asianxcore

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

Average film, but I didn't think it was nearly as bad as folks were saying or imagining.

inri222

Red Desert - 5/5

A psychologically unstable woman alienated from her surroundings finds comfort in a foreign businessman with whom she can relate to. Antonioni's first color film is a masterpiece of many layers that might require multiple viewings for them to peel away and reveal what's beneath. Monica Vitti gives a great performance and oh! those colors.

hanshotfirst1138

Cat O' Nine Tails- Early Argento, evidently the director's least favorite of his own films. Whatever . Like The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, it's chic-looking and slightly classical, meaning it has aged fairly well stylistically, if not in terms of its plot. Though for an analog-lover like me, the film's many pleasure also come in the form of aged reel-to-reel tapes, darkrooms, and rotary phones. The film is a bit long and leaves a few plot points unexplored, but it lacks the self-reflexive plotting, surrealist tangents, and gaudy expressionistic excesses of his later films, making it more lean and straightforward, and arguably less cluttered. Fransiscus and Malden are an engaging pair, the set pieces are crisp, and the narrative actually hangs together fairly well. Pretty satisfying, if overlong. Still doesn't do those who accuse Argento of misogyny any favors.

Footloose- If this is "the film that defined a generation," the suddenly I don't feel so bad about the 90s. Mediocre but iconic film about a Regan-era town which bans dancing and a rebellious teen who comes to town. A fun if cheesy 80s soundtrack is the highlight, and Bacon is serviceable in the lead. Some good dancing set pieces, but not enough. Not terrible, but rather dull.

Footloose - And the point of this was what, exactly? Craig Brewer's remake is a nearly identical retread of its predecessor with a few minor updates of little consequence. Better choreography, but a weaker soundtrack. Sexy Juliane Hough and a somewhat wooden Kenny Wormald are a decent pair of leads, and good dancers, and Brewer brings some nice sweaty Southern atmosphere to it, but it's mostly a dull remake a film which was dull to being with.

Interstellar- RIP celluloid Christopher Nolan's ambitious, intelligent, flawed sci-fi tale about Mankind's attempt to save the planet by seeking secrets out in space. Well-performed by a top cast, Nolan's twisting narrative's attempts to recall 2001, and the film's ambition is admirable. Though I've always found Nolan more effective as a writer than a director, there are some stunning visuals which evoke genuine awe. Unfortunately, he's too literal a filmmaker to approach the abstract, the film's Spielbergian sentimentalism occasionally feels clunky, and the film's ideas overreach its grasp intellectually. Still, that a studio spent $165 million on a 35mm sci-fi film with this ambition is encouraging, and hats off to Nolan for having the guts to make the film and for having the commercial clout to get it out there. IMO, he may be a controversial figure, but it's a good thing for modern film that he's around. IMAX aren't making any more prints after this year , so if you get a chance, see it in 15/70mm. It's worth it.

Sleepy Hollow- Tim Burton's gleefully Gothic valentine to Bava, Universal, and Hammer boats stunning cinematography and atmosphere. Well-acted if somewhat thinly scripted, though the film's Sherlock Holmes-inflected central mystery works well enough, and Burton's staging of set pieces, while hardly virtuosic, has improved significantly. As usual with Burton, there's more style than substance, but nearly every design element is genuinely stunning and the actors sell the story well enough to make it work. Lots of fun for genre fans, and a terrific Halloween treat.

asianxcore

Bill Burr: I'm Sorry You Feel That Way

Inhumans99

Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb

I saw it with my dad (we both wanted to see the film, and it was my first NATM film I watched in a theater), and we both enjoyed it for what it is.

DJariya

Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown -- 2 Hour Film that aired on HBO which covered the rise of James Brown as a superstar. It's a really good companion piece for anyone who saw Get on Up.

iNCREDiPiNOY

Guardians of the Galaxy + Q&A w/ Director James Gunn & Host Jeff Goldsmith - 5/5

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb - 3/5

American Sniper - 5/5

Goldberg74

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug (Extended Edition) - 4.5/5

DJariya

The Interview via Xbox video earlier today.

Very much worth the $5.99 rental. Got a lot of laughs out of it.

OldBoy

ditto.

inri222

Here Comes the Devil - 4/5

A slow burn atmospheric film about two children who disappear in the mountains and are found the next day. As the days go by their parents notice that the children are not behaving normally and something is terribly wrong. An interesting hybrid of American & European 70's arthouse/horror/exploitation films that stands way above the rest of what nowadays calls itself horror.

Trevor

A Christmas Story - 9/10

Goldberg74

Into the Woods (4.5/5)

OldBoy

The Skeleton Twins...really good performances and liked this on the whole.

DJariya

Best of the Best (1989)


Watched this for the 1st time ever on Encore Action. Cheesy as hell because it was a total 80's flick, but overall a good time. It was the Karate Kid was a little more edge to it. Eric Roberts mullet was hilarious.

I've already seen the 3 sequels, which changed the direction of the series into a hard R rated action series.

BTW, Sally Kirkland was 47 when this movie was made. She was pretty sexy for her age back then.

inri222

Days of Heaven - 4.5/5

In the early 1900's, a man along with his young sister and girlfriend (who pretends to be his sister) travel from the Midwest to Texas. While there they find work on a farm that belongs to a wealthy man. The owner of the farm winds up falling in love with the "older sister" and things start to get more complicated for the trio than expected. Excellent beautiful looking film from one of the greats of American cinema.

RichC2

The Interview and Skeleton Twins, enjoyed both of them very much.

Goldberg74

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (3D IMAX HFR) - 5/5

Captain Phillips (DVD) - 4.5/5

Inhumans99

Beethoven's Treasure Tail

My Other Self

The Interview -- 4/5

asianxcore

Nightbreed: The Director's Cut

Loved it!

inri222

Post Tenebras Lux - 2.5/5

I feel the same way about this film as I felt about Malick's The Tree of Life. This could have been a masterpiece but instead becomes a victim of its own self indulgence. It has important things to say and those things become muddled in the loose narrative structure. A damn shame because I am a fan of Reygadas and this seems like a very personal film.

Inhumans99

Blended.

I know the critics savaged the film, but I admit that it had me cracking up at times. The ongoing gags (the kids head being banged into door frames), Terry Crews...it worked for me. I purchased the DVD as a lightning deal for $4, and it came with a digital copy, so the price was right. I watched it in standard def on Vudu which was a pleasant surprise...it looked decent on a 50" TV.

It cleared 140m worldwide, so it was far from a financial bomb, but with a runtime of 2 hours, I had to ask myself who does Adam Sandler think he is...Judd Apatow?

JimRochester

Not sure I liked making her a sympathetic villain



Not a big fan of Channing Tatum but I'll give him credit here, this movie had some laughs.

JimRochester

+1

I generally enjoyed the movie but it obviously had its faults.