Madame Web (2024): i've seen the reviews, and i was thinking 'it can't be that bad'... Boy was i wrong. It is that bad. Everything is off... the dialogues, the acting, the editing, the rhythm, sound, music. Nothing make sense. Maybe the camera work is not too bad. even Morbius was better. WTF is Emma Roberts doing there? Who puts a bag of microwavable popcorn in a glass bowl in the microwave?
Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny (2006): what a movie. Jack Black is a national treasure and need to be preserved at all cost. Ever since we saw the movie when it came out, my friends and i have been quoting and singing it to each other. It's banger after banger. Too bad the blu-ray got release by the always overpriced Shout, and not even 4k
Youth In Revolt (2009): i love that movie. It's so weird and Michael Cera is perfectly cast here. One of those perfect coming of age movies, with a touch of weird
There was a period where I used to think Jack Black wasn't good (Coincidentally, during a period, about a decade, where I wasn't watching movies at all). It was actually watching Tenacious D that completely turned me around on him. Now I'm completely in the bag for him.
I was flabbergasted to hear that we were getting a NEW revenge actioner from the great John Woo. As for the movie, ive got somewhat mixed thoughts...1) it makes a realllllly brave choice with respect to dialogue that i appreciate. 2) the plot is very much Death Wish 2023. 3) theres about 3 phenom action setpieces but otherwise alot of sadness. RIYL: Death Wish or Death Sentence (2007)
Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild Untold Story of Ozploitation (2008 dvd)
Watched this a few weeks ago after listening to the, as always, wonderful Screen Drafts podcast on Ozploitation. Im mentioning it today as this week saw the passing of Grant Page, a name many wont know. Grant was an incredible Australian stunt man. He's featured prominently in this documentary. SO, if you are a fan of "exploitation" or grindhouse cinema, i highly suggest you check out this crazy documentary about Australian made such flicks. I guarantee you'll come away with many suggestions for Junesploitation!!!! (ill even throw a great one out there: The Man from Hong Kong).
Ozploitation is great. But this is the kind of documentary that i get pissed watching because there's so many movie i want to watch and i know most of them will be hard to find
In the early 2010s I watched Not Quite Hollywood several times. It is surprising how many genre films came out Australia in the '70s and '80s. With AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE, MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED, and ELECTRIC BOOGALOO also coming out around that time, it was great period for genre film documentaries.
I recently picked up the Umbrella release of Stunt Rock, which stars Grant Page. It is a candidate for a Junesploitation watch. Him driving a motorcycle off a cliff for the biker film STONE is one of the craziest stunts I have ever scene.
Turkey Shoot and Razorback are ozploitation titles I would recommend.
Kung-Fu Panda 4. I have such a weird affection for this series. They are full of heart, the voice acting is really good (Jack Black seems to have real affection for the part), the fights are fun and the look of them is almost always pretty great. Akwafina is a welcome addition to the group.
And lordy, Po's fathers as a duo are fun. They should do a spinoff where they go on adventures.
Looking forward to seeing this. I love the Kung Fu Panda series, maybe through the coincidence that they started coming out right when my kids were movie going age. So we've watched them all together on the big screen. They're all great movies. The second one suffers from a villain problem, if I remember correctly. The opening scene of 3 is one of the best 3D stuff I've seen in the movies (other than Avatar 2).
FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S (2023) I went into this with the best of intentions, but I was so bored. If 12-year-olds are loving this at their slumber parties, good for them. But I would have preferred the scary animatronics to do something actually scary.
LANDSCAPE WITH INVISIBLE HAND (2023) A boy and girl start dating while aliens conquer the Earth. Then there's a twist. Then there's a lot more twists. I expected a sci-fi romcom, but this is all heady metaphors about classism and/or colonialism. But I did like the movie.
LEGEND (1985) Ridley Scott goodness!
