Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

That was a fun watch. I never liked any of those bands but after reading of Donald Fagen's faux outrage I had to watch it. Too smooth and too many talking heads but it will take a night of The Ramones to drive out the earworms.

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Gambit Kino Lorber Blu-Ray
Micael Caine, Shirley MacLaine. Directed by Ronald Neame. 1966
An English cat burglar needs a Eurasian dancer's help to pull off the perfect heist, but even the most foolproof schemes have a way of backfiring.

"Gambit" is a fairly clever Caper Film that uses the same plot device as Hitchcock's "Dial M For Murder", -the viewer is presented with a perfect crime acted out detail-by-detail, but when the crime is actually executed, nothing, -even the simplest detail, -goes according to plan and hi-jinks ensue. I think this idea has popped up in any number of Sitcoms or Comic Dramas. "Gambit" is set in Hong Kong but shot entirely on Universal's backlot. MacLaine plays a variation on her usual character and Caine, -relatively early in his career, -is fine but still a bit stiff at times. Herbert Lom gets a nice multi-dimensional role as Caine's antagonist. The disc features a commentary track that points out a lot of subtle details that I missed.

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The Northman Universal Pictures 4K
Alexander Skarsgard. Directed by Robert Eggers. 2022
The Viking Age. With a mind aflame with hate and revenge, Prince Amleth, the wronged son of King Aurvandill War-Raven, heads to cold, windswept Iceland to retrieve what was stolen from him: a father, a mother, and a kingdom.

With "Nosferatu" just around the corner, I thought I'd take another look at Robert Eggers' previous film. "The Northman" found some of its inspiration from Eggers' childhood love of the original "Conan the Barbarian" and though the film deals with Vikings it feels more Robert E Howard than any film before or since. The disc certainly gives this visually dark film far better presentation than the theater I saw it in. The "Bonus" material emphasizes how period authentic the filmmakers tried to be and also shows how difficult it was to pull off some of the raids featured in the film. It's a brutal and powerful film to be certain. It's a shame it under-performed, (perhaps it was too long and too dark) but at least Eggers is still in the game. I enjoyed "The Witch" and "The Northman" and I certainly respected "The Lighthouse" though I found it a little too obscure. I have high hopes for "Nosferatu".

"The Northman" would make a good double feature with Nicholas Winding-Refn's "Valhalla Rising" from 2009. I need to give that one another look.

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Conclave Peacock
Ralph Fiennes. Directed by Edward Berger. 2024
Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Once the Catholic Church's most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world and are locked together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence uncovers a trail of deep secrets which could shake the foundations of the Church.

I thought the Theatrical trailers for "Conclave" looked intriguing, - almost "Godfather-esque", -but I didn't catch it in the theater. For most of its time its suspenseful and well-acted. Ralph Fiennes is terrific and ably supported by John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, Jean Reno, and Isabella Rossellini. Edward Berger has a striking visual style and his shot choices and framing certainly help to build tension. Visually the film is very dark and desaturated, except for the crimsons that dominate much of the palette. It feels like the film is intended to challenge The Catholic Church much in the same way Rion Johnson intended to challenge the "Church" of "Star Wars" with "The Last Jedi". I'm not Catholic so the film didn't shock or offend me. Honestly, I found the finale a little underwhelming and a bit of a stretch. We are shown what a devious Political machine The Church is when it comes to electing a pope, yet they overlook a huge secret and an ambiguous character that is key to the film. I was expecting something more impactful, but Ralph Fiennes helps make it worthwhile.

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Things Will Be Different
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Annihilation - Wouldn't want to be under the influence of any hallucinogens while watching this!

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Last Night In Soho (2021)

"If I could live any place and any time, I'd live here, in London in the 60s."

