy comedy between Hawk and Alan, but the comedy is not very effective. In addition, the character of Alan is a bit obnoxious, and his interactions with Hawk don't work as well as I would've wanted.

For a film about a globe-trotting adventurer and explorer, I was expecting more adventure and more thrills. I suppose it is a good thing that they left most of the stunts and good action for the end, because it kinda ends things in a high note. Just not enough for me to feel great about the film.

Grade:



ONE EARTH
(2020, Pennes)
A film about the environment



"There is but one Earth, tiny and fragile, and one must get 100,000 miles away to appreciate fully one's good fortune in living on it." --Michael Collins

The above quote comes from Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins. It is not on this short film, but it is perhaps what inspired its title and theme. As part of Earth Day last month, I wanted to check a film about the environment and stumbled upon this very brief short. It lasts less than 5 minutes, but its content is both gorgeous and saddening.

Created by French musician Romain Pennes, the short film is composed of a series of drone and aerial shots of different places of Earth. It opens with the lush and colorful vegetation of a forest, the vast and rocky terrains of a mountain range, and the crashing waves on a shore, but gradually moves on to show human intervention in our nature landscapes. From logging and farming to urban development, it quickly devolves into overpopulation and pollution.

The shots, which comes from various sources, are neatly shot and breathtaking; and even though there's no narration, I love the "story" it tells through its progression of images. It makes us think of how careless our treatment of this one Earth has often been, as if there was no tomorrow. Maybe Pennes didn't go as far above as Collins, but the hundreds of feet he did, surely made me appreciate and feel for our Earth.

Grade: N/A



Here's my final tally for APRIL 2022:

A film with the number 4 (Four, Fourth, etc.) in its title: Four (short film)
A film with a title that starts with the letters G or H: Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum
A film from the TSPDT 1,000 Greatest Films list whose ranking includes the #4 (i.e. 14, 401, 943): They Live
A film from the 1940s: The Heiress
A drama film: The Secret of Roan Inish
A Biblical film (Easter):
A film based on a book (National Library Week): My Dog Skip, Dolores Claiborne
A film about the environment (Earth Day, April 22): One Earth (short film)
A film from Senegal (Independence Day, April 4): Black Girl
A film with Jackie Chan (born April 7): Armour of God

Freebies: Thunder Road, True Romance, Mad Love, Us, Magical Girl, Demons, Star Wars, Jason X







First time I didn't complete my challenge in a while, but wanted to complete the MoFo Hall of Fame, which took a good chunk of time; and also, watching stuff for the podcast and working on editing took a bit of time as well. Still, lots of good stuff.

Not counting rewatches, my favorites were The Heiress and Black Girl.

Least favorite? Armour of God, probably.



And here are my categories for MAY 2022

A film with the number 5 (Five, Fifth, etc.) in its title:
A film with a title that starts with the letters I or J:
A film from the TSPDT 1,000 Greatest Films list whose ranking includes the #5 (i.e. 15, 365, 958):
A film from the 1950s:
A fantasy film:
A film about mothers:
A film with a bird in its title (Bird Day, May 4):
A film mostly set on a train (Nat'l Train Day, May 8):
A film with Frank Capra (born May 18):
A film from Ecuador (Battle of Pichincha Day, May 24):

As usual, recommendations are more than welcome!



Also, for those that listen, latest episode of The Movie Loot is out. In Episode 61, me and Ethan (one of the hosts of Best Film Ever Podcast and a hardcore Star Wars fan) talk about Star Wars! From the original trilogy to the sequel trilogy, and everything in between. We each share our favorite characters and favorite scenes from each trilogy, and close with our Top 5 Star Wars films. Check it out!

The Movie Loot 61: The Star Wars Loot (with Ethan from Best Film Ever Podcast)

No need to use the Force. Just hit play on that link, or on any of these from Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or on any of the main podcast platforms. Thanks for the support!



