Over the Christmas season I watched The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) with a commentary by Brian Henson and Mike Flanagan. It was really good! It’s always interesting to hear about all the techniques used to make puppet movies. The commentary is from a podcast Flanagan has started where he does commentaries with the directors of their own movies.
I also watched The Polar Express which I appreciated a lot more than before. Sure, the early motion capture was a little janky, but there’s so much creativity there, I was left amazed. Also watched A Christmas Carol (2009), and there’s lots to love there, but overall is uneven. Some bits are great, and others leave your head shaking.
I hadn’t seen Miracle on 34th Street since I was a child but had fond memories of it. I decided to watch the remake from the ‘90s. Wow, that movie was amazing and filled me with Christmas spirit. Santa Claus is real! Richard Attenborough is excellent as Kris Kringle. I'll rewatch the original from the '40s next year.
I watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and it was so much fun! I have fond memories of this one, because it was a rare one where my parents let me stay up super late as a child to watch it with them. (“Super late” probably was 10:30 haha, I was young). It’s partially the sound stages, but I found a lot of similarities between this and the Shaw brothers movies. They’re not quite dancing, but almost.
I watched Flipper (1963) which I remember loving as a child, and enjoyed it very much again. I just wanted to jump in the water and swim with dolphins too. I had the Flipper song in my head for a couple of days.
I guess I’ve been revisiting a lot of childhood movies, because I watched A High Wind in Jamaica (1965) which we had on VHS, and probably was the movie that ignited my love for tall ships and movies set on (or under) the ocean. I love this movie deeply. Very strong recommend.
Sorry for posting each movie individually. Blogger was filtering my posts, so I had to break it down until I found out which word or phrase was triggering the filter. The sentence that I had to remove was basically was that the ending was pretty tragic. I love Anthony Quinn, he's the best in everything.
Sometimes I can get into a mood to watch films that take me back to an earlier time, Paul. It tends to be the European genre films I discovered in the early 2010s. There were a lot of good things happening for me then.
this weeks rando theme: talking head documentaries......
Platoon: Brothers In Arms (2018 Prime)
Fabulous documentary that walks thru Platoon from inception to release as told by almost all of the primary actors. Its hard to imagine that this film was a "little movie that could" with a large amount of unknowns at the time. The cast is refreshingly frank and some of the stories delve into the uncomfortable to disturbing. The cast is universal in its description of Oliver Stone as difficult/demanding/brilliant/a-hole. (Regrettably he wasnt involved with this docs production).
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night (2025 Peacock+)
A four part documentary released in celebration of SNLs 50th. They took an interesting approach, having each episode focus on one aspect: Auditions, Writing, Cowbell Sketch, and Season 11. Its well made and lots of interviews with cast past/present. Probably for SNL diehards only but i enjoyed the watch.
I spent the first couple of weeks of 2025 visiting my retired parents in their retirement community in Arizona. Here in chronological order are the movies we watched during my 10-day visit:
JUROR #2 (MAX): What an end of year for Nicholas Hoult; between this, "The Order" ("Heat" in early 80's rural America) and the new "Nosferatu" the man knows how to pick good projects. Parents loved the flick and brought back memories of their bad times when they served in juries.
X (MAX) and PEARL (Peacock): Due circumstances that I still cannot fathom, I showed my dad "X" right after "Juror #2." To my shock he liked it, and the next MORNING (!!) we watched "Pearl" which he liked that one even more! :-O He wanted to watch "MaXXXine" right away but I convinced him to let the first two gestate in his mind before he watches the end of Ti West's trilogy on his own. The old man can still surprise me. :-P
BABYGIRL (AMC THEATER): Really wanted to watch A24's Christmas Oscar bait flick before my ranking list, so I talked my parents to take their companion dog with them to the movies to see if the dog passed the test. The three of us HATED the movie (too kinky and nothing new or interesting to say about the subject matter) but their dog passed the test and can now be taken anywhere companion dogs are allowed. :-)
NO HARD FEELINGS (DIGITAL RENTAL): My parents didn't even know who Jennifer Lawrence was, so I rented this so we could have some hearty laughs. They thought the movie was stupid, but they were laughing hard at many of the gags. I love this more with every rewatch, particularly the "Maneater" piano song.
