Hstrybuff1

Following (1998)

An aspiring author who follows random people seeking inspiration for a novel gets into trouble when he breaks one of his self-imposed rules. Ultra low budget (~ £ 3,000) debut feature written and directed by Christopher Nolan that imo is very watchable in either the non-linear theatrical version or in the chronological version also included on home videos.

Had to smile when I noticed the batman logo on the door to the protagonist's flat -- wondered whether Nolan had plans for his highly-rated Batman trilogy even before his first feature was released.

Hstrybuff1

U-turn (1997)

A man on his way to Vegas to settle a debt is stranded in a small southwestern desert town when his classic "1964 1/2 Mustang" convertible blows a radiator hose. Black comedy that imo does not work despite a talented cast which includes Sean Penn, J Lo, Nick Nolte, Billy Bob Thornton, Joaquin Phoenix, and Jon Voight.

Director Oliver Stone apparently stated that he wanted to make a small film he would have enjoyed seeing as a teenager. Perhaps Stone meant his pre-teen days.

Hstrybuff1

'All I See is You' is not the best drama I've seen by far but one that intrigued me -- especially after the extended eye contact in the concert scene near the end.

The relationship appeared close in the early scenes which made what followed seem strange. Left me wondering whether the husband was a control freak who couldn't bear his wife's lessening dependence on him or perhaps a devoted partner devastated when he realized she became pregnant by another man, whether the wife genuinely cared for her partner or perhaps was a cold-hearted individual who simply used him for as long as she needed him.

Don't know if I'll be able to draw a conclusion when I re-watch someday -- perhaps the characters' motivations for their actions are meant to be ambiguous.

JeffTheAlpaca

It started out slow but when Glass started talking it became interesting.

I liked his sweet purple Prince suit.

McAvoy was jacked in this movie

JeffTheAlpaca

I have seen 3 Tobey Maguire movies in 2019 more than the last 10 years combined.

One of Elizabeth Banks early roles in 2003 before she blew up.

What happened to Chris Cooper? I have not seen him in anything for several years.

rogerrobert69

Stanley & Livingstone (1939)

Not epic nor impressive biopic of the two adventurers' meeting in the heart of Africa in the 1860s. Apart from a few second unit shots on location in Kenya or thereabouts, the rest of the film is set in an Hollywood studio with backprojections of the 'Africa' stuff. Even when the characters have discussions in the foreground of the frame, the natives watching them behind are 'added' through the magic of cinema. Although the story is an interesting piece of history (albeit much twisted here for artistic reasons) it could have been a much better film. It's still very watchable with all its flaws, but I much prefered "King Solomon's Mines" from roughly the same period (not the 80s Richard Chamberlain one obviously!). The script wasn't too impressive but at least they shot the whole thing on location with great feeling.

rogerrobert69

Predator (1987)

Now that my son is old enough I can force-feed him all the classics of my youth! Good thng his mom also enjoys sci-fi films, which I'm lucky for because I didn't have much girlfriends along the way that did.
As we were watching this still excellent classic (with way too much muscle flexing and testosterone it is true!) I was wondering what had happened to John McTiernan. He had a slew of hits (2 Die Hards, this one, some submarine thingy, etc) but we never see him around anymore. I did some reading on wiki and realised that after a few blockbusters, he directed a series of bombs and finally was found guilty of spying on some people (with wiretaps at his producers' house!) and did some jail time. I guess that can kill your career in Hollywood! I wonder if its the series of flops that nailed him or the jail time (especially since a producer was involved!)?

rogerrobert69

Contamination (1980)

Ah! Nothing like a cheesy italian sci-fi 80s film to put a smile on one's face! Especially with its star being a well-known and respected québécoise theater actress. So funny to see this rather snobbish-looking and distinguished personality act (not too well too!) in a B-movie!