DESPERATE MEASURES (1998) A cop-versus-serial-killer thriller, with Michael Keaton having a good time playing the slimy villain. It's a basic but totally watchable potboiler.
ROBOT JOX (1990) Low-budget and nonsensical, but hugely endearing. Unlike other movies of this kind, you get lots of giant robot fighting for your buck, rather than having to wait until the last five minutes.
AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM (2023) Is it against the law to admit I enjoyed this on rewatch? I really got into its old-fashioned pulp adventure vibe.
Then it became an unintentional magic trident double feature with RUBY GILLMAN: TEENAGE KRAKEN (2023). This had some fun bits and great visuals, but I'm at a loss as to the mythology of this world. Ruby and her family are quite obviously human/fish hybrid people, yet they're living among humans... in secret? I don't get it.
Legend, i'm assuming you watched the theatrical cut? The director's cut is better, except for the music, which is better in the TC (by Tangerine Dream)
Oh, I guess I should do the double feature in F This Movie style:
MOVIE #1: Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken (2023) MOVIE #2: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) TRAILERS/SHORTS: The Little Mermaid (1989), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger: When the Fire Mountain Roars (2001), and the Spongebob Squarepants episode “Trident Trouble.” THEME: Magic tridents.
Five Nights: totalllllly agree. i was really bummed at how little they leaned into the horror angle. i think the 'killer restaurant animatronics' genre has lots of potential but they didnt really nail it here. fingers crossed for a Willys Wonderland 2 some day!
@Mac, i have the same Legend blu-ray. I never upgraded to Arrows, but if they ever to a 4K i might do it because the DC looks way worse than the TC on the regular blu-ray
I really loved Legend when I saw it for the 1st time a couple of years ago. No idea why it has the bad reputation. It's a bit of a conundrum though, picking between the DC which is supposedly better, and the theatrical which has a TANGERINE DREAM score!!!! I've had that score on rotation on my phone since watching the movie.
Another big saturday of doing absolutely sweet nothing, but watch movies 😁
Nightcrawler (2014): following the Patrick and Adam's podcast on the movie, I felt it was time to rewatch it. First time since the blu-ray release. I was not disappointed. It's as good as they said, and as good as i remembered it.
The Abyss (1989): there's some distribution issues with all 3 James Cameron movies that were supposed to come out last week on 4K. Thanks to eBay, I managed to get them all (True Lies is still on the way). I never rewatched The Abyss since the Special Edition DVD release all those years ago. My memory of it had faded a bit, but it was as good as i remembered. I watched the Special Edition cut, which is the one I remembered most, mostly the ending. One issue I have is that Cameron doesn't seem to like film grain. Luckily, he supervised the restauration, so the movie looks fantastic. I read Aliens and True Lies don't have the best transfer, but I'm sure it's fine and it's just the nerds being nerds. There are a couple new interviews with Cameron that are very good.
Hugo (2011): this is an odd movie for Martin Scorcese, not one you'd expect him to do. What I like most about it is the story starts being about one thing, then switch to become something else. It becomes a love letter to one of the great pioneers of early cinema, George Melies. Knowing Scorcese's love for movies and the history or cinema, it all make sense. The Great JB did a piece on it when Arrow released the blu-ray last year, go read it. I can't say I'm a huge fan of Chloe Grace Moretz in this, I usually quite like her, but that's the only grey spot in an otherwise very fun and sweet movie. I always get a bit emotional when I watch it.
The Others (2001): who doesn't like a good haunted mansion movie? I haven't seen this one since its release, but when Criterion announced the 4k disc, I jumped on it, because I remembered really liking it. Horror is not my favorite genre, but a good movie is a good movie. And as a bonus, Doctor Who is in it 😜
Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer (2022): Herzog is possibly the most interesting person that ever worked in cinema. One of the most eclectic and varied movie career ever. Watching this also made me buy the Herzog Collection Vol.2, because i had to 😵💫
FRONT PAGE (1974) Starring Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Carol Burnett, Susan Sarandon, directed by Billy Wilder. This movie also has a ton of actors who's faces I know but can't name.