THE FRONT ROOM (MAX): My folks play lots of tennis and pickleball with retired folks, and one of them (a lady named Mildred) felt to me like a dead ringer for the character of "Solange" in this A24 horror drama. Stepmom walked out in disgust 20 minutes in, but dad loved the over-the-top performances and idea of a mother-in-law from hell. The ending makes the movie great IMO, but YMMV.
TAKEN (BLU-RAY): My dad and I saw his first Liam Neeson movie, "In The Land of Saints and Sinners,' last year in a theater. So I showed him where this guy became the senior citizen action hero of the past 16 years and he loved it. As a father of two daughters he told me later he wished he could do to some ex-boyfriends of my sisters what L.N. does to the Albanian bad guys here, but admits that in real life the two bad guys at the Paris airport would have killed him and that would be the end of his "Taken" movie. :-P
THE WILD ROBOT (DIGITAL RENTAL): My dad loved this, saying it's one of the best movies he's ever seen. Told me to call him back on Jan. 24th when "TWR" starts streaming on Peacock so he can organize a movie watch party so he can show it to his fellow retired friends... something he's never done in the 15+ years I've visited him. :')
Returned to NYC on Wednesday and Thursday I got my first three 2025 movies at the AMC A-List theater in Times Square that I frequent. THE DAMNED was slow-moving and atmospheric, 19th century European horror that throws unexpected moments of shock/gore. It's fine but hardly memorable. DEN OF THIEVES: PANTERA (Dolby Cinema) feels a lot more classy and far less bloody than its prequel, which felt like watered-down "Heat" meets a Gerard Butler action vehicle. O'Shea Jackson Jr. and Butler have great chemistry together and the main heist is elaborate and fun to watch. "DOT:P" feels like Lionsgate forcing its filmmakers to try to squeeze a franchise out of thin material that just barely sustains its narrative. Last and certainly least, Leigh Whanell's WOLF MAN (IMAX) doubles down on the 'men are douchebags' hook of his "Invisible Man" remake from 2020 and tries to apply a dose of "The Fly" (Cronenberg remake) to the tragedy of circumstances. Nothing works (the make-up effects and final monster are a joke) because the family/victims are such cyphers you don't care or feel anything for anybody. YMMV, but you're on your own. :-(
My recent revisit of Den of Thieves had me itching to revisit this, a film i feel pairs well with DoT. Unquestionably both live in the shadow of the film that most reference as a strong influence: Heat. However i think both stand just fine on their own. I love this movie. Probably my fav Statham and top 3 for Ritchie. Its a pure revenge actioner within the crime/heist genre. Ritchie does some fun stuff with timelines including showing the same inciting incident multiple times throughout the movie but from different perspectives. (slight spoiler) During this viewing i kinda loved that theres a midsection montage of trying to hunt down the crew responsible for the inciting incident..its filled with death/carnage...and upon reflection did NOTHING to move the protagonist closer to his enemies. solid choice. The flick is filled with excellent characters and moves swiftly, no filler. The finale caught me off guard with the level of collateral damage. Love this movie.
The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2 - Judgment Day (1991): Look, I like T1 as much as the next guy. It's a solid top-tier B-movie from a guy who clearly knew what he was doing. But... the action scenes from T2 are just the best. The kind like we've rarely seen since then. And the score is so good. Now, a word on the 4k discs. Do get T1, it looks good and is relatively cheap. DO NOT get T2! If you already have the old blu-ray, stick with it. If not, get the old blu-ray. Read the reviews, you'll understand. Oh, by the way, T3 is kinda good, and I don't hate Salvation as much as everybody else.
Prospect (2018): I blind bought this during the last Vinegar Syndrome boxing day, it was fairly cheap for a 4k. It's a pretty good, sci-fi movie featuring the lesser Duplass brother, Jay Duplass, and internet favorite daddy, Pedro Pascal, in an early role where he has to deal with a kid. There's nothing groundbreaking here, just a decent indie flick with good writing and performances. In typical VS fashion, there's a decent amount of quality extras, including the original short that inspired the movie. Those are always my favorite kind of extras.
Dark City (1998): Just release a 4k already, how is it so hard to do when we see all the crap that' coming out, but not this? Also do Thirteenth Floor while you're at it, the blu-ray is apparently a collector item now and goes for hundreds of dollars.
