kd5

Watched Avengers: Age of Ultron this evening...

JeffTheAlpaca

A little long at 2 hrs and 12 minutes but it had some decent performances.

kd5

Watched Ant-Man this evening...

Paul_SD

Took me a while to get around to watching this again (well over ten years), but I enjoyed it quite a bit and the 2.5 hours just flew by (no pun intended). I don't veer instinctively towards action movies, and they don't make up a disproportionatley significant part of my collection. But there are times when a man's man adventure film is just the tonic.



Another film I hadn't seen in a very long time.

The only other viewing I had was from the old Anchor Bay DVD. It was a blind purchase then and while the film was OK, I turned around and sold it off almost immediately.

Another decade of life experience made me appreciate this one more now. Great performances all around with Pryor's being a particular standout to me this time. His natural comedic timing also made him a potent dramatic actor, though that aspect was sadly underutilized by studios.



I still appreciate the visual flourish Bava gives to this, even if the narratives themselves feel quite shopworn 50+ years on. One big thing in it's favor is that the stories get better, and creepier, as the movie goes on. The visage of the dead spinster in the last one remains effectively skin crawling even after all these years.

kd5

Watched Captain America: Civil War this evening...

kd5

Had to break up the Marvel binge, needed to watch Blade Runner (International Theatrical Version, from the 5-Disc Complete Collector's Edition) before the 6th to make sure it would play right, or return it. It played just fine.

Tried to watch the DVD of it (from the 4-Disc Collector's Edition) in February but the damned movie froze at the 1hr 27min mark (on all 3 versions on that disc) so I decided to search out the blu-ray. Glad I did.

kd5

Watched Blade Runner 2049 for the 2nd time, liked it even better than the first time.

JeffTheAlpaca

It seems like deja vu with most of the themes from the original trilogy being re-hashed for a new generation.


It was ok but nowhere near as good as episodes 4-6.

JeffTheAlpaca

Still great and for the first time watching it in HD.

Paul_SD

First couple eps from


Enjoying the ride here even more than Breaking Bad, though I don't expect this will feel as nearly a cohesive whole once production ends.

And to my ears, this show has contained some of the best audio/audio mixing I've ever heard. The quality of the individual sounds and the way they are layered in the mix is just sublime ear candy.



Amazingly, for as much of a film buff I've been all my life this was my first time ever seeing this. I owned both TT releases and sold them off each time unopened because I had the feeling this was going to turn out to be one of those classics that didn't hold up for me. Experiment In Terror, which I plan to reassess soon struck me like that previously.
Glenn Ford had his strengths, but I've never seen him as a noir tough guy. I love Gilda, but Ford always stuck out as the serious weak link in it.

Happy to say I was surprised how well this held up. And Ford wasn't too bad. Given what the script allows, I'm not sure another actor could have done much more with the part. Good stuff though. Glad I finally gave it a chance.

2001 from


I don't think I'll ever be perfectly in tune with this movie. Maybe I'm just a philistine.
I did enjoy this last viewing but the ending is still a cold technical exercise that doesn't inspire awe in me so much as a "Hmmm. Ok." response.

Now I can ride out the hype for the new 4K release without feeling any pull to order it anytime soon.

kd5

Watched Doctor Strange this evening...

Goonies85

Tremors. One of my favorite movies growing up, this one holds up very well. The humor/banter between Ward and Bacon is impeccable, and the effects still look pretty good. A great homage to monster B-movies from the past...And I also have a soft spot for the score...I feel it suits the movie perfectly...

Tremors 2: Aftershocks. I remember watching this as a kid and liking it well enough, but I enjoy it even more now, and feel it's a little bit underrated. While Fred Ward is good (as usual), it's Michael Gross that really steals this movie. I love his performance as Burt (and clearly he does, too, as he's reprised the role multiple times). The movie is packed with subtle, funny line readings that I find thoroughly enjoyable...While the CGI is a little sketchy at times, it doesn't really distract...

Tremors: Back to Perfection. Not nearly as good as the second one, but I still enjoyed this...Surprisingly gory/graphic at times...Michael Gross again carries this movie...Probably the best part is how they incorporated the same characters (and actors) that had roles in the original movie (even the kid actors in the original, who you almost immediate recognize, as they sound largely the same as they did before)...

Tremors 4: The Legend Begins. Okay, at this point I know they needed to mix up the series, so-to-speak, so they made a prequel set in the Wild West. Unfortunately, this really handicaps the character played by Michael Gross, as he has to do away with a lot of the mannerisms that made the character so effective in the first three movies...I didn't care for the old-fashioned dialogue, and just overall kind of walked away with a "meh" feeling...Definitely the worst of the series...

Didn't watch Tremors 5: Bloodlines, as I watched that when it came out a couple of years ago. I remember enjoying it and actually didn't find Jamie Kennedy too annoying in that one...Really looking forward to the next one, which comes out soon and I believe is set in the Arctic...

And I know it's only a DVD, but I finally started to go through my Robert Downey Sr. Eclipse Series, so I sat and watched Babo 73. Wow. What a piece of garbage. Non-sensical, chaotic...almost unwatchable. While it's nice having seen it from a historical perspective, I can definitely say that I will never, ever, sit through this again. Hopefully the other movies in the boxset are an improvement over this (I'm looking forward to Putney Swope, but I'm watching them in order so I'll have to sit through two other movies first)...

