Real Genius (1985): Amazon is killing me. This week they did the Black Friday Week Deals (or whatever it's called), so I got a bunch or crap for relatively cheap. I had to restrain myself not to buy every 4k under 20$cad. This is one of those that deal I couldn't pass up. I mean, how can I say no to a cheap Kilmer movie, on 4k, where he's being a goofball for 100 minutes. The main kid, Mitch, is kind of a black hole of charisma, but the rest of the cast is stellar. William Atherton as the bad guy is always a sure shot. And the movie is a ton of fun.
Cliffhanger (1993) was among those Black Friday deals that I got. I watched the regular blu-ray not too long ago and obviously enjoyed it. I still did now. There's a better 4k disc out there (in a Steelbook), but according to reviews the better quality is marginal and not worth it when you can have this version for less than half the price. The snowy mountains look good on 4k.
Other stuff I got: Dr. Strangelove, A Few Good Men, The Man From Nowhere, Final Fantasy The Spirit Within, Argo, Leon The Professional
It is a tricky time of the year for budgets, Kunider. I have tried to become more selective with my purchases in 2024. I am also trying to spend a little less this Black Friday than in previous years. Looking at all of the sales this weekend, I am still not sure what I will pick up. There is a lot that I would like to have, though.
Hazaaa....last week with Top Secret and this week with Real Genius? Love it. Most dont reference how strong Kilmer is at comedy but these are two all time favorites. ENDLESSLY rewatchable.
I should succeed at limiting my acquisitions this weekend. There is such a backlog of discs in my collection to watch that the temptation to buy is not as high this year. More importantly, there is a debate (exploration or films I already know) in my head about the direction to take my collection in.
I've had to be a lot more selective with my purchases this year. I like supporting physical media because that's brought us a lot of great restorations/remasters, but the value proposition isn't always there. I love the Shaw Bros sets Arrow puts out for instance, but am I going to watch those movies enough times to justify dropping $100 on the latest one, or am I buying them just for sake of collecting them? Even a $10-15 4k disc, I'm starting to think about how it would have been cheaper to rent it if I'm only going to watch it once.
Agreed. I have the previous 2 Shawscope release, but i had to skip this new one because i know i'll never watch them all, and at this point i'm just feeding my OCD-completist-collector habit
I've seen either a Few Good Men or Born on the Fourth of July, but I can't remember which one! (There's a scene where Cruise drives out to a farmhouse to talk to a family, maybe the family of a dead soldier he knew?) I remember liking it, even if it was more of a drama, and I was expecting an action/war movie.
The Continental: From the Word of John Wick (2023 Peacock+)
(Took me a while to sit down and watch this one..which is odd as the four John Wick movies are absolutely my favorite movie comfort food...rewatch them all the time.)
This series is 3 parts, each feature length, giving us Winstons backstory and how he came to meet Charon and end up at the Continental. Ill get a few critiques out of the way: 1) the writing is a bit too long and there's filler within (especially ep2). trimming to 60m eps would help. 2) we dont really need the backstory nor some of the tacked on subplots within. Ok..now to the positives...i had a LOT of fun with the series. Its overall production quality is honestly cinematic. Doesnt feel like a TV show. Coolin Woodel is charismatic and engaging as our lead. Mel Gibson as the big bad is underused till the 3rd episode but when unleashed, provides some wonderfully hammy over the top bad guy. Action setpieces are spread far thinner than the Wick movies but they are some very enjoyable gun-fu. And, finally, the series contains more 70s classic rock needle drops than anything ive seen before...no avoiding it that classic rock songs ups my emotional connection with scenes. Had fun and kinda wish someone would edit it down to a lean directors cut movie version (say, 2hrs long?) which i would add with Wick 1-4 as comfort rewatchable.
I always hold off watching this show exactly because of the critiques you mentioned. Maybe I should give it a try and just power through the 'bad' parts.
MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001). Brilliant film of course, yet I still wonder what the TV series version would have been like.
KILL BILL VOL. 1 (2003). Bang, bang, my baby shot me down.
CAMELOT (1967). Apologies for s***ing on a classic, but this movie was a little tedious. It's all so upbeat and toe-tappy, whereas I always thought of the rise and fall of Camelot as an epic tragedy.
I KNOW WHO KILLED ME (2007) WTF is this movie?
And I joined the mid-to-late portion of the MST3K Turkey Day marathon, for HOBGOBLINS, SAMPSON VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMEN, GAMERA VS. JIGER, and THE FINAL SACRIFICE. After that, I was all Rowsdower'd out.
There's interesting stuff written about CAMELOT (1967), and the purpose it served in the 60s. Who knows how much of that is true but it's pretty interesting.