Everyone loves Juror#2. This week I read a review that talked about the plot in detail...and I realized I missed a good chunk of it while I was watching it. Evidently I walked away and missed juicy parts. I'm not going to pay to rent it again :( But maybe the price will drop soon.
Yes, everyone seems to love Juror #2. I was loving it until the moment the jurors began deliberating and then it all fell apart. I'm usually not nit picky, but the judge would have spent an hour or 2, right before, drilling into their heads what exactly the concept of "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt" is. But immediately, they're all "he might be guilty, so lets do guilty so I can go home and do my laundry". It's ludicrous. And then later they take a field trip to the crime scene? WTF. I wish I had liked it as much as everyone else has. And I did like it, but there was a lot of head shaking on my part. :(
That part reminded me of 12 ANGRY MEN, Paul. And I don't know why it was meant to because it quickly veered off in a different direction with them noseying about the crime scene. I'm so glad to learn judges teach jurors what "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt" as part of the deliberation process. I didn't know that!
Bridesmaids (2011): I've watched this movie a few times over the years now, and this is the first time it played well. Why would I rewatch a movie I don't like? Because it's been lauded over and over and I wanted to understand why. The first act is still problematic for me, I never cared for Kristen Wiig's style of humor. But when the movie moves from the humor and goes into drama, and I stopped looking for the jokes, I got it and I liked it. Though I have to admit, the poopy scene is still one of the funniest things I've ever seen in movies.
Snowpiercer (2013): another solid 4k release that I've been waiting for. And apparently, I was not alone because it sold out fast on amazon. But don't worry, it's coming back in stock.
ironic that you mention snowpiercer! i was totally thinking about revisiting this week! love that flick. also you just spent MORE of my money...bwhahahahahahahahhaha
Woot! ive been waiting for Kill Bill 4k FOREVER. Definitely a top 10 movie all time for me. Regrettably an early review is getting lots of buzz and the reviewer doesnt like the transfer. Im not super critical so im hopeful its a smidge better than the blu.
Kill Bill is a top 10 for me as well. I rewatched both of them about a month ago. I could probably just watch them on repeat and never get tired of it. When is he going to make another movie? His last one apparently. I hope it takes a decade, and it's a stone cold masterpiece, but then he says fuck it and just makes a new grindhouse type movie once per year from then on.
As one who adores action cinema, one of my absolute favorite things is how global/international the field has become and how some movies find a way to a far larger audience who can appreciate them. Kill is one such movie. An India based ultra violent revenge flick. The entire movie, more or less, takes place on a train. (LOVE me a contained workspace for action). Its a threadbare plot of a couple deeply in love, one betrothed to someone else in an arrange marriage, and a train full of bandits. Things go south quickly and non stop action ensues. The action is incredibly well done. There are a few twisty turny moments. Its one hell of a ride. Love it.
egads! i did not. honestly i tripped across it looking at prime new rentals and after reading a review or two i just blind bought the 4K disk. money well spent as im gonna revisit a bunch.
Anyoo, i must watch the essay your reference. is it on youtube? i dont know Patrick Willems.
24 hours later this flick is still resonating in my head. I want to rewatch immediately. I can confidently say to any fan of action cinema...one who digs movies like Hard Boiled, The Raid, John Wick, SISU, etc.....that you should absolutely seek this out.
And...for those uber fans of action cinema AND physical media...snag the 4k! I watched the 45m making of today on the disc and found it fascinating. The cast and crew have so much passion for what they are doing. There is incredible level of detail and physical props and practical effects. This movie is being referenced as one of the most violent out of India, and the crew is as proud of that as it is the heart/emotion/precision brought to the screen. This flick will join the Wick series as action comfort food for me, which i will revisit a LOT. Equally, i will watch anything this production crew/actors create going forward day 1.
I've finally seen ANORA (2024). It's very, very good, and Mikey Madison is an absolute force of nature. I don't know if I'd call it movie of the year, though.
ALIEN (1979). Ridley Scott goodness!
TRUE ROMANCE (1993). Tony Scott goodness!
