Atomic Blonde (2017): they're trying so hard to make John Wick with a girl, it's like they didn't understand why the later worked. Not because of Keanu (well, it helped), but because of the world they made. It's its own world with its own rules. AB tried to do Wick at the Berlin Wall, in the real world. Charlize Theron is fine, everybody's fine in the movie, it just never really comes together.
Warcraft (2016): i like this one (never played WoW in my life, but i played the original RTS game), but it has a problem with casting. Every human characters is miscast, except maybe for Ruth Negga who's always awesome.
Bumblebee (2018): all i'm asking is, where's my War For Cybertron movie. Screw the humans, give us only robots, please, i'm begging you. Other than that, it's a perfectly fine Iron Giant ripoff, with the always great Hailee Steinfeld (who was perfect in Dickinson, i highly recommend you watch that)
Spider-Man No way Home (2021): i like Homecoming, i don't care about Far From Home, and i like this one because of all of the legacy players (i mean, Alfred Molina is always killing it, and Dafoe is all in all the time). Which made me upgrade the Original trilogy, and the Amazing duology to 4k (arriving tonight, thanks Amazon Prime). Because yes, i like all 5 of them way more than any of the modern Spidey stuff. There is some strong stuff in here, and some not so strong. But the scene when all 3 Spideys meet for the first time is one of the best dialogue scene in all of the Spidey movies. Or when Garfield's Spidey catch MJ when Green Goblin attack, it's a short bit, but you can see the sadness of his memory from the past and the happiness of saving MJ.
Quiz Lady (2023): i'm not a fan of Awkwafina, but here she surprisingly takes the role of the shy sister instead of the crazy one, which you'd expect her to be. It's a fun little movie that i would gladly rewatch. Will Ferrel has a small role and prove again that he can do drama
{patrick: i see what you did with the image of the day. love it}
The Killer (2023 Netflix)
Seven Word Review: "Fincher. Fassbender. Fu@king Fantastic Fun Flick"
Longer review - spoiler free:
Absolutely adored this movie. This is very much a character study where we spend 2 hours in the head of a stoic assassin. The movie takes its time and rewards the patient. Theres alot of ways where this flick could have been mediocre however in the deft hands of director Fincher, with the tone and atmosphere supported by Reznor/Ross, and the brilliance that is Fassbender, its phenomenal. I think Fassbender is one of the best actors out there and this flick helped me figure out why...i can sum it up in one word..."compelling" . Every time i see him in a movie i find him compelling. For this movie we go along with him and learn of his steadfast professionalism and singularly focused approach towards his goal. Im not one who typically does best-of lists but if i were i have zero doubts this movie would very likely top the years flicks for me. I want to write a lot more about the movie, set pieces, and one amazing dinner, but the movie just came out and i do not want to spoil a single thing. Just watch it. trust me.
One other comment...the movie is very serious but does have a mischievous sense of humor. There is a running joke that i will label "the fletch gag" (trademark Mashke) which is in place solely for viewers over the age of 40 and hilarious.
I Love this F@#$ing Movie.
Peace .n. "Stick to your plan. Anticipate. Dont improvise"
THE MARVELS (2023). While I'll admit it's a mixed bag, I did enjoy it. The big emotional highs didn't hit for me, but I felt the sillier and quirkier parts were quite delightful. I even laughed at the cat gags.
V FOR VENDETTA (2006) Really love this movie's style and energy. Despite the heady and possibly problematic themes, it's a movie I could watch anytime.
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (2023) What can I possibly add at this point? It's just as good as everyone's been saying.
CAPTAIN BLOOD (1935) Errol Flynn! Basil Rathbone! Olivia de Havilland! I mean, come on.
SOYLENT GREEN (1973) A real oddity. More hazy dreamlike stuff than it is science fiction. And the "green" part is food coloring, right? Like in Mountain Dew?
Captain Blood is fun. It is hard to go wrong with the films Errol Flynn made in the 1930s. He was all about entertaining an audience in the boldest way possible.
Bourne Supremacy is my favorite Bourne. I know people don't like it, I thought ok maybe I was wrong, revisiting it years later - nope, still my favorite. It reads more mystery, less action maybe?
I liked all 3 of them, but I think the 1st was my favourite. It's been a long time since I revisited them. I've been wanting to show them to my kids, but the opportunity hasn't presented itself yet. I know people complain a lot (online) about the heavy use of shaky cam in the Greengrass movies, but I thought it worked well overall to add to the sense of action. There might have been a couple times I thought "Well, that's just too much" on a re-watch.
