I saw Mother in the 90's and was pleasantly surprised and thought it was hilarious and sweet.

2020

Showtime


"The true story of Dream Alliance, an unlikely racehorse bred by small-town bartender Jan Vokes. With very little money and no experience, Jan convinces her neighbors to chip in their meager earnings to help raise Dream and compete with the racing elites. "

^I was going to say I'm in for Toni Collette. Then I read your synopsis and realized I've already watched it. I seem to recall enjoying it!

Wicked: Part 1 Universal Pictures
Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande. Directed by Jon M Chu. 2024
Elphaba, a misunderstood young woman because of her green skin, and Glinda, a popular girl, become friends at Shiz University in the Land of Oz. After an encounter with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads.

I'm not a "Theater Kid", I'm just an old man who enjoys the occasional Musical. That being said, I went into "Wicked" with a certain amount of trepidation. I think it was the all the promotion, much of which left me as queasy as if I had eaten too much Halloween candy. Now having seen it, I have mixed feelings. Cynthia Erivo is excellent, and Ariana Grande is better than I expected (it's just a cliched Comic character), and both deliver strong vocals. It's just that it feels like two movies, -a Broadway Musical Adaptation and a Harry Potter-esque Family Fantasy film with too much emphasis on talking animals. Both are really solid in and of themselves but smushing them together made the dramatic passages feel long to me. I'll have to see how I feel a year from now when it comes to Part 2. One of the benefits of seeing the Tuesday Afternoon Discount Show (which is frequented mostly by retirees) is that nobody felt compelled to sing along.

Recent Turbine buy

Please Don’t Touch Me (1959, Dir. Ron Ormond) – While I would love to give this film the benefit of the doubt, I just can’t help but be like, this is just another movie in this Ormond Family Indicator Boxset that just isn’t very good. Has to do with a rape (yeah, it’s not politically correct at all, it’s from 1959), and a woman’s sexual frustrations (which must of been relatively quite new for it’s time…only…practically nobody would’ve seen this movie). Again, the Ormond Family casts a “bosomy” chick in the main role, and the whole episode seems to be in poor taste. I’m…at a loss to describe this film. Maybe these films in the boxset get better over time, but thus far I am UNIMPRESSED. The film also deals with hypnosis but in a real stupid, idiotic way. And I know the film elements were damaged in some sort of flood, but they were seriously damaged. The film looks like a goddamn VHS cassette (not that that’s a terrible thing; I still own several VHS cassette tapes of movies that STILL have not come out on DVD or Blu-Ray (i.e. Dead Presidents, Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster, There Goes the Neighborhood, etc.). Maybe some will be charmed by this ultra-low-budget affair. I was not. I hope some other films in this boxset will somehow justify the $100+ I paid for it. A stupid, stupid, boring, slog of a movie. Even at a brisk 67-minutes, this movie is shite.

Recent Turbine buy

Recent Turbine buy

It was decent

2021

AMC+

"Four friends come together for a celebratory dinner party at a country house. However, as the night progresses, dark secrets emerge and unsettling events begin to unfold around them."

It was into it even though some of the characters were douches but there was no really shocking twist or climax and did not understand the significance of the dead fox.

The title of the movie is generic and used before.

1990: The Bronx Warriors (1982, Dir. Enzo G. Castellari) – I don’t know, capitalizing on Mad Max and The Warriors maybe (there’s one scene that totally pays homage/rips off the “Baseball Furies” scene from said movie)? I believe this was shot in New York, in the outer boroughs, if I’m not mistaken. Castellari does an okay job but the whole thing seems forced and as though he was out of his comfort zone (and the viewer can feel it). Ridiculous dialogue. Pretty awful acting. And yet? It has its charm. It’s a fun little movie, so long as you check your brain at the door. Oh yeah, also chalk into numerous Escape from New York shout-outs (also maybe a little bit of Rollerball thrown in the mix). The Bronx is essentially shut off and declared no-man’s-land due to rampant crime and roving biker gangs. Hence, a politician’s daughter flees there (for some reason) and a gang of bikers protect her. Oh, and the main character’s name is “Trash.” That’s right: “Trash.” Not even sure what the actor’s name is but he is beyond terrible (but funny, in a way; at least he’s committed in his role). Fred Williamson is also in this, and his presence is always welcome. I will say this: the New York scenery from this period of time looks great. I don’t mean it looks great, but it’s very much of its time, as grungy and filthy and dirty as it once was. It’s like a time capsule. The movie itself? Well, it’s nothing like Castellari’s crime pictures, that’s for sure. I think this was his attempt to branch out (and he’d basically follow it up with two more-or-less sequels) and in that respect it’s okay. The Blu-Ray looks fine. The grain is okay. Decent special features. I will listen to the commentary eventually.