WATCHMEN CHAPTER ONE (2024). I don't know. This is a nice recreation of the original comic (with a little Blade Runner thrown in). But it's SO slavishly faithful, why not just read the comic instead?
THE WARRIORS (1979). Super-fun movie, but I'm at a loss as to when this is supposed to take place. Is it contemporary 1979, or a sci-fi dystopia? No one online can agree on an answer, it seems.
CHALLENGERS (2024). Not sure if this lives up to the hype, but it was interesting. Zendaya's "I'm a grown-up now" performance was especially good.
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968). At the end of the day, aren't we all just a bunch of big space babies?
"Can you dig it?" The Warriors is pretty much its own alternate reality. Gangs dressed like the New York Yankees would not exist in the real world. That is a film I have had the chance to see twice on a big screen (Mahoning Drive-In).
PSYCHIC MOMENT! As i was scrolling thru prime movies early this morning i stopped upon The Warriors just as i was opening this thread. Just as it played the sound byte "CAN YOU DIG IT", i saw Mac & A Casuals post. Uncanny! (PS: i do love that flick so)
Amazing list Mac. You picked some doozies this weekend. As for Watchmen...i agree with you. I was pretty stoked for this new release as i figured it would be the most true-to-source of the different things we've got thus far...and i suppose thats indeed true....but i just didnt connect with it NEAR as much as the source or even the movie adaptation (which ive grown from liking alot to loving).
With the start of the American tax filing season, I know having time for movies will be limited in the next few months. I took advantage of my free time to get to some this week.
THE CINCINNATI KID (1965, dir. Norman Jewison) – A film that has been in my watch list for many years and one that exceeded my expectations. With a solid script, a young director on his way to a notable Hollywood career, and an amazing cast, the pieces fell into place for a memorable film. Steve McQueen channels Steve McQueen in the best way (those blue eyes!) for his role as the new hot poker player who takes on a living legend of the game. Edward G. Robinson, however, steals the film.
MY BLUE HEAVEN (1950) – Continuing my watches of 20th-Century Fox Technicolor musicals with this story of a couple trying to start a family. Betty Grable and Dan Dailey are the showbusiness couple moving from radio to the new medium of television. My Blue Heaven is more centered around drama than most of the studio’s musicals. Though I liked some of the musical numbers, particularly the one about Halloween, none of them really stand out as memorable.
HUNDRA (1983, dir. Matt Cimber) on Prime – In the world of Conan rip-offs, Hundra stands out for its skewed feminist slant. Hundra is a woman from a tribe of independent women who are massacred by marauding barbarians. Forced to continue on the tribe's lineage by going out into the world, Hundra has some typical and not so typical sword and sorcery experiences. With the Spanish locations and the Ennio Morricone score, the production values are surprisingly high for this kind of film. If you like dumb and trashy 1980s films, Hundra might be for you.
Since Prime automatically moves on to another film, I ended up watching the low-budget science-fiction human hunt flick SLAVE GIRLS FROM BEYOND INFINITY (1987) right after Hundra. SLAVE GIRLS was a Junesploitation watch many years ago. For what it is, the film delivers a competent dose of VHS or late-night cable exploitation in less than 80 minutes.
Last night there was an unexpected double feature. I first put on a British thriller that I recently found on Prime call ASSAULT, from 1971. When two students of a British girls school are sexually attacked in a wooded area, the police to turn the one witness, an art teacher at the same school, who briefly saw the perpetrator. I would not say Assault is without merits as a thriller, but the story unfolds in a clunky manner. The score is too over-the-top for its own good, too. The lead, Suzy Kendall, starred in several well-known gialli, and a young Leslie-Anne Down portrays one of the victims.
Though more of a traditional police thriller, there were undoubtedly some giallo elements in Assault. It whetted my appetite for a real giallo. I went to Tubi and put on 1972's AMUCK!, a sleazy but stylish slice of Italian trash. Amuck! is as fun as I remember it being. Starring two of my favorite Italian genre actresses, this a mystery set around Venice. When a secretary working for a writer disappears, her colleague and friend Greta (Barbara Bouchet) replaces her to investigate the disappearance. Can Greta avoid getting found out before she discovers the truth?
Ok repost without the spoilers for Gladiator, sorry...
GLADIATOR II. Uh...well I enjoyed the last acts. I was not into the backstory stuff.