So this is a version of HIS GIRL FRIDAY. Even though it's not the most outrageous or funniest screwball comedy, it's entertaining and far better, in my opinion, than the 1940 movie with Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. They don't compare to the Walter Matthau - Jack Lemmon team (no one really compares to Walter Matthau...). Recommend before it leaves Netflix!
Ok...so the buzz is that Christopher Nolan MAY be doing an interpretation of the British 60s spy series The Prisoner as his next movie. I think this is a case of the internet trying to guess more than him committing at this moment however.....
This is my favorite TV show of all time. It is incredibly open to interpretation and never spoon feeds the viewer. Theres a genius to the fact that we NEVER know who's side the village management is on. While theres action to be had...its always a game of mental chess between captor and captive. Its not afraid to go to reallly stream of consciousness mental places. Its not afraid to open more questions than it answers. Its amazing.
PS: i forgot to finish with: "I think Nolan would be PERFECT to adapt this as his writing is incredibly layered and detailed and cerebral. Fingers crossed he does it!"
I've never heard of The Prisoner but it sounds awesome! Oh, it's available on Tubi in Canada! I agree that it sounds like something right up Nolan's lane.
Watched a bit of Aliens. The quality is perfectly fine. I wish Cameron would leave the grain intact, but I read they removed it then added some after working on the picture. If you love the movie, go for it, there is a big difference from the regular blu-ray.
I bought Aliens for the heck of it, but Abyss And True Lies are the first time on blu-ray, so they're must-have to me
twitter is crazy divided on the quality but ive been dying for True Lies and Abyss on better quality for a long time. gotta snag em. but i hear they are crazy back ordered? "physical media is dead"..ha!
The only watch during the week was a re-visit of the exploitation excesses of Joe D'Amato's EMANUELLE IN AMERICA (1976). Probably the most notorious of the Black Emanuelle films, it crosses the hard-core line in several scenes. Laura Gemser is again the globetrotting reporter/photographer, this time uncovering astrological harems, high-class Venetian vice, sex resorts, and the reality of "snuff" films. It is shot very well, and Nico Fidenco's groovy soundtrack is a classic.
I went to a double feature of Irish themed horror films at a local theater last night. The first film was 1993's LEPRECHAUN, which I had never seen before. What a fun experience and such a 1990s product. The combination of kids movie and Freddy Krueger-style humor plays well in 2024. The following film was UNWELCOME from 2022. A house in the Irish countryside is not the haven an urban couple hopes it to be. It is a decent horror film that leans into fairy folklore with some action scenes that change the tone considerably. I did not regret watching it, but I am still warming up to the modern style of horror cinema.
I just realized that I am signed in to Blogger on Firefox. It is the first time in a couple of months that I have been able to post here through the browser.
Madame Web (2024): i've seen the reviews, and i was thinking 'it can't be that bad'... Boy was i wrong. It is that bad. Everything is off... the dialogues, the acting, the editing, the rhythm, sound, music. Nothing make sense. Maybe the camera work is not too bad. even Morbius was better. WTF is Emma Roberts doing there? Who puts a bag of microwavable popcorn in a glass bowl in the microwave?
ReplyDeleteTenacious D and the Pick of Destiny (2006): what a movie. Jack Black is a national treasure and need to be preserved at all cost. Ever since we saw the movie when it came out, my friends and i have been quoting and singing it to each other. It's banger after banger. Too bad the blu-ray got release by the always overpriced Shout, and not even 4k
Youth In Revolt (2009): i love that movie. It's so weird and Michael Cera is perfectly cast here. One of those perfect coming of age movies, with a touch of weird
There was a period where I used to think Jack Black wasn't good (Coincidentally, during a period, about a decade, where I wasn't watching movies at all). It was actually watching Tenacious D that completely turned me around on him. Now I'm completely in the bag for him.