I've seen the 4th and 5th movies, but have no memory of them other than they're not as good as the first 3. I think the 4th had a ton of "control center room" type scenes.
Gonna have to wait on this one. There's a reprint of the Complete First Volume coming this week, so i'll get it then. The other volumes seems to be harder to find. Since it's french comic book i though they would be easier to find. There's usually a ton of them in the used book stores around town
Les maitres du temps (a.k.a. Timemasters or The Masters of Time) 1982: to me (and my friends) a masterpiece of french sci-fi/fantasy, one of the movie i've watched the most in my life. Drawn by the great Moebius. I've been holding on to my DVD for years and we're due for a proper blu-ray release. Apparently, It was recently restored and released on blu-ray in Japan. Makes me dream of a possible Criterion release (the director already has another movie in the collection, Fantastic Planet).
Hmm, this doesn't seem to be streaming anywhere in Canada. Although there's a English dub on Youtube. It's a few minutes shorter than what the runtime is on IMDb. I wonder what bit is missing?
I looked at the english dub. You don't seem to be missing anything. Maybe just a framerate conversion thing. I also found a french dvd rip that runs the same as what IMDB is saying, if you speak french. There's also a dvd on amazon.ca that'll cost you 30$, which is not cheap for a dvd
I do understand French, but I'll probably just watch the English dub one (I don't want to spend $30 on a DVD!). For animated stuff, a dub isn't distracting like it can be with live action. Thanks for checking that nothing was missing! Yes, perhaps just a slight frame rate difference.
I strongly recommend the french rip. The voices on the english dub are just not there. Especially the 2 tiny psychic gnomes (you'll see who i mean when you get to that part)
Hello everyone! After not really planning to watch many scary movies over October, I finally watched a bunch, mostly new ones to me. Some of the highlights were Twins of Evil (1971) which I didn’t even realise was a vampire movie until half way through. It was dripping with a great atmosphere, and the medieval setting was well done. Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) was quite good, despite it’s bad reputation. Dolls (1986) was a little movie with lots of great puppets and stop animation. Once the doll stuff began, I had a big grin on my face the rest of the runtime. Phantom of the Paradise (1974) was better than I thought possible, despite going in with high expectations. Also introduced Silence of the Lambs (1991) to my son, and he really loved it. I think it might have been the only scary movie we watched together though. My kids are still fairly hesitant to watch horror.
A couple other movies I watched recently: Mountains of the Moon (1990, dir. Bob Rafelson) was a historical adventure biopic about 2 explorers that were trying to find the origin of the Nile River in the late 19th century. It was more about the pair of explorers than about the mission. How they became fast friends, and how the ambition of one of them eventually led to them becoming enemies/rivals. The DP was Roger Deakins and it is absolutely gorgeous and filmed in Kenya. I loved this a lot and had never heard of it before.
Black Rain (1989, dir. Ridley Scott) was about a hard boiled cop (Micheal Douglas) that doesn’t play by the rules that finds himself in Japan chasing after an escaped killer. Douglas is playing such a shit-bag in this, but of course we come to love him by the end. I still haven’t watched a R. Scott movie that I didn’t love, and I only have a few more to complete his filmography :)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011, dir. Fincher) was just ok. I’m with Patrick on this one, in that I don’t get the hype. The girl being a super hacker that can basically do/find anything in less than a minute on a computer was completely ridiculous.
I luckily got to see Killers of the Flower Moon in the theatre. Probably my favourite movie of the year so far. And maybe my favourite ending credits of all time.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962, dir. John Ford) was soooo good! It was a very thoughtful western, and seemed to be reflecting on how the west was changing, the rule of “the gun” was being replaced by the rule of law and the tough guys like Valance (played by Lee Marvin) and John Wayne’s character were part of a dying breed. I really liked all the scenes in the kitchen, where there was always a flurry of activity! This is a near perfect movie.
Great to hear Phantom of the Paradise played so well! Been meaning to revisit for a long time...especially as i wasnt able to make the F This showing of it last month.
I remember seeing the trailer for Mountains of the Moon on VHS tapes. Being a teenager, it was not a film that attracted my attention. Explorers in Africa was not of much interest to me then.
THE VAN (1977) – How many months until Junesploitation? In honor of a van event at a local drive-in that I, sadly, could not attend, I watched this drive-in movie. It’s a tale of a young man hoping that his new custom van has aphrodisiacal qualities. The plan kind of works, actually, but mainly as a boost to his confidence. This is an entertaining time-capsule of 1970s van culture. (Check out a documentary called VANNIN’ to learn more about that.) It is also about experiencing the simple pleasures of hanging out and acting in stupid ways. Stupid can be fun, however.