Paul Mescal is NOT what I would consider charismatic in this. I'm sure he's great in other things but I don't get the casting here. This is the first time I've ever seen Pedro Pascal in anything!!! (I secretly don't watch movies....if people here haven't figured that out already over the last few years). He was very sweet looking, which I think was the point. But everyone's acting overall...so odd. I agree with Rob's review of Denzel's performance - that man was obviously having fun.
I was playing with the idea of showing Ridley Scott's THE LAST DUEL in my World History class. But upon watching parts of it again, I can't think of how to make it less sexual. My all-boys class would not be able to handle. Which is too bad because it's extremely informative and provides visual understanding of anti-woman "science".
Over the Christmas season I watched The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) with a commentary by Brian Henson and Mike Flanagan. It was really good! It’s always interesting to hear about all the techniques used to make puppet movies. The commentary is from a podcast Flanagan has started where he does commentaries with the directors of their own movies.
ReplyDeleteI also watched The Polar Express which I appreciated a lot more than before. Sure, the early motion capture was a little janky, but there’s so much creativity there, I was left amazed. Also watched A Christmas Carol (2009), and there’s lots to love there, but overall is uneven. Some bits are great, and others leave your head shaking.
I hadn’t seen Miracle on 34th Street since I was a child but had fond memories of it. I decided to watch the remake from the ‘90s. Wow, that movie was amazing and filled me with Christmas spirit. Santa Claus is real! Richard Attenborough is excellent as Kris Kringle. I'll rewatch the original from the '40s next year.
i ADORED Miracle on 34th Street growing up. Such a sweet flick. Its like a A Few Good Men meets Santa. "YOU CANT HANDLE THIS CRINGLE!"
DeleteI watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and it was so much fun! I have fond memories of this one, because it was a rare one where my parents let me stay up super late as a child to watch it with them. (“Super late” probably was 10:30 haha, I was young). It’s partially the sound stages, but I found a lot of similarities between this and the Shaw brothers movies. They’re not quite dancing, but almost.
ReplyDeleteI watched Flipper (1963) which I remember loving as a child, and enjoyed it very much again. I just wanted to jump in the water and swim with dolphins too. I had the Flipper song in my head for a couple of days.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI guess I’ve been revisiting a lot of childhood movies, because I watched A High Wind in Jamaica (1965) which we had on VHS, and probably was the movie that ignited my love for tall ships and movies set on (or under) the ocean. I love this movie deeply. Very strong recommend.
ReplyDeleteSorry for posting each movie individually. Blogger was filtering my posts, so I had to break it down until I found out which word or phrase was triggering the filter. The sentence that I had to remove was basically was that the ending was pretty tragic. I love Anthony Quinn, he's the best in everything.
DeleteGood old Blogger
DeleteWe all have to deal with the whims of Blogger.
DeleteSometimes I can get into a mood to watch films that take me back to an earlier time, Paul. It tends to be the European genre films I discovered in the early 2010s. There were a lot of good things happening for me then.
Deleteg'day mates!
ReplyDeletethis weeks rando theme: talking head documentaries......
Platoon: Brothers In Arms (2018 Prime)
Fabulous documentary that walks thru Platoon from inception to release as told by almost all of the primary actors. Its hard to imagine that this film was a "little movie that could" with a large amount of unknowns at the time. The cast is refreshingly frank and some of the stories delve into the uncomfortable to disturbing. The cast is universal in its description of Oliver Stone as difficult/demanding/brilliant/a-hole. (Regrettably he wasnt involved with this docs production).
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night (2025 Peacock+)
A four part documentary released in celebration of SNLs 50th. They took an interesting approach, having each episode focus on one aspect: Auditions, Writing, Cowbell Sketch, and Season 11. Its well made and lots of interviews with cast past/present. Probably for SNL diehards only but i enjoyed the watch.
Can't wait to watch SNL50, i've been waiting for this
DeleteThanks for the recommend! Brothers in arms is on Tubi here as well.
DeleteWatched Brothers in Arms on Tubi. Solid doc, everybody's there, thanks for the recommendation.
Deletewoot! glad you dug!!! i actually teared up when Kieth David told the story of the veteran who said "i know you".