When you described Camelot as being "upbeat and toe-tappy" my thoughts immediately went to the Camelot scene in Monthy Python and the Holy Grail. "On second thought, let's not go to Camelot. It is a silly place"
Finished Noirvember with a few watches this week. The Grifters and The Last Seduction have been on my watch-list for several years. After a couple of months of themed viewing, I am looking forward to watching a more random range of films ahead.
THE GRIFTERS (1990, dir. Stephen Frears) – Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, and Annette Benning are a trio of shysters in this cold-blooded neo-noir. John Cusack is a small-time conman whose estranged mother (Huston), a racing odds manipulator working for the mob, comes back into his life. The tension between them and Cusack’s girlfriend (Benning) leads to some fireworks. Without a production code to hold the sordidness back, these neo-noirs can go into some dark territory. The desperation of the story even left me shocked by the conclusion. A downer of film, but a well-made downer.
THE LAST SEDUCTION (1994, di. John Dahl) – With the cracking dialogue and ironic humor, The Last Seduction had me laughing while cringing at the manipulation going on. Linda Fiorentino’s Bridget is among the most unrepentant femmes fatales I have come across in the noir universe. An entertaining neo-noir with an early role for Bill Pullman, this story could never have been made during period of the production code.
LASSIE COME HOME (1943) – The emotional manipulation of this film is off the charts. The loveable collie gets separated from the family that raised her when hard times force them to sell her to the local aristocrat for appearances in dog shows. The mistreatment Lassie experiences motivates her to escape and make the trip back to Yorkshire to reunite with her original owners. Her adventures ring as much pathos from the situations as possible. The film is notable for early roles for Roddy McDowall and Elizabeth Taylor.
THE DAUGHTER: I, A WOMAN, PART 3 (1970, dir. Mac Ahlberg) – These Scandinavian soft-core films can go in some unusual directions. In this case, it is the daughter of the main character of the previous films who is the focus. Besides the requisite sexual awakening, there is hippies vs. bikers, racism, drugs, go-go dancing, and the sights of Copenhagen to muddle things up. The script is truly all over the place. The commercials on Tubi seem to be getting more intrusive; I counted six ad breaks during the 90-minute run-time.
TIME WITHOUT PITY (1957, dir. Joseph Losey) – When a father has only a couple of days to clear his son’s name in a murder before an execution takes place, there is a natural tendency to rush around to find any evidence of innocence. Time Without Pity moves along so fast that I watched parts a second time to put together the details. This British noir delves into themes of addiction and parental guilt to ramp up the tension. The cast is truly top-notch, featuring plenty of actors who would move on to much bigger roles.
The Last Temptation Of Christ (1988): If you ever wanted to know how bullshit the Razzies were... Harvey Keitel was nominated for worst actor. And what a score. Back then i listened to it on loop. I might start again
Dr. Strangelove (1964): For some reasons, the scenes in the plane didn't play that well for me this time. I still love the movie though. Now, I need to rewatch Fail-Safe
I had a period in the last year where I was listening to the score once or twice a day. I have never seen the movie yet. Not for lack of wanting to watch it.
Fail Safe is amazing! I liked it a lot more than Dr. Strangelove, where the humour wasn't quite hitting for some reason.
Hello FTM! I hope everyone is having a nice holiday season, and keeping the dread at bay.
You know how complaining about nepo babies in entertainment is a thing now? Every day I see one or two new articles pointing out nepotism in the industry. That always makes me think: wasn't nepotism always a thing in the entertainment because it was a family trade industry? That was full of abuse, exploitation, hard times, and actually sucked?
Definitely those two are always mentioned. That's the thing - everyone mentions a lot of young actors as if it's a scandal, but old actors came from acting families, too. Acting is an old trade that got passed down like many trades.
The Redgraves, Oliver Reed, Nicholas (Coppola) Cage, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Geraldine Chaplin, Mia Farrow, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lon Chaney, Jr. There are so many actors current and past who grew up in the business and got a head start in it for that reason.
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Real Genius (1985): Amazon is killing me. This week they did the Black Friday Week Deals (or whatever it's called), so I got a bunch or crap for relatively cheap. I had to restrain myself not to buy every 4k under 20$cad. This is one of those that deal I couldn't pass up. I mean, how can I say no to a cheap Kilmer movie, on 4k, where he's being a goofball for 100 minutes. The main kid, Mitch, is kind of a black hole of charisma, but the rest of the cast is stellar. William Atherton as the bad guy is always a sure shot. And the movie is a ton of fun.