My Noirvember watches continued this week. DEATH WHISTLES THE BLUES (1962) is a Jess Franco production about a smuggler, presumably living on a Caribbean island, whose enemies come to tear down his life. It is a solid noir from very early in Franco’s Spanish career, when he was still making conventional mainstream films. The next, TWO O’CLOCK COURAGE (1945), is an early film noir from one of its masters, Anthony Mann. The comedic aspect of the storyline about an amnesiac lets the film down a lot. By coincidence, I watched another noir dealing with amnesia, this time concerning a WWII veteran recovering from a facial injury. SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT (1946) was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, responsible for the classic All About Eve. SOMEWHERE… does not venture into new territory but still held my interest.
CURUCU, BEAST OF THE AMAZON (1956) – As 1950s Univeral Studios productions go, CURUCU is the weakest one that I have seen. In the middle of the Amazon rain forest, a fearsomely ridiculous parrot monster terrorizes the natives, causing a labor shortage on an American-owned plantation. Naturally, the culprit has to be destroyed. Coming along on the journey is an attractive female medical researcher who needs saving on several occasions. B-movie jungle tropes and stock footage abound, but there was at least some location shooting.
I forgot to mention that, Paul. Did he ever look young, though?
I am already thinking about what I would like to get to next June. I have picked up numerous titles (Mondo Macabro sale, Grindhouse Video) recently that would fit nicely into that month. There are so many titles already in my collection that I have not watched, too. I should have a film for most of the regular Junesploitation categories at this point.
Atomic Blonde (2017): they're trying so hard to make John Wick with a girl, it's like they didn't understand why the later worked. Not because of Keanu (well, it helped), but because of the world they made. It's its own world with its own rules. AB tried to do Wick at the Berlin Wall, in the real world. Charlize Theron is fine, everybody's fine in the movie, it just never really comes together.
ReplyDeleteWarcraft (2016): i like this one (never played WoW in my life, but i played the original RTS game), but it has a problem with casting. Every human characters is miscast, except maybe for Ruth Negga who's always awesome.
Bumblebee (2018): all i'm asking is, where's my War For Cybertron movie. Screw the humans, give us only robots, please, i'm begging you. Other than that, it's a perfectly fine Iron Giant ripoff, with the always great Hailee Steinfeld (who was perfect in Dickinson, i highly recommend you watch that)
Spider-Man No way Home (2021): i like Homecoming, i don't care about Far From Home, and i like this one because of all of the legacy players (i mean, Alfred Molina is always killing it, and Dafoe is all in all the time). Which made me upgrade the Original trilogy, and the Amazing duology to 4k (arriving tonight, thanks Amazon Prime). Because yes, i like all 5 of them way more than any of the modern Spidey stuff. There is some strong stuff in here, and some not so strong. But the scene when all 3 Spideys meet for the first time is one of the best dialogue scene in all of the Spidey movies. Or when Garfield's Spidey catch MJ when Green Goblin attack, it's a short bit, but you can see the sadness of his memory from the past and the happiness of saving MJ.
Quiz Lady (2023): i'm not a fan of Awkwafina, but here she surprisingly takes the role of the shy sister instead of the crazy one, which you'd expect her to be. It's a fun little movie that i would gladly rewatch. Will Ferrel has a small role and prove again that he can do drama
dude...a War for Cybertron movie would fix a LOT of the issues with that series and probably win me back. literally no humans. dig it!
DeleteThere was a PC game, a while ago with that title. It was awesome
Delete{patrick: i see what you did with the image of the day. love it}
ReplyDeleteThe Killer (2023 Netflix)
Seven Word Review: "Fincher. Fassbender. Fu@king Fantastic Fun Flick"
Longer review - spoiler free:
Absolutely adored this movie. This is very much a character study where we spend 2 hours in the head of a stoic assassin. The movie takes its time and rewards the patient. Theres alot of ways where this flick could have been mediocre however in the deft hands of director Fincher, with the tone and atmosphere supported by Reznor/Ross, and the brilliance that is Fassbender, its phenomenal. I think Fassbender is one of the best actors out there and this flick helped me figure out why...i can sum it up in one word..."compelling" . Every time i see him in a movie i find him compelling. For this movie we go along with him and learn of his steadfast professionalism and singularly focused approach towards his goal. Im not one who typically does best-of lists but if i were i have zero doubts this movie would very likely top the years flicks for me. I want to write a lot more about the movie, set pieces, and one amazing dinner, but the movie just came out and i do not want to spoil a single thing. Just watch it. trust me.