DeleteYeah, that was hard. And the part when they describe the cast leaving one by one.
DeleteI spent the first couple of weeks of 2025 visiting my retired parents in their retirement community in Arizona. Here in chronological order are the movies we watched during my 10-day visit:
ReplyDeleteJUROR #2 (MAX): What an end of year for Nicholas Hoult; between this, "The Order" ("Heat" in early 80's rural America) and the new "Nosferatu" the man knows how to pick good projects. Parents loved the flick and brought back memories of their bad times when they served in juries.
X (MAX) and PEARL (Peacock): Due circumstances that I still cannot fathom, I showed my dad "X" right after "Juror #2." To my shock he liked it, and the next MORNING (!!) we watched "Pearl" which he liked that one even more! :-O He wanted to watch "MaXXXine" right away but I convinced him to let the first two gestate in his mind before he watches the end of Ti West's trilogy on his own. The old man can still surprise me. :-P
BABYGIRL (AMC THEATER): Really wanted to watch A24's Christmas Oscar bait flick before my ranking list, so I talked my parents to take their companion dog with them to the movies to see if the dog passed the test. The three of us HATED the movie (too kinky and nothing new or interesting to say about the subject matter) but their dog passed the test and can now be taken anywhere companion dogs are allowed. :-)
NO HARD FEELINGS (DIGITAL RENTAL): My parents didn't even know who Jennifer Lawrence was, so I rented this so we could have some hearty laughs. They thought the movie was stupid, but they were laughing hard at many of the gags. I love this more with every rewatch, particularly the "Maneater" piano song.
THE FRONT ROOM (MAX): My folks play lots of tennis and pickleball with retired folks, and one of them (a lady named Mildred) felt to me like a dead ringer for the character of "Solange" in this A24 horror drama. Stepmom walked out in disgust 20 minutes in, but dad loved the over-the-top performances and idea of a mother-in-law from hell. The ending makes the movie great IMO, but YMMV.
TAKEN (BLU-RAY): My dad and I saw his first Liam Neeson movie, "In The Land of Saints and Sinners,' last year in a theater. So I showed him where this guy became the senior citizen action hero of the past 16 years and he loved it. As a father of two daughters he told me later he wished he could do to some ex-boyfriends of my sisters what L.N. does to the Albanian bad guys here, but admits that in real life the two bad guys at the Paris airport would have killed him and that would be the end of his "Taken" movie. :-P
THE WILD ROBOT (DIGITAL RENTAL): My dad loved this, saying it's one of the best movies he's ever seen. Told me to call him back on Jan. 24th when "TWR" starts streaming on Peacock so he can organize a movie watch party so he can show it to his fellow retired friends... something he's never done in the 15+ years I've visited him. :')
Returned to NYC on Wednesday and Thursday I got my first three 2025 movies at the AMC A-List theater in Times Square that I frequent. THE DAMNED was slow-moving and atmospheric, 19th century European horror that throws unexpected moments of shock/gore. It's fine but hardly memorable. DEN OF THIEVES: PANTERA (Dolby Cinema) feels a lot more classy and far less bloody than its prequel, which felt like watered-down "Heat" meets a Gerard Butler action vehicle. O'Shea Jackson Jr. and Butler have great chemistry together and the main heist is elaborate and fun to watch. "DOT:P" feels like Lionsgate forcing its filmmakers to try to squeeze a franchise out of thin material that just barely sustains its narrative. Last and certainly least, Leigh Whanell's WOLF MAN (IMAX) doubles down on the 'men are douchebags' hook of his "Invisible Man" remake from 2020 and tries to apply a dose of "The Fly" (Cronenberg remake) to the tragedy of circumstances. Nothing works (the make-up effects and final monster are a joke) because the family/victims are such cyphers you don't care or feel anything for anybody. YMMV, but you're on your own. :-(
Any Pantera music in Den of Theives? 😎
DeleteIf there was l wouldn't have noticed. I'm musically iliterate. 🤭😪
DeleteI'm glad you got to spend some good movie time with your parents! I'm really looking forward to seeing The Wild Robot.
