Saturday, July 28, 2018

Weekend Open Thread

With the lights out we're less dangerous.

25 comments:

  1. i recently bought the Jack Ryan 5 movies collection (, the series that's been rebooted more often than my computer. i mean, how many times can a guy says 'i'm just an analyst' then start shooting people like it's his job. kidding aside, i like all the movies in various degrees, but i bought the set because i wanted to rewatch THE SUM OF ALL FEARS. first of all because it was shot in large part in Montreal. also because my cousin, who was a technician of the set, does a very small cameo, and for some reason appear first on the cast list when i check imdb. but the main attraction is the atomic bomb that actually goes off on american soil. something i don't think i ever saw in a movie before, not counting monsters or alien attack. since the movie was shot a bit before the 9/11 attacks, and was probably set to be release around then, i'm sure didn't help the movie, which is understandable. that being said, the movie is very good. it's a good spy movie, with interesting characters that are good at their jobs and decent action pieces. Ben Affleck is fine in the role. i've never been a fan of his acting, though he really got better in the last few years (i think he's great as Batman). the movie is not perfect, but i believe it's worth your valuable time.

    then i watched Patriot Games, which i haven't seen in years. arguably the better of the 2 Harrison Ford movies in the series. i like when movies deal with the IRA (for or against them), it's good story fodder. another one that's worth it. and a small cameo by Ted Raimi who i don't think ever sayid a word.

    the set also contains Clear And Present Danger, which is too long, but good enough. The Hunt For The Red October, which is damn near a masterpiece to me. and Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit, which the great Adam Riske wrote a great piece on it in 2014 and basically reflect what i think of it.

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  2. John Woo made a new action movie: Manhunt. It’s on Netflix. It’s a return to his classic form. It’s awesome. It has some amazing action and some great performances. It’s over the top and campy (think Hard Target). All #HeavyAction fans must check it out. Oh yeah almost forgot there is a jet ski battle.

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    1. I turned that movie off, maybe I should give it a second chance.

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  3. I am going to the drive-in tonight for a quadruple feature of 1960s and '70s low-budget genre films. The bill is Dementia 13, The Slime People, Guru the Mad Monk, and Undertaker and His Pals. Besides a few scenes from Dementia 13, I have not watched any of them. After a long week of rain, the weather finally looks good tonight.

    Though it was not a quiet week for movies, most of what I watched was unremarkable. With a streaming service I use shutting down after this month and the cancellation of my Netflix streaming subscription coming next month, I am focusing on going through my lists on them.

    THE SEVEN FIVE (2014) – A documentary about police corruption in the New York Police Department during the 1980s. Michael Dowd’s descent into working for the drugs trade is an excellent example of how reality can top the wildest imaginings of fiction. With Dowd given the chance to tell his story, there are many moments of doubt about the truthfulness of his words, particularly when discussing his feelings about his actions.

    DIVINE HORSEMEN: THE LIVING GODS OF HAITI (1985) – Compiled from the film footage, sound recordings, and writings of the experimental filmmaker Maya Deren, Divine Horseman delves into the beliefs and rituals of voodoo, or vodoun, like no other documentary I have seen about it. Though it feels incomplete, it is one of the best docs about the religions of the African diaspora.

    Memories of another time of my life lead me to re-watch Divine Horsemen. Seven years ago I worked Saturday afternoons in the media center of a university library. With almost nobody coming in during the summer, I mostly watched movies on my laptop to pass the time. There were over 16,000 DVDS in the collection at that time. I remember watching a lot of documentaries, spaghetti westerns, horror, and exploitation. I found it amusing to be watching films like House on the Edge of the Park or Nude on the Moon in that kind of setting. I miss those days, but life happens and you cannot go back.

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  4. Replies
    1. Agree. For a 22-year old movie series (old enough to drink now), "M:I" is not showing its age (ditto for Cruise, who does a hell of a lot more running than usual this time) and can still both surprise and entertain. And who knew that Christopher McQuirrie (the series' first repeat director) could grow into becoming such a decent action helmer? Even on 2D, the IMAX screening I saw this at had moments of peril and stunts that blew everybody's minds (even the CG ones). Two big thumbs up Tom Cruise's huge (on IMAX) nose! :-P

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    2. Just watched a youtube feature on all Tom Cruise's stunts in this movie. That guy has too much fun at his job!

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  5. I wanna thank Patrick for mentioning the Shudder app recently. I have been having so much fun with picking titles just by their poster or title. I have watched, The Visitor. It was shitty and made no damn sense. I followed that with Pieces. Great trashy fun with an ending that made me laugh so hard. I have also watched Microwave Massacre and Raw Force a.k.a. Kung Fun Cannibals. I am three movies into the Mission: Impossible saga with my eleven year old son. He loves them so far, he just wonders how Ethan can take so much damn punishment.