One other comment...the movie is very serious but does have a mischievous sense of humor. There is a running joke that i will label "the fletch gag" (trademark Mashke) which is in place solely for viewers over the age of 40 and hilarious.
I Love this F@#$ing Movie.
Peace .n. "Stick to your plan. Anticipate. Dont improvise"
Mashke
(PS: ha! i missed a word in my 7 word review. please add "Fabulous" where you see fit)
DeleteI can't wait to watch this!
DeleteTHE MARVELS (2023). While I'll admit it's a mixed bag, I did enjoy it. The big emotional highs didn't hit for me, but I felt the sillier and quirkier parts were quite delightful. I even laughed at the cat gags.
ReplyDeleteV FOR VENDETTA (2006) Really love this movie's style and energy. Despite the heady and possibly problematic themes, it's a movie I could watch anytime.
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (2023) What can I possibly add at this point? It's just as good as everyone's been saying.
CAPTAIN BLOOD (1935) Errol Flynn! Basil Rathbone! Olivia de Havilland! I mean, come on.
SOYLENT GREEN (1973) A real oddity. More hazy dreamlike stuff than it is science fiction. And the "green" part is food coloring, right? Like in Mountain Dew?
Soylent Green is PEOPLE!!!!
DeleteCaptain Blood is fun. It is hard to go wrong with the films Errol Flynn made in the 1930s. He was all about entertaining an audience in the boldest way possible.
DeleteBourne Supremacy is my favorite Bourne. I know people don't like it, I thought ok maybe I was wrong, revisiting it years later - nope, still my favorite. It reads more mystery, less action maybe?
ReplyDeleteWhat? People don't like it? Who? It's the best of the series
DeleteOh I'd only heard people complain about the shaky camera, while singing the praises of the first and third. I'm glad to hear it's appreciated.
DeleteI liked all 3 of them, but I think the 1st was my favourite. It's been a long time since I revisited them. I've been wanting to show them to my kids, but the opportunity hasn't presented itself yet. I know people complain a lot (online) about the heavy use of shaky cam in the Greengrass movies, but I thought it worked well overall to add to the sense of action. There might have been a couple times I thought "Well, that's just too much" on a re-watch.
DeleteI've seen the 4th and 5th movies, but have no memory of them other than they're not as good as the first 3. I think the 4th had a ton of "control center room" type scenes.
4th is fine, but not with Damon, so people dismissed it. 5th is very bad
DeleteThe Killer (2023) is as great as everybody said. Based on a french comic book. So tomorrow i'm going out to get it
ReplyDeletelet me know what you think of the comic! i used to adore graphic novels...been a while since i got a new one.
DeleteGonna have to wait on this one. There's a reprint of the Complete First Volume coming this week, so i'll get it then. The other volumes seems to be harder to find. Since it's french comic book i though they would be easier to find. There's usually a ton of them in the used book stores around town
DeleteLes maitres du temps (a.k.a. Timemasters or The Masters of Time) 1982: to me (and my friends) a masterpiece of french sci-fi/fantasy, one of the movie i've watched the most in my life. Drawn by the great Moebius. I've been holding on to my DVD for years and we're due for a proper blu-ray release. Apparently, It was recently restored and released on blu-ray in Japan. Makes me dream of a possible Criterion release (the director already has another movie in the collection, Fantastic Planet).
ReplyDeleteHmm, this doesn't seem to be streaming anywhere in Canada. Although there's a English dub on Youtube. It's a few minutes shorter than what the runtime is on IMDb. I wonder what bit is missing?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI looked at the english dub. You don't seem to be missing anything. Maybe just a framerate conversion thing. I also found a french dvd rip that runs the same as what IMDB is saying, if you speak french. There's also a dvd on amazon.ca that'll cost you 30$, which is not cheap for a dvd
DeleteI do understand French, but I'll probably just watch the English dub one (I don't want to spend $30 on a DVD!). For animated stuff, a dub isn't distracting like it can be with live action. Thanks for checking that nothing was missing! Yes, perhaps just a slight frame rate difference.