DeleteWrath of Man (2021 bluray)
ReplyDeleteMy recent revisit of Den of Thieves had me itching to revisit this, a film i feel pairs well with DoT. Unquestionably both live in the shadow of the film that most reference as a strong influence: Heat. However i think both stand just fine on their own. I love this movie. Probably my fav Statham and top 3 for Ritchie. Its a pure revenge actioner within the crime/heist genre. Ritchie does some fun stuff with timelines including showing the same inciting incident multiple times throughout the movie but from different perspectives. (slight spoiler) During this viewing i kinda loved that theres a midsection montage of trying to hunt down the crew responsible for the inciting incident..its filled with death/carnage...and upon reflection did NOTHING to move the protagonist closer to his enemies. solid choice. The flick is filled with excellent characters and moves swiftly, no filler. The finale caught me off guard with the level of collateral damage. Love this movie.
The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2 - Judgment Day (1991): Look, I like T1 as much as the next guy. It's a solid top-tier B-movie from a guy who clearly knew what he was doing. But... the action scenes from T2 are just the best. The kind like we've rarely seen since then. And the score is so good. Now, a word on the 4k discs. Do get T1, it looks good and is relatively cheap. DO NOT get T2! If you already have the old blu-ray, stick with it. If not, get the old blu-ray. Read the reviews, you'll understand. Oh, by the way, T3 is kinda good, and I don't hate Salvation as much as everybody else.
ReplyDeleteProspect (2018): I blind bought this during the last Vinegar Syndrome boxing day, it was fairly cheap for a 4k. It's a pretty good, sci-fi movie featuring the lesser Duplass brother, Jay Duplass, and internet favorite daddy, Pedro Pascal, in an early role where he has to deal with a kid. There's nothing groundbreaking here, just a decent indie flick with good writing and performances. In typical VS fashion, there's a decent amount of quality extras, including the original short that inspired the movie. Those are always my favorite kind of extras.
Dark City (1998): Just release a 4k already, how is it so hard to do when we see all the crap that' coming out, but not this? Also do Thirteenth Floor while you're at it, the blu-ray is apparently a collector item now and goes for hundreds of dollars.
Everyone loves Juror#2. This week I read a review that talked about the plot in detail...and I realized I missed a good chunk of it while I was watching it. Evidently I walked away and missed juicy parts. I'm not going to pay to rent it again :( But maybe the price will drop soon.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of the ending. I don't like when movies don't 'end'.
DeleteSame!
DeleteI thought that ending was definitive.
DeleteSpoilers
**
He's pleading guilty. the movie doesn't need him going to court.
I get that, and i understood that, but i prefer my movies to have a proper conclusion, or epilogue. But that's just me.
DeleteYes, everyone seems to love Juror #2. I was loving it until the moment the jurors began deliberating and then it all fell apart. I'm usually not nit picky, but the judge would have spent an hour or 2, right before, drilling into their heads what exactly the concept of "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt" is. But immediately, they're all "he might be guilty, so lets do guilty so I can go home and do my laundry". It's ludicrous. And then later they take a field trip to the crime scene? WTF. I wish I had liked it as much as everyone else has. And I did like it, but there was a lot of head shaking on my part. :(
DeleteThat part reminded me of 12 ANGRY MEN, Paul. And I don't know why it was meant to because it quickly veered off in a different direction with them noseying about the crime scene. I'm so glad to learn judges teach jurors what "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt" as part of the deliberation process. I didn't know that!
DeleteBridesmaids (2011): I've watched this movie a few times over the years now, and this is the first time it played well. Why would I rewatch a movie I don't like? Because it's been lauded over and over and I wanted to understand why. The first act is still problematic for me, I never cared for Kristen Wiig's style of humor. But when the movie moves from the humor and goes into drama, and I stopped looking for the jokes, I got it and I liked it. Though I have to admit, the poopy scene is still one of the funniest things I've ever seen in movies.
ReplyDeleteSnowpiercer (2013): another solid 4k release that I've been waiting for. And apparently, I was not alone because it sold out fast on amazon. But don't worry, it's coming back in stock.
ironic that you mention snowpiercer! i was totally thinking about revisiting this week! love that flick. also you just spent MORE of my money...bwhahahahahahahahhaha
DeleteYeah, it's a good time and a bad time to be a collector. So many good special editions coming out now. I have The Cell and Jackie Brown on the way too
DeleteWoot! ive been waiting for Kill Bill 4k FOREVER. Definitely a top 10 movie all time for me. Regrettably an early review is getting lots of buzz and the reviewer doesnt like the transfer. Im not super critical so im hopeful its a smidge better than the blu.