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  6. I love your name

    One of my favourite films and soundtracks

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    1. The king fu guy in Pieces!

      If you don't know that is coming it's the best

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    2. That was a great what the fuck is happening moment.

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    4. Me too. I followed Donnie Darko when Aint it Cool News was a place to get movie news back in the day. I saw it at the Hollywood Video I worked at and have been in love with it ever since. I am a fan of the theatrical cut, I think the director’s cut explains too much.

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    5. Agree

      Yes theatrical every time

      The only bit I do enjoy in the DC is the chat he has he has with his dad in the garden

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    6. I don’t remember that chat in the movie. It’s been awhile since I have the theatrical version, let alone the DC. I have had this fear that the next time I watch Darko it won’t play the same. Ever had that happen before with a movie you grew up with?

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  7. Yeah definetly. It's sometimes best to just have the memories. I get that

    Have you seen The Endless?

    That's a very interesting movie you can't fully get your head around with some similarities in context and tone to
    Donnie D. It's got that rewatch factor with lots going on and never fully explained

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  8. My past two weeks in movies:

    Fletch, dir. Michael Ritchie (1985)

    A blast from the past and from my VHS filled childhood, whilst Chevy Chase has become a not very nice person by all accounts these days back in the 80's he was one of my favourite comedians and "Fletch" is one that I'm so glad I've gone back to... Sure Michael Ritchie's direction is a tad too workmanlike but this is a film that really gets by on Chase's deadpan drool humour, a fast pace and nice mix of comedy and thriller... Ohh and it also cemented one of my 80's crushes; Geena Davis.

    Fletch Lives, dir Michael Ritchie (1989)

    Having scratched the nostalgia itch with a recent re-watch of the first Fletch film I thought I'd also revisit its sequel which looking at the reviews from back in the day was rather unwelcome BUT I saw it before I took any notice to such things and dug it... BUT now? Sure I dig the first one much more, it has a lightness to it and this follow up certainly goes more for hammering the gags home, yet Chevy Chase was still in his charismatic stage of his career and still has the dead pan drool charm that a character like Fletch needs and that certainly makes the film watchable, dare I say even entertaining even though it relies a little too often on obvious jokes about the deep south of America! Added bonus a decent supporting cast, sadly no Geena Davis this time, including one of my favourite 80's heavies; Randall "Tex" Cobb.

    Phantom Thread, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson (2017)

    So the following words are perhaps going to feel a little half formed as once again writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson proves to be on of the most inscrutable film makers working today... On the surface a love story and one that shimmers with eroticism and a look at the fashion industry but these are but the surface level aspects of the tale that unfolds within. A hypnotic look at obsession, control and well I feel things I will discover with repeat viewings, like his previous film Inherent Vice there is some kind of puzzle at work and I will gladly return to it! Beautifully shot, scored and of course acted, though as grand as Daniel Day-Lewis is I think the real praise should go to Vicky Krieps as his muse, antagonist and love. A film where for once I'm gad to be more than a little dumbfounded...

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  9. A bit of trivia

    I'm just rewatching Night of the Demons 1988 and there is a line in it about the size of the House. "Biggest one in four Counties" 2 years after Stand by me! It can't just be a coincidence can it?

    It such a wierd line to say exactly the same way

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  10. I'm just here to confirm that Mission Impossible: Fallout is the best blockbuster movie in a LONG time.

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    1. Agreed it was outstanding. Hard to imagine a movie being more thoroughly entertaining. Really looking forward to hearing the F This Movie crew’s take.

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    2. I'm trying to remember the last time I had this much fun in a theater. Maybe Mad Max or Ghost Protes, but I think I liked this better than both (even if I recognize that Fury Road is a better film.) It has the fun and intriguing plot that I loved from Rogue Nation, and the huge spectacular set pieces that I loved from Ghost Protes. I loved it, i may see it 3 or 4 more times before its run is over.

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  11. I concur. I thought it was incredible.

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  12. I said Good Luck Topping that as I walked out of the theater. The last time I said that was Mad Max: Fury Road and that is still the best movie I’ve seen this decade.

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  13. Only thing of note I've watched this week was Blindspotting since my theater is playing it (also playing Sorry to Bother You so we have two movies right now that were filmed in Oakland), but I enjoyed it a lot. I could see some people maybe finding it a little heavy-handed at times, but it worked for me.

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