Eloise Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) has left home to attend the London College of Fashion in the hopes of becoming a famous fashion designer. Deciding that living in the dormitory, with her bitchy - and obviously jealous - roommate, isn't all that its cracked up to be she answers an ad for a bedsit placed by an elderly woman (Dame Diana Rigg, in her final on-screen performance) and rents a room from her instead, where she encounters mysterious visions of London in the Swinging 60s and of an aspiring singer at a local nightclub named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy) whom she soon becomes obsessed with. Part time-travel adventure, part psychological thriller, part murder mystery, and part horror (with elements of Giallo thrown in), this is an interesting and very stylish film by Edgar Wright, and one that I enjoy revisiting. Wonderful soundtrack and cinematography here. Great cast, including Terence Stamp as a menacing link to Sandie's past and Rita Tushingham as Eloise's grandmother. If I had one minor quibble with the casting, it's with Michael Ajao as Eloise's classmate and eventual romantic interest as I feel he was miscast here. Still, it's not enough to dampen my enjoyment of the film. A cool movie to watch when you're in the mood for it.

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Avenging Force Kino Lorber Blu-Ray
Michael Dudikoff, Steve James. Directed by Sam Firstenberg. 1986
Retired military operative and martial arts expert Matt Hunter battles the Pentangle, a racist and deadly brotherhood with extreme right-wing political views and survivalist instincts.

"Avenging Force" re-teams the director and stars of "American Ninja", though it doesn't quite have the fun-factor of that film. The first half of the film is pretty good Escapist entertainment, replacing cool Ninja moves with guns, brawling, and vehicle stunts. Michael Dudikoff and Steve James make a good team, though I think James has more on-screen presence than his co-star. The second half is more of a slog, with half the cast, -mostly the sympathetic half, -cruelly polished off as the story just starts becoming repetitive. Sadly, the stunt work gets a little sloppier and plot-holes abound.

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Predestination - this was a rewatch for me of this interesting little science fiction movie with an absurd premise. You could call it the loopiest of all time travel movies, even more so than Looper. The whole story is a Mobius strip. Sarah Snook is excellent in a... multifaceted role, as is Ethan Hawke.

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Alien: Romulus (2024, Dir. Fede Alvarez) – Great practical effects? Check. Great production design and set design (i.e. every scene is not shot against green-screen)? Check. Terrible acting? Check. Horribly unlikeable characters? Check. Terrible, derivative, uninspired, completely illogical writing? Four checks. This movie is awful. Is it like, Alien: Covenant level awful? For the most part, probably not. But then again, I absolutely hated that movie. Is it better than Alien: Resurrection? No. Alien 3? Probably (at least in my mind; some people prefer to be part of a cult that claims to love that “underrated” movie; I differ in that respect; That’s a terrible movie that was doomed from the get-go and Fincher really had no chance to redeem it). In this film, there are so many plot inconsistencies, and so many instances in which the “logic” (if you will) of the Alien franchise itself, when it comes to the behavior of the alien lifeform, the “morphology” of said lifeform, and basically science itself, is simply tossed aside for whatever Alvarez deems to be “cool visuals.” And it does have cool shots/visuals, I’ll give it that. But that doesn’t make up for the horrible storytelling. The idiocy of the characters. And the moronic, completely obvious shout-outs to previous entries in the franchise (many of these “shout-outs” are so blatantly obvious that they stand out like sore thumbs, in the worst possible way; these are NOT clever homages; these are complete and total rip-offs because the filmmakers were too lazy to come up with anything original; and the "wink-wink" way that these "homages" were revealed just pissed me off; like, I get it, you saw the other movies in the series! That doesn't mean hiring you was a genius move! And it doesn't compensate for how awful the script you co-wrote is!). It’s frustrating that this is so bad, cause it certainly had potential. The trailer looked great. The still images released looked intriguing. And practical effects and actual physical sets are ALWAYS welcome. But all of that goodwill leading up to the film’s release was squandered by lazy, inept writing, storytelling, and acting. A disappointment on virtually every level.