Paddington In Peru. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first two but i thought it was still a fantastic movie. 4/5

Just saw Home Alone for the first time in 20 years or more. So great. Joe Pesci is so versatile. It was a lot of fun, stoned of course, but actually laughed. I never laugh at movies. And, the end also teared me up like the first time I saw it. It’s funny Macaulay Culkin’s brother is more successful than him. He has Emmys for a a show he was on. Movies, very successful.

The Crow Lionsgate Blu-Ray
Bill Skarsgard. Directed by Rupert Sanders. 2024
Soulmates Eric and Shelly are brutally murdered. Given a chance to save the love of his life, Eric must sacrifice himself and traverse the worlds of the living and the dead, seeking revenge.

"The Crow" was pretty much a disaster for Lionsgate, which they've experienced a lot this year. I remember the reviews at the time, so I knew what I was getting into. It's a good-looking movie and a well-produced disc, with some nicely thought-out supplemental features. The movie itself is not very good. It's morose and languid and lacking in energy. The film spends a great deal of time detailing the story of doomed lovers Eric and Shelly. However, it takes a long, long, long time to get to "The Crow" aspect of the film, and it really doesn't pay off the investment. Bill Skarsgard is a good physical performer but beyond the hollow eyes, he just doesn't make the character compelling.

The New Barbarians (1983, Dir. Enzo G. Castellari) – Well, it does have one scene in which Fred Williamson’s character fires an explosive arrow at a bad guy, and apparently the arrow had some sort of time delay, because it attached and then blew the dude’s head clean off (which is hilarious unto itself) and then had the headless corpse ride the motorcycle he was riding for another several seconds. And it was…hilarious. Aside from that, it’s better than his prior post-apocalyptic pic, 1990: The Bronx Warriors, but that’s not saying much because that movie largely sucked. This one does have a pretty decent soundtrack, even though it is only used sparingly. And I am a sucker for Fred Williamson, so there’s that. But overall this isn’t even close to Castellari’s best work. He was much, much better at the crime films he did, not so much for his kinda lame Escape from New York/Mad Max-rip-offs. Wish I could say otherwise but it’s true. There’s little to recommend in this unless you’re dead bored and have absolutely nothing better to do. I will say that the “futuristic” cars did look kind of cool. And Castellari’s frequent use of slow-motion camerawork is a sight to behold. So many dudes are blown up and flung seemingly across the galaxy. So that was pretty neat. My recommendation? Skip it.

Escape from the Bronx (1983, Dir. Enzo G. Castellari) – Don’t have much to say for this one. Is it better than his two previous movies? Yeah, it is. But, it’s still not great. It’s better filmed. It’s better shot. The music (when it kicks in, which is actually not very often) is okay. I enjoyed the scenery. Shots of the boroughs of New York when they weren’t looking so hot. But the acting is wooden. The stakes aren’t very high. Just…not a great movie. Whatever, at least I finished his little Escape from New York/Mad Max trilogy. Wish I had more kind words but I don’t. Watch this at your own peril.

The Chronicles of Riddick Arrow Video Blu-Ray
Vin Diesel. Directed by David Twohy. 2004
Escaped convict Riddick finds himself caught in the middle of a galactic war waged by Lord Marshal, the leader of a sect called the Necromongers. Riddick is charged with stopping the Necromonger army, meanwhile rescuing an old friend from a prison planet and evading capture by bounty hunters.

I really enjoyed David Twohy's "Pitch Black", but I was underwhelmed with his follow-up "The Chronicles of Riddick"; I even watched the "Director's Cut" on DVD hoping for a different result, but I was still disappointed. I was able to borrow the new Arrow limited edition from the library which includes an exclusive cut of the film. The film was composed and shot "full frame" and then matted to create a "widescreen" 2:35:1 format for theaters and home video. This new cut features the film in its original "Full Frame" format, -1:78:1, -which is not all that different to how IMAX is approximated on home video presentations. I don't know if it's the new framing, -it does seem to give the visuals some additional heft, - or the almost twenty years that have gone by, but I enjoyed "The Chronicles of Riddick" much more than I have in the past. The picture quality is very good, and the sound is truly powerful. Arrow has provided a nice package overall.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles - Never knew there was a post credit sequence before.

Strange Darling - woh this caught me off guard. ****1/2

Bloodbath at the House of Death (1984) — Was intrigued by this based on the cover but found this spoof of the supernatural horror genre to be more of a bore and terribly unfunny. There were a couple neat camera tricks but I could not wait for this to end. At least the picture and audio of Vinegar Syndrome's Blu-ray were top-notch... */***** (Blu-ray)

Already have the original FOX release.

Recently bought. First time owning