DeleteI strongly recommend the french rip. The voices on the english dub are just not there. Especially the 2 tiny psychic gnomes (you'll see who i mean when you get to that part)
Deletehttps://youtu.be/QjRVzKNetAQ?feature=shared
And for those who want to watch in english
Deletehttps://youtu.be/IAmRNTPjGA4?feature=shared
Hello everyone! After not really planning to watch many scary movies over October, I finally watched a bunch, mostly new ones to me. Some of the highlights were Twins of Evil (1971) which I didn’t even realise was a vampire movie until half way through. It was dripping with a great atmosphere, and the medieval setting was well done. Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) was quite good, despite it’s bad reputation. Dolls (1986) was a little movie with lots of great puppets and stop animation. Once the doll stuff began, I had a big grin on my face the rest of the runtime. Phantom of the Paradise (1974) was better than I thought possible, despite going in with high expectations. Also introduced Silence of the Lambs (1991) to my son, and he really loved it. I think it might have been the only scary movie we watched together though. My kids are still fairly hesitant to watch horror.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteA couple other movies I watched recently: Mountains of the Moon (1990, dir. Bob Rafelson) was a historical adventure biopic about 2 explorers that were trying to find the origin of the Nile River in the late 19th century. It was more about the pair of explorers than about the mission. How they became fast friends, and how the ambition of one of them eventually led to them becoming enemies/rivals. The DP was Roger Deakins and it is absolutely gorgeous and filmed in Kenya. I loved this a lot and had never heard of it before.
DeleteBlack Rain (1989, dir. Ridley Scott) was about a hard boiled cop (Micheal Douglas) that doesn’t play by the rules that finds himself in Japan chasing after an escaped killer. Douglas is playing such a shit-bag in this, but of course we come to love him by the end. I still haven’t watched a R. Scott movie that I didn’t love, and I only have a few more to complete his filmography :)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011, dir. Fincher) was just ok. I’m with Patrick on this one, in that I don’t get the hype. The girl being a super hacker that can basically do/find anything in less than a minute on a computer was completely ridiculous.
I luckily got to see Killers of the Flower Moon in the theatre. Probably my favourite movie of the year so far. And maybe my favourite ending credits of all time.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962, dir. John Ford) was soooo good! It was a very thoughtful western, and seemed to be reflecting on how the west was changing, the rule of “the gun” was being replaced by the rule of law and the tough guys like Valance (played by Lee Marvin) and John Wayne’s character were part of a dying breed. I really liked all the scenes in the kitchen, where there was always a flurry of activity! This is a near perfect movie.
Great to hear Phantom of the Paradise played so well! Been meaning to revisit for a long time...especially as i wasnt able to make the F This showing of it last month.
DeleteI remember seeing the trailer for Mountains of the Moon on VHS tapes. Being a teenager, it was not a film that attracted my attention. Explorers in Africa was not of much interest to me then.
DeleteThe Blues Brothers (1980 4k UHD)
ReplyDeleteThe greatest movie of all time.
In 4k.
Perfect.
Strongly agreed. The first 4k movie i bought when i got my tv
DeleteTHE VAN (1977) – How many months until Junesploitation? In honor of a van event at a local drive-in that I, sadly, could not attend, I watched this drive-in movie. It’s a tale of a young man hoping that his new custom van has aphrodisiacal qualities. The plan kind of works, actually, but mainly as a boost to his confidence. This is an entertaining time-capsule of 1970s van culture. (Check out a documentary called VANNIN’ to learn more about that.) It is also about experiencing the simple pleasures of hanging out and acting in stupid ways. Stupid can be fun, however.
ReplyDeleteMy Noirvember watches continued this week. DEATH WHISTLES THE BLUES (1962) is a Jess Franco production about a smuggler, presumably living on a Caribbean island, whose enemies come to tear down his life. It is a solid noir from very early in Franco’s Spanish career, when he was still making conventional mainstream films. The next, TWO O’CLOCK COURAGE (1945), is an early film noir from one of its masters, Anthony Mann. The comedic aspect of the storyline about an amnesiac lets the film down a lot. By coincidence, I watched another noir dealing with amnesia, this time concerning a WWII veteran recovering from a facial injury. SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT (1946) was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, responsible for the classic All About Eve. SOMEWHERE… does not venture into new territory but still held my interest.
CURUCU, BEAST OF THE AMAZON (1956) – As 1950s Univeral Studios productions go, CURUCU is the weakest one that I have seen. In the middle of the Amazon rain forest, a fearsomely ridiculous parrot monster terrorizes the natives, causing a labor shortage on an American-owned plantation. Naturally, the culprit has to be destroyed. Coming along on the journey is an attractive female medical researcher who needs saving on several occasions. B-movie jungle tropes and stock footage abound, but there was at least some location shooting.
Oh, The Van had a small part by a young Danny DeVito. I'm already looking forward to next years Junesploitation!
DeleteI forgot to mention that, Paul. Did he ever look young, though?
DeleteI am already thinking about what I would like to get to next June. I have picked up numerous titles (Mondo Macabro sale, Grindhouse Video) recently that would fit nicely into that month. There are so many titles already in my collection that I have not watched, too. I should have a film for most of the regular Junesploitation categories at this point.