*

rogerrobert69

Monsieur Verdoux (1947)

Dark comedy from Chaplin that flopped at the box-office but is one of his best films. Although it's a bit of a black sheep amongst his body of work. Maybe releasing a comedy about a serial killer right after the war wasn't the greatest idea, nor did his communist views and/or sympathies help his career at that point (his downfall in America - and not in the rest of the world it's important to point out - has been said to be the greatest example of such a turn of favor in the history of Hollywood) but it's still agreat film. From an idea by Orson Welles that was going to make a documentary about true-life woman-killer Henri Désiré Landru who although married with 4 children regularly 'married' widows to kill them and take their money to support his family! No, maybe not the best timing to release such a film after the horrors of WW2!

rogerrobert69

The Imitation Game (2014)

Still very good after a rewatch. Although we now know that a lot of the facts attibuted to Alan Turing alone in the film were really team work from different mathematicians working with him at Blechley, his story and that part of it was an important one to tell.

rogerrobert69

Thanks for confirming my paranoïa. I really thought they were after me

TheMovieman

That's one of my biggest problem with this movie, I understand taking liberties, but this took one too many IMO. IIRC, Joan Clarke (portrayed by Knightley) didn't actually answer the crossword puzzle and instead was already working at Bletchley Park.

rogerrobert69

True. And Turing had nothing to do with the crossword puzzle test either. And he never met the spy John and the chess player was on his side from the start, and there were 4 people who wrote to Churchill, etc, etc. I think they brought all the incredible stories concerning that particular time and effort at cracking Enigma and embodied them in one hero, i.e. Turing. I didn't take the film at face value but more as a important historic moment in which he played a big part, though not as proeminent as shown in the film. But his personal tragedy because of his homosexuality and the treatment gays got in the UK until the end of the 60s is also brought to light by this film. Which is also important.

rogerrobert69

Independence Day: Resurgence (2017)

Awful.

JeffTheAlpaca

I am not a big Westerns fan but this was different and worth seeing.

rogerrobert69

Heavy Metal in Baghdad

Nice idea but doesn't pull thru. Two American directors/music journalists go to Irak during the gulf war and its aftermaths and try and film a group of metal - which is illegal under the regime and the religion - struggling to make a concert. But the band is so small and without appeal that it seems like doing a documentary on any neighbouring garage band. The context of the war and the incidence it has on regular people was better depicted in other films, docs or fictions...

ScHoLaR oF SMuT

ScHoLaR oF SMuT

poignant

JeffTheAlpaca

Maybe only one nude scene and no frontal and this was rated "R"?

JeffTheAlpaca

Funny Ben Foster who you consider as a serious actor today was in this movie as the dorky guy way back in 2001.

Zoe Saldana was also on this and Colin Hanks and Shane West and other people who were probably pushing 30 playing teenagers.

You don't see a lot of these type of movies being made anymore.

2001 Kirsten Dunst

dom56

The Wandering Earth (2019)

Meh, this wasn't very good. Silly plots, cheesy dialogue, special effects was overdone and not effective. Almost fell asleep watching this turd. 1.5/5

Hstrybuff1

Liked that one -- nice departure from Chaplin's earlier films.

ScHoLaR oF SMuT

watched two favorites.. the horror film jigoku (1960), a japanese masterpiece....... and a john frankenheimer's sci-fi /thriller seconds (1966)

Hstrybuff1

Blue Velvet (1986)

A college boy who returns to his "white picket fence" hometown finds a severed ear, which leads him to discover things about the underside of his idyllic hometown. In glancing at some of the imdb reviews it appears many people consider this David Lynch film a masterpiece while some absolutely hated it. I fall in the latter camp.


Mulholland Dr. (2001)

A beautiful woman seemingly suffering from amnesia after a car accident is seemingly aided in discovering her identity by a bubbly aspiring actress. An engaging David Lynch film that held my complete attention through to the end. Wondered about a few subplots that went nowhere but apparently that was due to the film having been originally conceived as a pilot for a TV series.

Trivia: Naomi Watts was down to the point where she couldn't afford health insurance or rent shortly after filming wrapped and was considering quitting acting and leaving Los Angeles. Her friend from her time in Australia, Nicole Kidman, convinced Watts to stick around until after the film was released.

Hstrybuff1

Wild Canada (2014)

Apparently filmed by some of the same people who worked on the BBC 'Planet Earth' series but with little of the amazing cinematography of that series. Even worse - the series was narrated by David Suzuki whose monotone script reading made watching the series even less enjoyable.