rogerrobert69

Phantom Thread (2017)

PT Anderson can certainly direct masterfully but I'm really annoyed by his lead characters in general. Still, one of the most interesting voices in US cinema in the last decade...

rogerrobert69

Frank Zappa & The Mothers: Roxy - The movie (1973)

Certainly one of his most interesting period and a great filmed performance. A bit self indulgent (as is often the case with FZ) but a true flashback for those like me who were too young to catch him then.

rogerrobert69

Lust for a Vampire (1971)

By the 70s Hammer had gone head-on into exploitation more than quality (albeit low-budget) gothic horror. LfaV is an example of this. More tits and ass than in any other Hammer so far but less creepyness and a weaker script. Still, it's Hammer so I like it! A cool recent addition to my collection.

JeffTheAlpaca

Back when he was known more for his comedy than his paintings.

It still has some good laughs after all these years and Diaz at her peak hotness.

asianxcore

Colossal (2016)

Love Nacho Vigalondo's work and this film is no exception.

Solid performances all around!

JeffTheAlpaca

I bet this could happen in real life

Goonies85

The Gift (2015) - The Joel Edgerton written/directed movie. I've liked Joel Edgerton ever since I first saw him in The Square, and he's done some excellent work since then, my favourites probably being Warrior and Animal Kingdom. In this, he crafts a very skillful slow-building thriller featuring an excellent cast that includes himself, Rebecca Hall (who gave an accurate portrayal of a confused and frightened woman suffering from postpartum depression), and Jason Bateman, who is great playing a serious, cocky security consultant that the audience is never quite sure about. He is really great at giving a very ambiguous and skeptical (faux?) performance and he's offset by Edgerton's creepily effective portrayal of a character the audience is never quite sure what his motives are. Like I said, it's a slow-build and because of the subtle, at times, performances, and the little nuances in the plot, the viewer needs to really pay attention to understand the true dramatic scope of the whole storyline. Ultimately, it leads to a great, chilling ending. The editing and score are also extremely adept, and they really add to the overall mood of the plot. Best to go into this one sight-unseen, so I'd avoid reading any reviews with big spoilers...

Snowtown - Second time watching this brutal, depressing movie about the true story of the so-called "Snowtown Murders" that took place in Australia in the mid to late '90s. I remember when I first viewed this, and the beginning ten minutes or so are so depraved and disgusting they almost border on pornographic (that might be a slight exaggeration, but try watching it without becoming squeamish and wanting to close your eyes). It's the story of a brutally abused kid who comes of age and is taken under the wing of what looks like a somewhat decent and caring father figure. Little does he know that this father figure carries a dark secret in that he and his friends have a penchant for committing horrific and brutal murders. As the movie drags along, the kid slowly becomes inoculated to the violence and becomes somewhat of an additional member of the crew. While the story may seem cliche at times, Kurzel does a great job directing it and always manages to keep the picture looking grim and gritty. This isn't a feel good picture, and the obviousness poverty of the various characters and the desperate lives they leave can leave the viewer depressed at times, but it creates a portrait of what supposedly was what life was like in that particular community at that time (which apparently featured an abundance of child abuse which is addressed in the movie as well as covered in the brief Q&A that is included on the Blu-Ray). The musical score by the director's brother also really adds to the movie's effectiveness, as it's stark, eerie, and omnipresent. I guess the only complaint I had was that the certain events and timelines can become confusing at times, and it actually took me watching the movie with the commentary to fully grasp certain events that took place. Furthermore, some of this confusion could've been resolved by actually re-editing some of the included deleted scenes back into the movie. Now I know they were probably worried about the movie's length going over the 2 hour mark, and probably approaching the 2:20 mark or maybe even 2:30 with the additions, but some of those scenes really would've helped clarify things for the viewers. That said, still a great movie that I'm glad to have in my collection (even if it's not going to be a movie I watch too frequently, given it's gruesome and disturbing subject matter).

Goonies85

Gravity - I think this was the second time I watched this one, and I had similar thoughts that I had upon my first viewing. Yes, I completely agree that technically it is extremely well-made, with absolutely stunning special effects and a great use of sound. And yeah, I think Bullock delivers an impressive performance (as does Clooney, although I kind of felt that Clooney really just played himself in this particular role...which I know he gets accused of quite a bit, but aside from the Ocean's movies, I think he usually manages to differentiate himself and tackle unique and challenging roles...at times...but hey, he's a movie star and a very likeable one at that). BUT, I just never really got super-hooked by this movie. Sure, certain sequences had me grasping my armrests (the asteroids/debris sequences), but most of the time I was just like, "okay, more examples of special effects, and some symbolism involving Bullock's character and being 'reborn' and whatnot." I don't know, I know so many people that absolutely love this movie and I seem to be in the minority so what do I know? I also found it strangely long even though it's only about 90 minutes long. Not sure why that is, but one factor has to be the fact that for the majority of the movie it's really just one character, whose background story I found a little bit cliche and on the nose, at least when it comes to how her character is motivated in the movie. Anyway, in terms of Cuaron, I still think Children of Men is his best movie, and I've watched that one probably a half-dozen times (I still remember seeing it in the theatres on release day and that was one of my favorite theatre-going experiences...the sound...the scope of the moving was breath-taking).