I mainline Windex and horse tranquilizer
A film with the number 5 (Five, Fifth, etc.) in its title: The Fifth Element
A film with a title that starts with the letters I or J: In Bruges
A film from the TSPDT 1,000 Greatest Films list whose ranking includes the #5 (i.e. 15, 365, 958): Alphaville (523)
A film from the 1950s: Godzilla (1954)
A fantasy film: The Last Unicorn
A film about mothers: Psycho
A film with a bird in its title (Bird Day, May 4): Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
A film mostly set on a train (Nat'l Train Day, May 8): The Train to Busan
A film with Frank Capra (born May 18): Lost Horizon
A film from Ecuador (Battle of Pichincha Day, May 24): Dreams from the Middle of the World
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A film with the number 5 (Five, Fifth, etc.) in its title: The Fifth Element
A film with a title that starts with the letters I or J: In Bruges
A film from the TSPDT 1,000 Greatest Films list whose ranking includes the #5 (i.e. 15, 365, 958): Alphaville (523)
A film from the 1950s: Godzilla (1954)
A fantasy film: The Last Unicorn
A film about mothers: Psycho
A film with a bird in its title (Bird Day, May 4): Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
A film mostly set on a train (Nat'l Train Day, May 8): The Train to Busan
A film with Frank Capra (born May 18): Lost Horizon
A film from Ecuador (Battle of Pichincha Day, May 24): Dreams from the Middle of the World
Good recs! Seen a bunch of them, but I will consider the others. Thanks, buddy.



Forgot to post this here yesterday, but I dropped a bonus episode of my podcast last night where me and Josh G. (from Your Next Favorite Movie podcast) talk about the Friday the 13th franchise, our thoughts on each film, bit of trivia, favorite kills, and our respective rankings. I know it's not Friday the 13th anymore, but let's say the date is as irrelevant as it is on the franchise, so check it out!

Bonus Loot #2: Friday the 13th (with Josh from Your Next Favorite Movie)

As usual, you can also check it out on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or on any of the main podcast platforms. Thanks for the support!



MAN OF STEEL
(2013, Snyder)
A fantasy film



"You just have to decide what kind of a man you want to grow up to be, Clark; because whoever that man is, good character or bad, he's gonna change the world."

Man of Steel is the latest iteration of the Superman character. The film follows Clark, a.k.a. Kal-El (Henry Cavill) as he is sent from Krypton to Earth by his father Jor-El (Russell Crowe). Here he ends up taken by Jonathan and Martha Kent (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane), who try their best to instill in Clark a sense of goodwill. However, this clashes with his inner struggle of identity and belonging as he tries to figure out who or what he wants to be.

The above quote occurs at a moment when teenage Clark has been bullied by some kids. "I wanted to hit that kid", he says, but "Then what?", says his father. Would it have made any difference? Then he follows with that advice; to figure out and decide who he wants to grow up to be. That struggle is ever-present on the film, not only in the character, but also in how director Zack Snyder and writer David S. Goyer perceive and portray Superman.

I've always been a fan of the original Superman films, and of the character in general. I even liked Bryan Singer's nostalgic callback to Reeves' era in Superman Returns. That is probably why I pushed back a bit when Man of Steel came out relatively soon after; that, and the fact that I didn't really enjoy Snyder's previous film or that the film wasn't really getting glorious reviews back in the day. Because of this, I haven't seen a single DCEU film. So when a good friend invited me to talk about it on his podcast, I dreaded the clash of my perception and expectations with those of Snyder and Goyer.

At one point, one of my younger brothers, a hardcore DCEU fan, told me "this is not the Superman you grew up with. You just have to accept that this is a different Superman", and maybe that made the clashes a bit more easier to swallow. And I'm OK with that. A more morally conflicted character could be more interesting, but not if you're not consistent. You can't have a character whose sole drive since childhood has been to protect people, then be so blatantly in disregard of public safety as he beats and pummels a bad guy through buildings and streets. Not when it's done for "cool looks" and not when his alleged inner struggle shifts from one scene to the other.

That alone pushes the film a few notches down for me. On a more surface level, Snyder's direction was pretty bad. Too frenetic, too shaky, too blurry, and too messy, which is heightened in the excesses of the last act. Whenever he kept the camera still, he was able to present some striking visuals and solid imagery, but those were too few and far between. The special effects and CGI were also pretty mediocre. Not to mention the nonsensical and ultimately pointless plot about the Codex, or the lack of chemistry between Cavill and Amy Adams.

I did like the flashback bits, mostly because of Costner's performance. I thought he added a lot of gravitas and a strong emotional core to the film. His conversations with Clark, like the one I quoted above, where among the stronger moments of the film for me. I also liked that the film tried to address deeper themes of fate vs. free will, and contrast it through Zod (Michael Shannon) and Superman, but I wish they would've done a bit more with it.

Obviously, despite some mixed reviews and a tepid reception by critics, the film kickstarted what would be known as the DCEU, uniting a certain group of fans in a way that few fandoms have. Fans that, for better or worse, have rallied behind Snyder's efforts through the years, maybe even shaping how studios respond to audiences. Kinda like what Jonathan said: whatever that film is, good or bad, it's gonna change the world.

Grade: