JeffTheAlpaca

HBO

Jaden Smith was in this

A coming of age story and maybe like Kids but with less risque material

JeffTheAlpaca

Starz

Maybe one or the best performances Evan Rachel Wood gave in her career.

Maybe she was channeling the hurt and abuse she received from Marilyn Manson in this role and it showed though her character was a creep.

The movie about broken and damaged people which I am a sucker for.

andicus

The Lobster - WTF did I just watch?

JeffTheAlpaca

It was not bad though weird

JeffTheAlpaca

MGM +

It does not feel like a Scorsese movie and something another director would make.

Tom Cruise is such a douche in this.

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio had some nude scenes and a really hot body back in 1986

Cellar Door

Definitely weird, but I kinda loved it. For more weirdness you should watch Dogtooth by the same writer/director.

andicus

Yeah, I did enjoy it.

I will watch Dogtooth. I would watch Alps, but that will have to wait a while as it deals with a subject I don't wish to explore, at this time.

Cellar Door

Just be warned that Dogtooth is about a really fucked up family, involving parents that mentally and physically abuse their now-adult children. It's all shown with kind of a flat tone and detached perspective, but it's disturbing.

Goonies85

The Celebration (Festen) - Have really liked some other Vinterberg movies I've seen (especially The Hunt), so I picked up the Criterion release of this one. I had heard it hyped up over the years but always avoided spoilers. Being a "Dogme" film, I knew going in that the picture quality wouldn't be great, so let's get that out of the way. In terms of the plot, I could kind of see where this was going early on, but it's the way Vinterberg manoeuvred the story that impressed me, and the way he was so confident in staging some extremely awkward scenes filled with very intense dialogue and confrontations. The acting is terrific throughout, too. The film is largely just dialogue and somehow it feels way more thrilling than a lot of action movies I've watched. I'd highly recommend this one.

Last Round - One of Vinterberg's earliest short films, included on the Criterion. I usually watch the short films included on Criterion releases, but rarely comment on them because a lot of the times they're so early the filmmaker(s) are still developing and establishing a style, so they're usually a little rough. I thought this one was GREAT. It's about a half-hour, and it's not spoiling anything to say the basic plot is about a young man diagnosed with terminal cancer and how he attempts to cope with that sad reality. You can tell, even this early on (he made this in 1993), just how gifted Vinterberg was. Really solid movie, and at a brisk 30 minute length, it's pretty easy to watch. The other short film on the disc, The Boy Who Walked Backwards is pretty solid, albeit not nearly as good as this one. It runs around 40 minutes.

Gilda - Owned the Criterion for years and finally got around to watching it. It's pretty damn good, but not top tier film noir in my mind, despite it's reputation. Glenn Ford is good in this (as he is in a better noir, The Big Heat), and Rita Hayworth lives up to the hype. It's a good drama but it's not nearly as kind of "gritty" or "dark" as most film noirs. This one kind of walks a fine line between noir and drama (sometimes slightly verging on melodrama). Glad I did watch this, though, as it's constantly referenced in film books and documentaries and whatnot...

Ministry of Fear - Loved this Fritz Lang noir film, set during the WWII and the Blitz in London. Ray Milland is terrific as the hero, and film noir stalwart Dan Duryea makes a terrific heavy, as he usually does. The direction is great, as is the set design and just the general plot, about a Nazi conspiracy. Fritz Lang's done better films, sure, but this would be in my top five in terms of his filmography.

Safety Last - Generally when I watch silent films it's more from an historical perspective, as opposed to really being a fan of them. It's just interesting to see how certain filming techniques developed, and honestly just learning more about what acting was like when it lacked sound. And? Harold Lloyd is really great, and the stunts and whatnot are really impressive, for their time. Like, I was kind of sweating during certain kind of daredevil aspects of the plot. Obviously, a lot of the humour is super cheesy from a modern day perspective, but I can still appreciate it for what it was for its time, and I can imagine how audiences that were just starting to see these sorts of films in theatres must've felt. Also, out of the short films on the disc, the one called Take a Chance I actually found more enjoyable than the feature film. It's breezy at about 10 minutes, which I thought worked well given the gags involved in it.

Ley Lines - Another Miike movie. Not quite as good as Rainy Dog, but again I'm surprised to find another Miike movie I actually enjoyed, given my distaste for a lot of his output. I applaud him for being so prolific, but I just wish he was a little bit more discerning with the material that he chooses to work with. Cause clearly when he has a good script to work from, and at least half-decent actors, he's capable of pretty great things. Special shout-out must be given for the Steadicam shots in this movie. One of the best uses of Steadicam I've seen, and this seems to be pretty early on in regards to him using that...

Goonies85

Just before the Bulls/Nets game started, I finished watching...