The Wrestler - Hadn't watched this Aronofsky movie in a while, but I recently read like three books that covered the history of the WWF/WWE, WCW, and regional wrestling leagues that (aside from WWF/WWE) prospered in the '70s and '80s...at least for a while. After reading all those stories that really covered a lot of aspects of wrestling I was unfamiliar with (Disclaimer: I am NOT a wrestling fan, although I did watch WWF growing up as a kid, and have fond memories of playing the various wrestling video games that were released for numerous gaming systems, the best having been WCW vs. NWO on the N64). I like this movie, and Mickey Rourke was given a great, great comeback role and delivers on his end, and Marisa Tomei takes a very, very daring role that I never ever thought I'd see her in, and not only looks great but she does a very good job at making her character very believable. I just felt that the storyline was very basic, and I didn't really feel any surprises along the way. I felt that Rourke's aka "Ram's" relationship with his daughter is very cliche and is resolved a little too quickly. The whole character arc I just thought could've been figured out within the first ten or fifteen minutes of the movie. I did, however, appreciate how Aronofsky shined a light on (what is now much more broadly known) the rampant use of painkillers and various other drugs in the wrestling industry, and the actual pain wrestlers go through just in their quest to entertain the masses. But...I also thought that Springsteen song at the end a little bit cheesy (and, hey, I not anti-Springsteen or anything)...Anyway, it's an okay movie but I still much prefer Requiem for a Dream or The Fountain to this one...

TheMovieman

One Missed Call 2 (2005) — This sequel at times doesn't make sense, but still had its share of creepy moments, not as much as the first film, yet maintained some genuinely emotional scenes though. Like the last one, some fine performances, as far as I can tell, and did like these characters. ***¾/*****

Goonies85

Nocturnal Animals - First of all, a masterclass in overacting, with Laura Linney taking the lead and daring anyone else on the cast to challenge her. And? Jena Malone enters the picture and says, "Hold my beer." And while she is truly, truly awful in her ridiculously over-the-top role, Aaron Taylor-Johnson valiantly steps up to challenge her. Ultimately he doesn't succeed, as his acting in the latter half of the picture is much, much better than that shown at the beginning of the movie. But dammit, all three tried their best, so props to them. Aside from that nitpick, it is a pretty decent, unusual movie, albeit the writer/director Tom Ford seems to think it's a lot deeper and more profound than it actually is (you should listen to him in the brief making-of included on the Blu-Ray; it's really hard not to really, really dislike the guy, and not consider him somewhat of a pompous ass). Anyway, it starts off very much feeling like a David Lynch movie, and then about halfway through switches and seems to be more influenced by a combination of Brian De Palma and Paul Verhoeven (just watch the film editing and its relationship to the music and you'll get my drift). I thought Jake Gyllenhaal was solid (as usual) and Michael Shannon was good. Armie Hammer was kind of blah and was just "there." Actually the one actor that I was actually super impressed with was Karl Glusman, who I'd recognized in other stuff, but couldn't place them (turns out two of them were Noe's Love and Refn's The Neon Demon); this guy was f**king awesome in this movie. Amy Adams was okay as an emotionally distant, confused person. Isla Fisher (who I usually really like) is much better in comedies; she's good here but you almost can't even really tell it's her, given the scenes she's in. Despite all my bitching about the acting, in the end I still think I'd classify it as a "good movie." Probably worth checking out at least once. Would it fall in my top ten of 2016 list? Probably not. But it would probably be just outside that list...

RichC2

Come to Daddy - That was definitely something

Goonies85

The Art of Self-Defense - Not as good as I was hoping for, but it was okay. Eisenberg really played a different character than we're typically used to him playing, and I did enjoy it when he had the personality shift at some point. That was all funny. I thought the guy that played the "sensei" was pretty solid (I think I recognized him from the HBO movie, The Wizard of Lies, in which he was also quite good). Imogen Poots impressed me, and I know I've seen her in stuff, but can never remember what else asides from Green Room...I'll have to look her up later. The humour was definitely dark and unique in this, and despite the humour it still has some serious beats. Just a quirky movie...One of those that I might revisit down the road and it might grow on me over time...Definitely not the type of movie you're going to forget anytime soon.