JeffTheAlpaca

It started out good until

kd5

Watched Spider-Man: Homecoming this evening...

melasnus

This is a solid movie.
I've been waiting for the 3D version to go on clearance.

JeffTheAlpaca

Loved this. Now I see why it won the best picture at the 2018 Oscars.


Tempted to buy it.

Paul_SD

I blind bought this on DVD sometime in the last decade and came away hating it. Can't remember exactly why, but I couldn't unload the disc fast enough afterwards.

Something about it stuck with me though, and the blu provided an opportunity to give it another chance. I was happy I did. I usually enjoy movies about transgressive misfits, especially if there is some charm to them. Also, I've always loved road movies. This hits both those.

Martin Ritt directed three of my all time favorite films (Norma Rae, The Front, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold). This one doesn't come close to those levels- but I gotta say that I enjoyed this viewing of it quite a bit. Maybe it just caught me in the right mood.

Unfortunately the Bd itself is somewhat dire. This looks like a really old master, with a very odd looking amalgam of film grain and scanner noise. IIRC, the DVD was pretty ugly itself and may be why I was so annoyed with it at the time.



Not anything at all like I was expecting- which is a great thing because I had this pegged as the typical "two oldster cowboys friends who constantly reminisce about a vanished era while repeatedly being reminded of how everything is now a young man's game- until they have the opportunity to impart some of their hard earned wisdom on the younger generation."

Thank God it wasn't anything like that! I can see why it's a highly regarded classic. Hell, any film that has generous parts for Warren Oates, L.O. Jones, and R.G. Armstrong is already more than halfway there for me.

inri222

kd5

Watched Thor: Ragnarok this evening...





And that's the last Marvel movie in the series until Black Panther comes out.

sleepyhead55

kd5

Watched A Cure for Wellness this evening. Assessments were correct: A creepy gothic horror mystery...

JeffTheAlpaca

It started out well until



A decent movie but could have been better

kd5

Watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens this evening...

Paul_SD

Interesting interpretation of the final days of Marie Antoinette at Versailles told from the point of view of her lady in waiting/reader (played by Lea Seydoux). Virginie Ledoyen has a small, but pivotal, role as the object of romantic longing by the Queen.
There was an air of Downton Abbey in choice of using one of the "downstairs" help as the prism through which to view the events and other characters. While it ends on a vague and inconclusive note, I liked a lot of the choices that were made by the writers/director in telling the story (though it's really less a story and more of a textured vignette). Seeing the nobles coming to grips with just how much their plush world is about to crumble away (passing around a seized pamphlet that lists just who the revolutionaries want beheaded- and in what desired numerical order) seemed to have more amusing relevance now, than when I originally bought the disc a few years back.
Another quality release from Cohen. Seydoux (and her omnipresent décolletage) also made for some nice eye candy.



Not quite as effective as it used to be for me. I think Arrival may have supplanted it as an overall better alien contact movie - though I'll have to watch it a second time soon to be sure.

Any time Jean Malone is on screen I still tear up. And Foster does have a few still equally effective, and moving scenes. Matt McConaughey's pop spiritual advisor character has always been a bit cheesy (in terms of all the access he's afforded after what seems to be one best seller self help book), although I still find the actor charming enough to let the point slide.

One thing that hasn't worn well for me-at all- is the incessant whoring out of a real news outlet (CNN) and it's real world anchors, by it's parent company Time/Warner, to slicken up a fictional story.
As a kid I used to roll my eyes when films or TV shows, or comic books made up brands or networks to use in a story. I always wished they would use things I recognized from real life to give it more gravitas. As an adult now though, I see the problem with doing that and it really rubs me the wrong way
when they degrade the profession for sheer entertainment purposes.

The disregard for maintaining any journalistic integrity here is abominable to me, and now looks like the "no shit Sherlock" precursor to the epic betrayals of public trust exhibited by corporate journalism in general over the last few years.

I think that aspect more than anything took the shine off this movie for me.

A shame, as I had loved this film, sappy sentimentalized climax and all.

Goonies85

The Boys from Brazil. Finally got around to watching the Shout Factory release. The only reason I ended up watching the whole movie was cause I was vaguely familiar with the overall plot before I watched it. That said, had I not known where it was eventually going, I would've quit watching within the first hour or so. It really only kicks into high gear at around the hour-twenty mark...It's an okay movie, but I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it...and I actually didn't think Laurence Olivier was very good in his role...James Mason was great though...Gregory Peck was okay...

Rollercoaster. Starts off enjoyable enough, but way too many plot-holes emerge as the story unfolds. For some reason, I thought Timothy Bottoms was actually Ryan O'Neal until the end credits rolled...George Segal was good...And the cinematography and scenery was enjoyable...A lesser "disaster" movie, if you will...

Two-Minute Warning. Love this underrated gem. Charlton Heston and Cassavetes are great in it. Very, very cool...Loved how they filmed the majority of it during an actual football game...Highly recommended...

The Ambulance. While I love Larry Cohen, his movies can definitely be hit-or-miss. This one falls in the middle. Plot is pretty far-fetched and ridiculous at times, but Cohen always manages to have some cool New York City footage, and he usually brings out the best in the actors he works with...Also love how they have the main character working as an artist at Marvel Comics (even includes a cameo by Stan Lee as his boss)...A neat, middle of the road Cohen movie...