The Mission - The 1986 movie about missionaries in South America starring De Niro and Jeremy Irons. Wow. Another movie I probably should've watched a long time ago when I originally bought it on DVD (of which the image looks really friggin' good given that it's a DVD and not a Blu). For some reason I just didn't think I'd find the subject that interesting, plus I for some reason always thought this thing was like a 3 hour movie when it's actually pretty reasonable at 2 hours, which feels just right for the movie. The images and setting are incredible. Just the vista shots alone are stunning (almost "Malick-like"; but no, I'm not comparing this flick to a Malick movie, I know he's one of a kind, but the images set to the wonderful score do share some similarities). The storyline is actually pretty great and suspenseful and thrilling and it really never really comes across as a "message" movie, even though it does have a point-of-view that is quite relevant and worth sharing. And the acting is sublime. It's always hard to say a performance is one of De Niro's best because he obviously has so many amazing performances, but I was really, really impressed with him here. Feels different than other roles he's had; very unique, and he really is wonderful in this. Same with Jeremy Irons. Also one of his best roles. Liam Neeson is in it, albeit a very minor role, with little to no dialogue. Clearly one of his early roles. And Aidan Quinn is dependable in a minor role. But yeah, I know from reading the synopsis on the back of the DVD I was like, yeah, I'm not sure if I'm gonna dig this...Well, I was way wrong. Also didn't even know this won the Palme d'Or in 1986. Not sure what it was up against, but winning that award makes sense to me. Anyway, don't be like me and underestimate this movie. Very much recommended.

andicus

Thank you. I appreciate the warning.

JeffTheAlpaca

HBO

A star studded cast with John Hawkes, Robert Forster, Clifton Collins Jr, Octavia Spencer, and Anthony Anderson.

I liked it though I thought it was going to be darker and more serious and less of a comedy.

JeffTheAlpaca

Showtime

A great performance by Boyega and RIP Michael K. Williams

Boondock Saint

JANK

Jungle (w Daniel Jacob Radcliffe)

Goonies85

The Element of Crime - Not sure if my opinion will shift in the future, as von Trier films sometimes take time to sink in, but my initial thoughts on this one are pretty negative. Like, is it technically well-made? Probably, yes. It's clear that von Trier very carefully crafted each shot and took great care in terms of production design and the camera movement and all that, but that doesn't mean it's a good film. He used that yellow filter throughout...so okay, that gave it a unique look, but the overall "plot" (if you can call it that) is pretty ridiculous. The dialogue is full of non-sequiturs that appear to mean absolutely nothing. The entire world is grimy and repulsive (which I'm sure was intended), but seems to have been done just to appear to be more "artistic." Even the acting isn't that great, although if the characters were meant to look filthy, then von Trier succeeded in that. Doesn't look like any of the actors had showered in months. Now it is a morbid story and I don't mind nihilistic movies, in general, but this one just has little to nothing to go for it. Just seems like von Trier is showing off by being "as different as humanly possible." If I could sum this movie up in one word, it would be: PRETENTIOUS.

Epidemic - Damn, another disappointment in the new Criterion boxset. There's not much to say about this one, which was basically made on a bet von Trier made. Again, lotsa schmalzy dialogue that has no real meaning, other than to attempt to sound "deep and philosophical." And it's an abysmal failure in that regard. Given the budget, it doesn't look good, which was to be expected. Von Trier acts in it, as does his co-writer Niels something, who is an atrocious, intensely unlikable actor. His scenes are cringe-worthy throughout. The ending kind of goes gonzo and is interesting in a way but it does nothing to save the movie overall. If I could sum up this movie in one word it would be: OBNOXIOUS.

Too bad, because I like almost every other von Trier film I've seen. I've already seen Europa, but I'll watch it again cause I haven't seen it in probably 10+ years (not since I picked up the original Criterion DVD way back when), and I enjoyed that one. Still not totally pissed that I spent money on this new boxset, as it does appear to have some decent looking special features, including what are supposed to be some good documentaries. Note though, I did check out the two short films on the first disc: Nocturne and Images of Liberation. Both are poorly sourced and look like they were taken off of a VHS tape, but even if the images were pristine, it wouldn't help. Both are beyond terrible. They're kind of typical "arty films" that sometimes get made at film school; trying to be "deep" when they're really just not good. But yeah, unless you're a die hard von Trier fan, I'd suggest avoiding this boxset. Part of me wishes I had just ordered the Dekalog boxset or the Koker Trilogy boxset, both of which have been in my Shopping Cart for years...

Goonies85

Damn, haven't heard of this, but with that cast I really wanna see it. Gonna try and see if it's on one of the streaming networks I have access to...

JeffTheAlpaca

It is on Showtime and probably Paramount + if they carry Showtime programming.

Connie Britton was also in it.

JeffTheAlpaca

Netflix streaming

Natalie Dormer and Ed Skrein are in it.

It got horrible reviews but I was entertained.

JeffTheAlpaca

Disney +

I was not that excited to watch this and put it off for a long time but decided to watch since I am cancelling Disney +

It was not bad and better than what I expected.


Maybe I might buy this on Amazon.

asianxcore

Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

The animal cruelty is always a bit rough to watch but in terms of Found Footage films, I love re-visiting this one.

asianxcore

Frankenstein (1931)

It was absolutely wonderful re-visiting this classic in 4K.

asianxcore

No Escape (1994)

When Director Martin Campbell's film is at its best, its the best Albert Pyun film you'll ever see.

Other time the film slogs along and feels twice its actual runtime.

asianxcore

Scare Package II: Rad Chad's Revenge (2022)

The previous film anthology and its wrap-around story were barely serviceable entertainment.

This time around the filmmakers involved chose for its sequel to be a full blown-out parody bordering on Scary Movie (2000).

The awful results wouldn't have sit so heavy if any of the entries in the anthology portion of the film were the least bit entertaining.

asianxcore

Siege (1983)

Canucksploitation film that is one part Home Alone (1990) and one part Assault On Precinct 13 (1976).

The result is a highly entertaining but bleak 84-minute film.