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Stolen Kisses (1968, Dir. Francois Truffaut) – Another entry in the Antoine Doinel saga. This one, another melancholic but comedic love story, features Antoine going through a series of jobs after being discharged (dishonorably) from the army. He first works nights at the front desk of a hotel, then becomes a private detective for the bulk of the picture, then an undercover shoe store employee, and finally a TV repairman. Very whimsical, with Doinel acting in his usual careless (carefree?) manner. Jean-Pierre Leaud is again solid in this (although I still feel his acting style is an acquired taste, as I know others that just can’t stand him), but it’s the women in the film that really shine. Delphine Seyrig is perfect as the older paramour that Antoine can’t help but fall for and have a brief affair with. And Claude Jade shines as his true love in the film, Christine, even though by the end one has the melancholic sense that their love won’t last. The films in the series usually wind and weave their way to a conclusion that you can never really predict, but always find generally pleasing and satisfying. This one also shows off the lovely streets and neighborhoods of Paris and just has a feel-good vibe, even when you sometimes (oftentimes, even) find yourself wanting to scream at Antoine for some of the decisions he makes. Regardless, another solid entry in Francois Truffaut’s beloved series of films.

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Bed and Board (1970, Dir. Francois Truffaut) – A much more bittersweet movie in the Antoine Doinel saga. This one, mostly taking place in the courtyard of a Parisian apartment complex, sees Antoine and Christine become parents to a boy, Alphonse. This appears to increase the already apparent tension in their relationship, as it sees Antoine explore other avenues, so-to-speak. If anything, it would appear as though Truffaut was exploring his own relationships with women, as he was prone to doing throughout his filmmaking oeuvre (he admitted as much in interviews he gave during his lifetime). It deals with how life can seemingly get stagnant, at times, but how dramatic change is not always for the better, and sometimes stability is the best course of action. Less humorous than the previous two entries in the saga, it’s still a pretty good movie. And it does have a wonderful first ten minutes or so, with a great propulsive opening score and title sequence, and a great introduction to the various characters in the apartment complex. And once again, Leaud is great, but I still feel it’s Claude Jade that really, really shines. She’s a wonderful counterpart to the Doinel character, who is much more impulsive and reactive than her more passive character. A solid entry in the series.

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Love on the Run (1979, Dir. Francois Truffaut) – At first, a little off-putting, what with all the flashbacks (primarily during the first half of the picture), which make the movie drag a bit. I do get it, in a way, as this movie was released nine years after the last Antoine Doinel picture, so you kind of had to help viewers get up to speed, or at least remind them of the previous pictures in the cycle. After all, these were the times where a viewer couldn’t just go out and “rent” the previous Doinel films. Maybe they could see them if a Parisian theatre was reviving them for a run (certainly not out of the question given Truffaut’s reputation in Paris), but if they last saw them roughly a decade ago, they’d probably need a reminder of where the characters last stood. Without spoiling too much, the film manages to bring together Doinel’s three major love interests: Colette, Christine, and Sabine. And it does it in a wonderfully, though convoluted way. But it all comes together in the end and manages to work. I know Truffaut was kind of conflicted about how he ended the Doinel saga (though, I believe had he lived longer, he maybe would’ve revisited the character later on in life), but this actually feels like a decent finale to the series. It remains melancholic throughout, but it ultimately ends on an uplifting note, all the while managing to tie the entire series together with a neat little bow. Obviously much of the film (and series) was extremely personal to Truffaut, and his personality and passion really carries over to this picture. You can feel his exuberance when you watch the film.

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Meet The Parents


I own this

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Paramount +

This was better than what I expected

Naomi Scott redeemed herself with this after Aladdin and Charlie's Angels though I wish Naomi Scott had the long hair for this.

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1992

Directed by Jim Jarmusch is an anthology of five taxi drivers and their passengers in five different cities on one eventful night

• Los Angeles
  A casting agent tries to convince a young female cab driver that she could have a career in movies
• New York
  A Black passenger convinces his German driver that he'll need help to make it to Brooklyn
• Paris
  An Ivory Coast taxi driver picks up a wounded blind girl after dropping off some tipsy African diplomats
• Rome
  A cab driver describes his sexual peculiarities to a priest who is having a heart attack in the back seat
• Helsinki
  On the edge of a cold winter dawn, it's a toss-up whether the passengers or the drivers have a more tragic story to tell

I liked the first two stories and the Paris was ok but the one with Roberto Benigni was awful.