Deletewhat up rockstars!
ReplyDeleteSilent Night (4k 2023)
I was flabbergasted to hear that we were getting a NEW revenge actioner from the great John Woo. As for the movie, ive got somewhat mixed thoughts...1) it makes a realllllly brave choice with respect to dialogue that i appreciate. 2) the plot is very much Death Wish 2023. 3) theres about 3 phenom action setpieces but otherwise alot of sadness. RIYL: Death Wish or Death Sentence (2007)
Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild Untold Story of Ozploitation (2008 dvd)
Watched this a few weeks ago after listening to the, as always, wonderful Screen Drafts podcast on Ozploitation. Im mentioning it today as this week saw the passing of Grant Page, a name many wont know. Grant was an incredible Australian stunt man. He's featured prominently in this documentary. SO, if you are a fan of "exploitation" or grindhouse cinema, i highly suggest you check out this crazy documentary about Australian made such flicks. I guarantee you'll come away with many suggestions for Junesploitation!!!! (ill even throw a great one out there: The Man from Hong Kong).
Ozploitation is great. But this is the kind of documentary that i get pissed watching because there's so many movie i want to watch and i know most of them will be hard to find
DeleteIn the early 2010s I watched Not Quite Hollywood several times. It is surprising how many genre films came out Australia in the '70s and '80s. With AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE, MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED, and ELECTRIC BOOGALOO also coming out around that time, it was great period for genre film documentaries.
DeleteI recently picked up the Umbrella release of Stunt Rock, which stars Grant Page. It is a candidate for a Junesploitation watch. Him driving a motorcycle off a cliff for the biker film STONE is one of the craziest stunts I have ever scene.
Turkey Shoot and Razorback are ozploitation titles I would recommend.
Kung-Fu Panda 4. I have such a weird affection for this series. They are full of heart, the voice acting is really good (Jack Black seems to have real affection for the part), the fights are fun and the look of them is almost always pretty great. Akwafina is a welcome addition to the group.
ReplyDeleteAnd lordy, Po's fathers as a duo are fun. They should do a spinoff where they go on adventures.
Looking forward to seeing this. I love the Kung Fu Panda series, maybe through the coincidence that they started coming out right when my kids were movie going age. So we've watched them all together on the big screen. They're all great movies. The second one suffers from a villain problem, if I remember correctly. The opening scene of 3 is one of the best 3D stuff I've seen in the movies (other than Avatar 2).
DeleteFIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S (2023) I went into this with the best of intentions, but I was so bored. If 12-year-olds are loving this at their slumber parties, good for them. But I would have preferred the scary animatronics to do something actually scary.
ReplyDeleteLANDSCAPE WITH INVISIBLE HAND (2023) A boy and girl start dating while aliens conquer the Earth. Then there's a twist. Then there's a lot more twists. I expected a sci-fi romcom, but this is all heady metaphors about classism and/or colonialism. But I did like the movie.
LEGEND (1985) Ridley Scott goodness!
DESPERATE MEASURES (1998) A cop-versus-serial-killer thriller, with Michael Keaton having a good time playing the slimy villain. It's a basic but totally watchable potboiler.
ROBOT JOX (1990) Low-budget and nonsensical, but hugely endearing. Unlike other movies of this kind, you get lots of giant robot fighting for your buck, rather than having to wait until the last five minutes.
AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM (2023) Is it against the law to admit I enjoyed this on rewatch? I really got into its old-fashioned pulp adventure vibe.
Then it became an unintentional magic trident double feature with RUBY GILLMAN: TEENAGE KRAKEN (2023). This had some fun bits and great visuals, but I'm at a loss as to the mythology of this world. Ruby and her family are quite obviously human/fish hybrid people, yet they're living among humans... in secret? I don't get it.
