DWilson

...tick...tick...tick... TCM
Jim Brown. Directed by Ralph Nelson. 1970.
A black man is elected Sheriff of a racially-divided small Southern town.

A sincere film about racial tensions that fits in between "In The Heat of the Night" a few years before and "Shaft" a year or two later. Jim Brown was more of a strong presence than a great actor, but he's surrounded by an excellent cast of recognizable character actors that give the film a sweaty, combustible atmosphere. It's very much a snapshot of its time, with a closing line that perfectly encapsulates the film's message. The one thing that sort of undoes it is the choice of going for a Country-Light score with a couple of well-meaning Folk songs to open and close the film.

JeffTheAlpaca

I remember she was in the Valley of Violence a movie with Ethan Hawke and she was ok in that.

JeffTheAlpaca

MGM +

"A man is forced to face his fears and confront his troubled past. He must find a way to survive when his co-worker snaps and goes on a violent killing spree."

A Blumhouse production but don't be fooled it is not a Horror or Scifi movie according to the Directv description.

More of a suspense drama.

I have seen Kyle Gallner in other stuff but this was probably the role of his career and he was really good in this.

andicus

Dazed and Confused

DeFan

^ Reminded me to watch this. It's great to watch a film that shows and can't be bothered to tell.

DWilson

The Best of Times Amazon Prime
Robin Williams, Kurt Russell. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode. 1986
Haunted his whole life by losing the big game in high school, Jack "Butterfingers" Dundee gets together the now middle-aged and out-of-shape teams for one last chance to change history.

Once again, I'm sampling a movie I passed by on Blockbuster's shelves for years and years and deciding if I missed something.

Ron Shelton was writer-turned-director who had a great run of films including "Bull Durham", "Tin Cup" and "White Men Can't Jump". He just had a hell of a way with Sports Comedies that were dialogue-driven, character-focused, and charmingly Adult. Shelton wrote "The Best of Times but he did not direct it, and perhaps that's why it doesn't quite work for me. Kurt Russell gives a relaxed funny performance, as does the rest of the strong supporting cast. Unfortunately, Robin Williams either chooses or was directed to give a very intense, more broadly comic performance of a somewhat cartoony character and he sort of clashes with the "reality" everyone else is creating. At times you just want to smack him. However, I'm sure there's a lot of people that are looking for just that from a Robin Williams comedy.

JANK

Buried (Netflix)

JeffTheAlpaca

I bought that from Amazon in October and RenoHightower is one of the names for my fantasy teams

OldBoy

Blue Steel…not as good as I remembered. All I thought throughout is that Jaime Lee Curtis’ character is an absolutely terrible cop.

JeffTheAlpaca

Showtime

Maybe I was a little excited since Don Johnson was in it but he has maybe 5 scenes but it did nothing for me.

Maybe Lucas Till hopes for sequels since MacGyver got canned at CBS.

If you are into wrestling Sasha Banks (Mercedes Varnado) has a role in this.

I had no idea she was born in Fairfield, CA a city I visited a lot with my parents in the 80's.

JeffTheAlpaca

1991

"Colombian terrorist Luis Cali (Andrew Divoff) takes an American prep school hostage as a means of gaining his drug lord father's freedom. Privileged yet rebellious students Joey (Wil Wheaton), Billy (Sean Astin), Snuffy (Keith Coogan) and Hank (T.E. Russell) find that they are better equipped to deal with the threat than the mostly ineffectual government agencies sent to rescue them. With resourceful Billy as their leader, the students struggle to defeat the terrorists and save the school."

I own this

Maybe is how it would be if the Dead Poets Society went postal

A little cheesy but remember watching this on channel 36 in the 90's though it was edited with ads.

JeffTheAlpaca

Apple +

Anna and Ryan (Jessie Buckley and Jeremy Allen White) have found true love, and it's proven by a controversial new technology. There's just one problem, as Anna still isn't sure. Then she takes a position at a love testing institute and meets Amir (Riz Ahmed).

I liked it though I wanted to love but probably still worth a watch with all the talented people involved and Luke Wilson heads the institute

DWilson

Sound of Freedom Angel Studios Blu-Ray
Jim Caviezel. Directed by Alejandro Monteverde. 2023
The story of Tim Ballard, a former U.S. government agent, who quits his job to devote his life to rescuing children from global sex traffickers.