ReplyDeleteCliffhanger (1993) was among those Black Friday deals that I got. I watched the regular blu-ray not too long ago and obviously enjoyed it. I still did now. There's a better 4k disc out there (in a Steelbook), but according to reviews the better quality is marginal and not worth it when you can have this version for less than half the price. The snowy mountains look good on 4k.
Other stuff I got: Dr. Strangelove, A Few Good Men, The Man From Nowhere, Final Fantasy The Spirit Within, Argo, Leon The Professional
It is a tricky time of the year for budgets, Kunider. I have tried to become more selective with my purchases in 2024. I am also trying to spend a little less this Black Friday than in previous years. Looking at all of the sales this weekend, I am still not sure what I will pick up. There is a lot that I would like to have, though.
DeleteStay strong my friend 😜
DeleteHazaaa....last week with Top Secret and this week with Real Genius? Love it. Most dont reference how strong Kilmer is at comedy but these are two all time favorites. ENDLESSLY rewatchable.
DeleteI didn't mean it, and didn't even realize that i watched 2 Kilmer movies in 2 weeks. Back when he was fun and having fun
DeleteI should succeed at limiting my acquisitions this weekend. There is such a backlog of discs in my collection to watch that the temptation to buy is not as high this year. More importantly, there is a debate (exploration or films I already know) in my head about the direction to take my collection in.
DeleteI've had to be a lot more selective with my purchases this year. I like supporting physical media because that's brought us a lot of great restorations/remasters, but the value proposition isn't always there. I love the Shaw Bros sets Arrow puts out for instance, but am I going to watch those movies enough times to justify dropping $100 on the latest one, or am I buying them just for sake of collecting them? Even a $10-15 4k disc, I'm starting to think about how it would have been cheaper to rent it if I'm only going to watch it once.
DeleteAgreed. I have the previous 2 Shawscope release, but i had to skip this new one because i know i'll never watch them all, and at this point i'm just feeding my OCD-completist-collector habit
DeleteI've seen either a Few Good Men or Born on the Fourth of July, but I can't remember which one! (There's a scene where Cruise drives out to a farmhouse to talk to a family, maybe the family of a dead soldier he knew?) I remember liking it, even if it was more of a drama, and I was expecting an action/war movie.
DeleteMust be Bot4oJ, because i don't remember any farmhouse in AFGM
DeleteThe Continental: From the Word of John Wick (2023 Peacock+)
ReplyDelete(Took me a while to sit down and watch this one..which is odd as the four John Wick movies are absolutely my favorite movie comfort food...rewatch them all the time.)
This series is 3 parts, each feature length, giving us Winstons backstory and how he came to meet Charon and end up at the Continental. Ill get a few critiques out of the way: 1) the writing is a bit too long and there's filler within (especially ep2). trimming to 60m eps would help. 2) we dont really need the backstory nor some of the tacked on subplots within. Ok..now to the positives...i had a LOT of fun with the series. Its overall production quality is honestly cinematic. Doesnt feel like a TV show. Coolin Woodel is charismatic and engaging as our lead. Mel Gibson as the big bad is underused till the 3rd episode but when unleashed, provides some wonderfully hammy over the top bad guy. Action setpieces are spread far thinner than the Wick movies but they are some very enjoyable gun-fu. And, finally, the series contains more 70s classic rock needle drops than anything ive seen before...no avoiding it that classic rock songs ups my emotional connection with scenes. Had fun and kinda wish someone would edit it down to a lean directors cut movie version (say, 2hrs long?) which i would add with Wick 1-4 as comfort rewatchable.
I always hold off watching this show exactly because of the critiques you mentioned. Maybe I should give it a try and just power through the 'bad' parts.
DeleteMULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001). Brilliant film of course, yet I still wonder what the TV series version would have been like.
ReplyDeleteKILL BILL VOL. 1 (2003). Bang, bang, my baby shot me down.
CAMELOT (1967). Apologies for s***ing on a classic, but this movie was a little tedious. It's all so upbeat and toe-tappy, whereas I always thought of the rise and fall of Camelot as an epic tragedy.
I KNOW WHO KILLED ME (2007) WTF is this movie?
And I joined the mid-to-late portion of the MST3K Turkey Day marathon, for HOBGOBLINS, SAMPSON VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMEN, GAMERA VS. JIGER, and THE FINAL SACRIFICE. After that, I was all Rowsdower'd out.
There's interesting stuff written about CAMELOT (1967), and the purpose it served in the 60s. Who knows how much of that is true but it's pretty interesting.
DeleteWhen you described Camelot as being "upbeat and toe-tappy" my thoughts immediately went to the Camelot scene in Monthy Python and the Holy Grail. "On second thought, let's not go to Camelot. It is a silly place"
DeleteI was definitely seeing a lot of Holy Grail's DNA in Camelot. Also The Princess Bride.