Legend, i'm assuming you watched the theatrical cut? The director's cut is better, except for the music, which is better in the TC (by Tangerine Dream)
DeleteIt was the director's cut, but this was on the Blu-ray that has both, which I got for cheap for $8.99.
DeleteOh, I guess I should do the double feature in F This Movie style:
DeleteMOVIE #1: Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken (2023)
MOVIE #2: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)
TRAILERS/SHORTS: The Little Mermaid (1989), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger: When the Fire Mountain Roars (2001), and the Spongebob Squarepants episode “Trident Trouble.”
THEME: Magic tridents.
Five Nights: totalllllly agree. i was really bummed at how little they leaned into the horror angle. i think the 'killer restaurant animatronics' genre has lots of potential but they didnt really nail it here. fingers crossed for a Willys Wonderland 2 some day!
DeleteWillys was so good, i didn't even try to watch Freddys
Delete@Mac, i have the same Legend blu-ray. I never upgraded to Arrows, but if they ever to a 4K i might do it because the DC looks way worse than the TC on the regular blu-ray
DeleteI really loved Legend when I saw it for the 1st time a couple of years ago. No idea why it has the bad reputation. It's a bit of a conundrum though, picking between the DC which is supposedly better, and the theatrical which has a TANGERINE DREAM score!!!! I've had that score on rotation on my phone since watching the movie.
DeleteAnother big saturday of doing absolutely sweet nothing, but watch movies 😁
ReplyDeleteNightcrawler (2014): following the Patrick and Adam's podcast on the movie, I felt it was time to rewatch it. First time since the blu-ray release. I was not disappointed. It's as good as they said, and as good as i remembered it.
The Abyss (1989): there's some distribution issues with all 3 James Cameron movies that were supposed to come out last week on 4K. Thanks to eBay, I managed to get them all (True Lies is still on the way). I never rewatched The Abyss since the Special Edition DVD release all those years ago. My memory of it had faded a bit, but it was as good as i remembered. I watched the Special Edition cut, which is the one I remembered most, mostly the ending. One issue I have is that Cameron doesn't seem to like film grain. Luckily, he supervised the restauration, so the movie looks fantastic. I read Aliens and True Lies don't have the best transfer, but I'm sure it's fine and it's just the nerds being nerds. There are a couple new interviews with Cameron that are very good.
Hugo (2011): this is an odd movie for Martin Scorcese, not one you'd expect him to do. What I like most about it is the story starts being about one thing, then switch to become something else. It becomes a love letter to one of the great pioneers of early cinema, George Melies. Knowing Scorcese's love for movies and the history or cinema, it all make sense. The Great JB did a piece on it when Arrow released the blu-ray last year, go read it. I can't say I'm a huge fan of Chloe Grace Moretz in this, I usually quite like her, but that's the only grey spot in an otherwise very fun and sweet movie. I always get a bit emotional when I watch it.
The Others (2001): who doesn't like a good haunted mansion movie? I haven't seen this one since its release, but when Criterion announced the 4k disc, I jumped on it, because I remembered really liking it. Horror is not my favorite genre, but a good movie is a good movie. And as a bonus, Doctor Who is in it 😜
Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer (2022): Herzog is possibly the most interesting person that ever worked in cinema. One of the most eclectic and varied movie career ever. Watching this also made me buy the Herzog Collection Vol.2, because i had to 😵💫
I really want to watch Hugo (which I haven't seen). I love Scorsese (duh) and I've heard it described as him doing a kids movie, which I also love.
DeleteHope you didn't pay too much for those Cameron 4Ks, Kunider.
DeleteRegular price. Actually a little cheaper than amazon 😁
DeleteFRONT PAGE (1974)
ReplyDeleteStarring Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Carol Burnett, Susan Sarandon, directed by Billy Wilder. This movie also has a ton of actors who's faces I know but can't name.