What is Jarsmuch doing these days since he has not done a film in awhile?

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2024

Netflix

"A young TSA agent fights to outsmart a mysterious traveler who blackmails him into letting a dangerous package slip onto a Christmas Eve flight."

It is not great or horrible but serviceable weekend entertainment.

it felt like a Die Hard movie but not as good and Jason Batemen played the villain.

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"Brooklyn 45" Shudder Blu-Ray
Anne Ramsey, Larry Fessenden. Directed by Ted Geoghegan. 2023
Five military veterans, best friends since childhood, gather together to support their troubled host, and the metaphoric ghosts of their past become all-too-literal.

"Brooklyn 45" features a small cast of characters in a single setting and comes off as a talky one-act play. Every so often, though, someone puts a bullet through their head, or loses a finger, or a bloody corpse starts talking while gurgling blood, and you know you’re actually in a Horror Movie. The cast isn’t bad, -in fact Sitcom vet Anne Ramsey is the most impressive as an unlikely torturer, - but the actors seemed at least ten years too old for their characters. The director says the movie is a statement against “Toxic Patriotism” but at the end of the day it's a ghost story that gets a little muddy and the resolution is more convenient than profound.

Re: Last Movie You Watched Thread
 

This was actually originally developed as the sequel to the Chuck Norris movie "Invasion USA" Dudikoff's character has the same name as Norris' character. However, things didn't work out with Norris being involved.

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What Have You Done To Solange? (1972)

"I want to know all of it, do you understand? All of it."

This is the first entry in director Massimo Dallamano's 'Schoolgirls in Peril' trilogy, to be followed by What Have They Done To Your Daughters and Red Rings Of Fear (which he co-wrote prior to his death). Dallamano began his career as a cinematographer in the 1960s, working with Sergio Leone on A Fistful Of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More, among other films, before turning his attention to directing (A Black Veil For Lisa, Dorian Gray, Colt 38 Special Squad, to name a few). 'Solange' begins with Enrico Rosseni (Fabio Testi), a gym teacher at an all-girls Catholic high school in London, enjoying a mid-afternoon tryst along the Thames with one of his students (Christina Galbo), who becomes alarmed when she sees what appears to be a knife flash in the bushes along the shoreline. Despite his insisting that she must have imagined it, the mood is broken and the pair leave to head back into the city, much to Enrico's displeasure. At home with his wife the next morning, Enrico hears a news report on the radio saying that a body has been found in the woods near the river. Overcome with curiosity, he decides to take a detour on the way to work and return to the spot where his young lover claimed she saw something, a move which does not go unnoticed by the police. As much a krimi as a giallo, What Have You Done To Solange centers around a psychosexual killer who is targeting teenage girls. Yes, it can be sleazy & disturbing at times and is definitely not for the faint of heart as the subject matter is quite dark but, as a giallo though, it's one of my favorites. Fabio Testi, Karin Baal, and Joachim Fuchsberger give excellent performances here. A nice score by Ennio Morricone, as well. Absolutely recommended for fans of the genre and for those who are looking to dip their toes in the water, too. Just be warned ...

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2017

AMC+

"Derek Cho is having a really bad day. After being unjustly fired from his job, he discovers that the law firm's building is under quarantine for a mysterious and dangerous virus. Chaos erupts throughout the office as the victims of the disease begin acting out their wildest impulses. Joining forces with a former client who has a grudge of her own, Derek savagely fights tooth and nail to get to the executives on the top floor and settle the score once and for all."