DeleteThis is for JB, in case you didn't see this already, i know you like the guy, you'll like David Dastmalchian even more
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/zmyRw-7FooE?feature=shared
This was terrific. Thanks for the link. He is ONE OF US.
DeleteFinished Noirvember with a few watches this week. The Grifters and The Last Seduction have been on my watch-list for several years. After a couple of months of themed viewing, I am looking forward to watching a more random range of films ahead.
ReplyDeleteTHE GRIFTERS (1990, dir. Stephen Frears) – Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, and Annette Benning are a trio of shysters in this cold-blooded neo-noir. John Cusack is a small-time conman whose estranged mother (Huston), a racing odds manipulator working for the mob, comes back into his life. The tension between them and Cusack’s girlfriend (Benning) leads to some fireworks. Without a production code to hold the sordidness back, these neo-noirs can go into some dark territory. The desperation of the story even left me shocked by the conclusion. A downer of film, but a well-made downer.
THE LAST SEDUCTION (1994, di. John Dahl) – With the cracking dialogue and ironic humor, The Last Seduction had me laughing while cringing at the manipulation going on. Linda Fiorentino’s Bridget is among the most unrepentant femmes fatales I have come across in the noir universe. An entertaining neo-noir with an early role for Bill Pullman, this story could never have been made during period of the production code.
LASSIE COME HOME (1943) – The emotional manipulation of this film is off the charts. The loveable collie gets separated from the family that raised her when hard times force them to sell her to the local aristocrat for appearances in dog shows. The mistreatment Lassie experiences motivates her to escape and make the trip back to Yorkshire to reunite with her original owners. Her adventures ring as much pathos from the situations as possible. The film is notable for early roles for Roddy McDowall and Elizabeth Taylor.
THE DAUGHTER: I, A WOMAN, PART 3 (1970, dir. Mac Ahlberg) – These Scandinavian soft-core films can go in some unusual directions. In this case, it is the daughter of the main character of the previous films who is the focus. Besides the requisite sexual awakening, there is hippies vs. bikers, racism, drugs, go-go dancing, and the sights of Copenhagen to muddle things up. The script is truly all over the place. The commercials on Tubi seem to be getting more intrusive; I counted six ad breaks during the 90-minute run-time.
TIME WITHOUT PITY (1957, dir. Joseph Losey) – When a father has only a couple of days to clear his son’s name in a murder before an execution takes place, there is a natural tendency to rush around to find any evidence of innocence. Time Without Pity moves along so fast that I watched parts a second time to put together the details. This British noir delves into themes of addiction and parental guilt to ramp up the tension. The cast is truly top-notch, featuring plenty of actors who would move on to much bigger roles.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe Last Temptation Of Christ (1988): If you ever wanted to know how bullshit the Razzies were... Harvey Keitel was nominated for worst actor. And what a score. Back then i listened to it on loop. I might start again
ReplyDeleteDr. Strangelove (1964): For some reasons, the scenes in the plane didn't play that well for me this time. I still love the movie though. Now, I need to rewatch Fail-Safe
I had a period in the last year where I was listening to the score once or twice a day. I have never seen the movie yet. Not for lack of wanting to watch it.
DeleteFail Safe is amazing! I liked it a lot more than Dr. Strangelove, where the humour wasn't quite hitting for some reason.
Hello FTM! I hope everyone is having a nice holiday season, and keeping the dread at bay.
ReplyDeleteYou know how complaining about nepo babies in entertainment is a thing now? Every day I see one or two new articles pointing out nepotism in the industry. That always makes me think: wasn't nepotism always a thing in the entertainment because it was a family trade industry? That was full of abuse, exploitation, hard times, and actually sucked?
Internet is fun
DeleteHry, if they're talented i don't care eho the dad or mom is
I feel like the point of the articles is to complain and suggest they're not talented. Very important conversation in our day and age.
DeleteI'd love to read who they're talking about? I'm assuming nobody's mentioning Margaret Qualley or Grace Gummer.
DeleteDefinitely those two are always mentioned. That's the thing - everyone mentions a lot of young actors as if it's a scandal, but old actors came from acting families, too. Acting is an old trade that got passed down like many trades.
DeleteThe Redgraves, Oliver Reed, Nicholas (Coppola) Cage, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Geraldine Chaplin, Mia Farrow, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lon Chaney, Jr. There are so many actors current and past who grew up in the business and got a head start in it for that reason.
DeleteI forgot all of the Barrymores.
DeleteYup. I always remember the Redgraves.
Delete