So this is a version of HIS GIRL FRIDAY. Even though it's not the most outrageous or funniest screwball comedy, it's entertaining and far better, in my opinion, than the 1940 movie with Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. They don't compare to the Walter Matthau - Jack Lemmon team (no one really compares to Walter Matthau...). Recommend before it leaves Netflix!
The epilogue is hilarious.
Deletetotally off my radar but i have a lot of 70s flix to catch up on...thanks for the click to pick!
DeleteOk...so the buzz is that Christopher Nolan MAY be doing an interpretation of the British 60s spy series The Prisoner as his next movie. I think this is a case of the internet trying to guess more than him committing at this moment however.....
ReplyDeleteThis is my favorite TV show of all time.
It is incredibly open to interpretation and never spoon feeds the viewer.
Theres a genius to the fact that we NEVER know who's side the village management is on.
While theres action to be had...its always a game of mental chess between captor and captive.
Its not afraid to go to reallly stream of consciousness mental places.
Its not afraid to open more questions than it answers.
Its amazing.
Peace & Be Seeing You
no 3.
PS: i forgot to finish with: "I think Nolan would be PERFECT to adapt this as his writing is incredibly layered and detailed and cerebral. Fingers crossed he does it!"
DeleteSame here, i think he's perfect for this. Can't wait to hear a confirmation
DeleteI've never heard of The Prisoner but it sounds awesome! Oh, it's available on Tubi in Canada! I agree that it sounds like something right up Nolan's lane.
DeletePaul...its worth checking out...its only 17 episodes and really a great spin on the 60s spy genre.
DeleteThen there's the whole debate about what order you should watch the episodes. But honestly, whatever order you do it, you really should watch it
DeleteWas anyone lucky enough to score the new Cameron movies on 4K? I'm dying to know what they look like. Not hearing great things so far.
ReplyDeleteKunider mentions The Abyss recent transfer in a comment above. I don't have a 4k TV unfortunately and won't be buying the new disks anytime soon.
DeleteThe Abyss is really worth it. Haven' watched Aliens or True Lies yet, but i hear they're not that good
DeleteWatched a bit of Aliens. The quality is perfectly fine. I wish Cameron would leave the grain intact, but I read they removed it then added some after working on the picture. If you love the movie, go for it, there is a big difference from the regular blu-ray.
DeleteI bought Aliens for the heck of it, but Abyss And True Lies are the first time on blu-ray, so they're must-have to me
twitter is crazy divided on the quality but ive been dying for True Lies and Abyss on better quality for a long time. gotta snag em. but i hear they are crazy back ordered? "physical media is dead"..ha!
DeleteIt's apparently a distribution issue. Some stores managed to get them
DeleteA very light week for movies.
ReplyDeleteThe only watch during the week was a re-visit of the exploitation excesses of Joe D'Amato's EMANUELLE IN AMERICA (1976). Probably the most notorious of the Black Emanuelle films, it crosses the hard-core line in several scenes. Laura Gemser is again the globetrotting reporter/photographer, this time uncovering astrological harems, high-class Venetian vice, sex resorts, and the reality of "snuff" films. It is shot very well, and Nico Fidenco's groovy soundtrack is a classic.
I went to a double feature of Irish themed horror films at a local theater last night. The first film was 1993's LEPRECHAUN, which I had never seen before. What a fun experience and such a 1990s product. The combination of kids movie and Freddy Krueger-style humor plays well in 2024. The following film was UNWELCOME from 2022. A house in the Irish countryside is not the haven an urban couple hopes it to be. It is a decent horror film that leans into fairy folklore with some action scenes that change the tone considerably. I did not regret watching it, but I am still warming up to the modern style of horror cinema.
I just realized that I am signed in to Blogger on Firefox. It is the first time in a couple of months that I have been able to post here through the browser.
DeleteI always used chrome, mostly in my android phone, never had issues
Deletefirefox started working again for me a few weeks ago..phew!
Delete