RichC2

Poots has been working steady for 15 years, I mostly know her from 28 Weeks Later, the remake of Fright Night, and Filth.

TheMovieman

Color Out of Space (2019) — Trippy movie for sure, but having never read anything from H.P. Lovecraft, probably don't appreciate it compared to most but visually interesting and also bizarre, felt like Close Encounters of the Third Kind meets Donnie Darko. One thing setting it back was some, presumably, unintentionally funny scenes, one where Cage yells at some fruit. But his performance was alright, and young Madeleine Arthur was probably the standout.

I don't know how to feel, certainly does stand out from the rest in terms of horror-sci-fi, I'll give it that much. ***/*****

TheMovieman

One Missed Call 3: Final (2006) — Really liked the first two movies of this trilogy, but this third entry, while had some interesting ideas and even some social commentary with characters fighting one another to stay alive, the creepy factor was non-existent, acting was rather bland and had some lame moments, most notably attempting to defeat ghost girl via mass e-mails. Shame it ended this way. **/*****

JeffTheAlpaca

It was alright but no way in the same league as the Shining

The 3 hr director's cut was really long and Rosie the Hat was evil.

Goonies85

In a Valley of Violence - Pretty good Ti West-directed Western paying homage to Sergio Leone (the opening titles are great in that way, as is the majority of the score). Hawke is decent, Travolta maybe not so much. James Ransone is merely okay but I think that's cause I almost kept comparing him Ben Foster's character in 3:10 to Yuma, because both roles and acting styles are very similar. I just couldn't help but compare and Foster is definitely much, much better playing that type of character. But Ransone still manages to hold his own. Some of the movie can seem a little hokey, but I think that's kind of intended as it wants to act as an old-fashioned movie...Not Ti West's best movie, but far from his worst (i.e. The Roost and Trigger Man)...

Goonies85

Knock Knock - Can't remember what I thought the first time I watched this, but this is f**king terrible. Atrocious. Not anywhere close to being "deep," which I think is what Eli Roth thinks. I believe he thought he was making something similar to Hard Candy, but instead he made another shitty movie to add to his filmography. Stupid character decisions, completely unbelievable situations, some truly horrible, horrible acting (I know part of that was the point with the two girls, but those roles could've been handled much differently yet still effectively by more talented and less irritating actresses). The ending is stupid beyond belief. The premise itself could've produced a good enough movie, had it been refined and worked on and honed. Instead it felt like a first (and incomplete) draft was shot filled with a ton of stupid improvising.

Goonies85

It Comes At Night - Good movie, I like it; albeit maybe not quite as much as I liked it upon original viewing. The entire cast is great. The only subplot I didn't like was one involving Paul's (Edgerton) son (viewers will know what I'm talking about. Aside from that, it was a nice little tense movie. Also appreciate how little is explained. It's just a group of people trying to survive in a world that has seemingly broken down. Lots of morality comes into play and is handled with subtlety, for the most part. The camerawork and direction are also very good, especially the nighttime stuff. Glad I rewatched this...

JeffTheAlpaca

Ana De Armas the only memorable thing in that movie

dom56

The Lion King (2019) - Watch it on Disney + and thought it was fine. I still prefer the animated classic. Had a laugh on the part from Beauty And The Beast.

RichC2

Slaughterhouse Five (1972) - First time seeing this, probably the last. Didn't like it at all, felt like it didn't work as a standalone film or adaptation.

Goonies85

I really wish she would've stopped saying "baby" so much...I just found that irritating...Maybe Roth told her to do that, but whoever was responsible should've told her to cut it out...

OldBoy

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw (3D)...i’ll tell ya, I think this is a completely ridiculous movie, but made more fun bc of chemistry of Statham and Johnson. I mean so over the top, but in a very fun way. The 3D was ok. The action scenes in FPS style were good. Coming down the office building. The street chase that ensues. Very fun. Johnson just looks ridiculous with that body. Just hope it’s natural. But he’s damn charismatic. They both are. But Johnson exudes presence. And, I like anything Elba does. It hams it up real good as baddie. The girl reminds me of young Sienna Miller. Not bad in visuals, but def not nearly best I ever saw. Audio was stellar.

JeffTheAlpaca

Surprised this has a 68% score on the tomato meter at Rotten Tomatoes

I am getting tired of Comic Book movies but this and the Dark Knight movies are some of my favorites.

Too bad the masses have not watched any of Joaquin's work prior to this and just now realize his genius.

Maybe they could make several different cuts of the movies with all the different takes he did during the talk show appearance.