A solid, button-pushing Drama with a sincere leading-man performance from Jim Caviezel, who sells more with a look than his way with a line of dialogue. Bill Camp, -an actor I've only become aware of in the last few years, -does a lot with his colorful side-kick role, and Mira Sorvino appears briefly. The film ends effectively with actual footage of the real Tim Ballard and the takedown of a trafficker compound; closing a film with photos or film of the real people portrayed has become a popular Movie trope that I quite enjoy. The film is rated PG-13 but it's an emotionally dark ride that many people won't want to take. Surprisingly, there are no supplements other than a trailer on the disk, though the film's end credits feature a message from Jim Caviezel representing the filmmakers that is a bit of an over-reach compared to the less in-your-face messaging in the film proper.

DWilson

The Man Who Knew Too Much Criterion Blu-Ray
Leslie Banks. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. 1934
A British family gets mixed up with spies and an assassination plot while vacationing in Switzerland.

One of Hitchcock's early films, which he would re-make years later with James Stewart and Doris Day. It's good, but a bit too "British" to be as involving as his later films in the period like "Lifeboat" or "Notorious". There's a masterful assassination sequence in Albert Hall, a queasy sequence in a dentist's chair that might have inspired "Marathon Man", and a clever example of "Checkov's Gun", where a minor plot-point is introduced in the first scene of the movie that suddenly pays off in the finale of the film. Peter Lorre is quite good as the villain, much less "hammy" than he would become later. Of course, since its Criterion, there's an excellent package of supplements, including an hour-long archival interview with Hitchcock.

andicus

The Equalizer 3

Although a couple of scenes in this installment didn't make much sense, I've enjoyed this series.

JeffTheAlpaca

It sucked

JeffTheAlpaca

Netflix

A nurse searches for answers about her paralyzed patien (Famke Janssen) in this crime drama. When a devoted nurse investigates how a patient in her care — who can only communicate via blinking — ended up in the hospital, she uncovers a twisted murder plot.

It felt like a cheesy Lifetime movie with more established actors but I was entertained and nice to watch on a rainy day

JeffTheAlpaca

I wanted to like it or love it but I was lost.

It was ok and worth a watch and I liked the score but overall it did not do a lot for me.

DWilson

The Shawshank Redemption Warner Bros 4K
Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman. Directed by Frank Darabont. 1994
Framed for the double murder of his wife and her lover, banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his tenure in prison, Dufresne becomes admired by the other inmates, ultimately befriending another prisoner named Red during the process.

I remember seeing "Shawshank" in the theater on its opening weekend almost 30 years ago. It was so good that I was saddened it turned out not to be a hit. Of course, eventually it would be discovered in its many, many TV runs, and go on to become a beloved favorite. I hadn't watched it in a while and I wasn't sure if it was a good choice for tonight, but damn if it didn't work its magic. It's surprising that such a dark, dark film can have such warmth and humanity at times. It's also very patient telling its story, taking its time to get to its final scenes, but this was one of those times where I didn't mind the trip.
It looks good on 4K, with the HDR adding shadows and darkness and depth, while the included blu-ray seems overly brightened.

TheMovieman

White Lightning (1973) — Has some okay car chases/stunt work and Burt Reynolds is charming as usual, but the story never really clicked for me and I found my mind lingering. Personally I prefer spending that time watching Smokey and the Bandit again. Next I'll be checking out the sequel, Gator. ***/***** (Blu-ray)

DWilson

The Equalizer 3 Sony Blu-Ray
Denzel Washington. Directed by Anton Fuqua. 2023
Wounded during a mission, ex-CIA agent Robert McColl recovers in a small Italian town that's threatened by The Mafia.

I used to watch the original "Equalizer" series back in the day on CBS. It wasn't the tense, paranoid series the excellent title sequence promised, -it was just pretty decent episodic Television brought up a notch with the casting of Edward Woodward.
"The Equalizer 3" is excellent, and I'm glad to say its not one of those series that falls apart with Part 3. Great cold open, though I don't recall the prior films being this viscerally violent, not that I'm complaining. The film ends with a couple of grace notes that add an unexpected button or two to the story that makes it all the more satisfying.

asianxcore

Five Nights At Freddy's (2023)

Didn't care for much of the film outside the fantastic production values and a solid performance from Josh Hutcherson.

asianxcore

The Marsh King's Daughter (2023)

While I'm unfamiliar with the source material, I'm baffled at how a film featuring Daisy Ridley & Ben Mendelsohn could be so incredibly dull.

asianxcore

Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor (2023)

Although the film doesn't achieve the absolute highs of the first film, it easily surpasses the third entry (Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire) by returning to what made the series so fun/creepy in the first place.

asianxcore

The Houses That October Built 2 (2017)

While I enjoyed the first film, this sequel was an absolute chore to sit through, largely in part to a tremendously unlikable cast.