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No Country for Old Men (2007) — Only the second time seeing this but this is a well done western-drama with amazing performances, most notably Javier Bardem and to a lesser extent, Josh Brolin. I don't think it's a great movie especially compared to a movie like Hell or High Water, but still highly entertaining. ***¾/***** (4K Ultra HD)

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From Darkness To Light TCM
Directed by Eric Friedler, Michael Lurie. 2024
Exploring Jerry Lewis' unreleased 1972 film "The Day The Clown Cried", its mysterious disappearance, and the search for footage.

"The Day The Clown Cried" is one of the legendary "Lost Films". It was never actually completed, and Jerry Lewis has kept it hidden until recently, and it probably will never be made available to the general public. It was kind of a bad joke when I was young, and Lewis was cruelly mocked for the very idea of the film. If you're told "Jerry Lewis plays a clown in a Concentration Camp who leads children to the gas chamber" it creates a certain movie in your mind, and it seems grotesque. Mind you, this was years before Roberto Benigni won Oscars for "Life Is Beautiful", which for better or worse mixed clowning with the horrors of The Holocaust. The documentary tells a fascinating story, -at least if you enjoy Hollywood Behind-The-Scenes stories, -and presents a more considered look at the project and how it fell apart. Jerry Lewis didn't like to talk about the film, but he consented to an interview with the filmmakers shortly before his death. The documentary doesn't prop up the film as a lost masterpiece, -and Lewis is the first to point out its failures. "The Day The Clown Cried" has been one of my "Holy Grail" films since I read a demeaning article about it 30 years ago that made it sound like Tommy Wiseau's "The Room", a terrible film that I can watch over and over. Watching the documentary, "The Day The Clown Cried" seems more like just another ambitious failure and not worth all the derision.

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Wonder Lionsgate Blu-Ray
Jacob Tremblay. Directed by Stephen Chbosky. 2017
Auggie, A young boy with a facial deformity, struggles to fit in at a new school.

I avoided "Wonder" for a while, because it has that treacly "Family Film" look, but I finally caved. It is a "Feel Good Film" but it's more pleasant than sickeningly sweet. I mean, while the film features a disfigured boy and how he copes with a year of school, he's not magically repaired at the end, and one could say his troubles are just beginning. That being said, most of the characters are sympathetic, vulnerable and well-meaning, even when they're making huge mistakes. One device the filmmakers picked up from the original novel is that the film takes little "side trips" that explore some of the characters in Auggie's life and get their take on the story. Owen Wilson and Julia Roberts are effective as Auggie's parents, and despite their star-power they don't dominate the proceedings. It's a good upbeat film.

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Terrifier 3
5/5

Just got my first viewing in. I bought the digital on VUDU since my Umbrella 4K UHD set hasn't shipped yet. A Christmas clasick, Satan... I mean Santa would approve.

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The Silent Partner (1978)

"I feel as though I know you very well ..."

When unassuming bank teller Miles Cullen (Elliott Gould) is working up the courage to ask his co-worker Julie (Susannah York) out for a drink, he inadvertently uncovers a note left behind from earlier signaling someone's intention to rob the bank. Preparing for this, he devises a plan that would enable him to keep a large portion of the soon-to-be stolen money for himself, while only giving a fraction of it to the actual bank robber in the process. When the inevitable robbery occurs, the thief learns through the news reports that the amount reported stolen is considerably more than what he walked away with ... and sets his sights on the teller for the remainder of it. This is a wonderful cat and mouse thriller, with a screenplay by Curtis Hanson based on a novel by Anders Bodelsen, shot in Toronto and featuring a nice score by Canadian jazz legend Oscar Peterson. Christopher Plummer plays Harry Reikle, a sadistic criminal who will stop at nothing to get the money he feels he was cheated out of. A taut battle of wits ensues, with an intimidating turn by Plummer as someone you don't want to mess with in Reikle. Look for John Candy in an early role and Montreal born Celine Lomez as an alluring temptress. Dripping with late-70s Canadiana (in the best way possible) this is an annual Christmas time favorite of mine. Definitely recommended.