DeleteKill Bill is a top 10 for me as well. I rewatched both of them about a month ago. I could probably just watch them on repeat and never get tired of it. When is he going to make another movie? His last one apparently. I hope it takes a decade, and it's a stone cold masterpiece, but then he says fuck it and just makes a new grindhouse type movie once per year from then on.
DeleteKill (2024 UHD)
ReplyDeleteAs one who adores action cinema, one of my absolute favorite things is how global/international the field has become and how some movies find a way to a far larger audience who can appreciate them. Kill is one such movie. An India based ultra violent revenge flick. The entire movie, more or less, takes place on a train. (LOVE me a contained workspace for action). Its a threadbare plot of a couple deeply in love, one betrothed to someone else in an arrange marriage, and a train full of bandits. Things go south quickly and non stop action ensues. The action is incredibly well done. There are a few twisty turny moments. Its one hell of a ride. Love it.
Did you watch this because of the Patrick Willems video essay on train movies? Because I did and also loved it
Deleteegads! i did not. honestly i tripped across it looking at prime new rentals and after reading a review or two i just blind bought the 4K disk. money well spent as im gonna revisit a bunch.
DeleteAnyoo, i must watch the essay your reference. is it on youtube? i dont know Patrick Willems.
Oh, and he did one on Indian cinema. But it's super long and almost too good, i don't want to get your expectations too high 😎
DeleteHUGE thanks Kunider! I instantly subscribed to Willems channel. Scrolling the videos i can confirm that ill be watching pretty much all of them. Woot!
DeleteA follow up comment on my Kill review:
Delete24 hours later this flick is still resonating in my head. I want to rewatch immediately. I can confidently say to any fan of action cinema...one who digs movies like Hard Boiled, The Raid, John Wick, SISU, etc.....that you should absolutely seek this out.
And...for those uber fans of action cinema AND physical media...snag the 4k! I watched the 45m making of today on the disc and found it fascinating. The cast and crew have so much passion for what they are doing. There is incredible level of detail and physical props and practical effects. This movie is being referenced as one of the most violent out of India, and the crew is as proud of that as it is the heart/emotion/precision brought to the screen. This flick will join the Wick series as action comfort food for me, which i will revisit a LOT. Equally, i will watch anything this production crew/actors create going forward day 1.
Crap i didn't know it was out on 4k
DeleteWell, you made me buy Kill. Too bad it's not HDR, but i'll survive. I'll need RRR next
Deletei need to watch RRR!!
DeletePatrick Willems did an entire video on RRR 😁
DeleteI've finally seen ANORA (2024). It's very, very good, and Mikey Madison is an absolute force of nature. I don't know if I'd call it movie of the year, though.
ReplyDeleteALIEN (1979). Ridley Scott goodness!
TRUE ROMANCE (1993). Tony Scott goodness!
WATCHMEN CHAPTER ONE (2024). I don't know. This is a nice recreation of the original comic (with a little Blade Runner thrown in). But it's SO slavishly faithful, why not just read the comic instead?
THE WARRIORS (1979). Super-fun movie, but I'm at a loss as to when this is supposed to take place. Is it contemporary 1979, or a sci-fi dystopia? No one online can agree on an answer, it seems.
CHALLENGERS (2024). Not sure if this lives up to the hype, but it was interesting. Zendaya's "I'm a grown-up now" performance was especially good.
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968). At the end of the day, aren't we all just a bunch of big space babies?
"Can you dig it?" The Warriors is pretty much its own alternate reality. Gangs dressed like the New York Yankees would not exist in the real world. That is a film I have had the chance to see twice on a big screen (Mahoning Drive-In).
DeletePSYCHIC MOMENT! As i was scrolling thru prime movies early this morning i stopped upon The Warriors just as i was opening this thread. Just as it played the sound byte "CAN YOU DIG IT", i saw Mac & A Casuals post. Uncanny! (PS: i do love that flick so)
DeleteAmazing list Mac. You picked some doozies this weekend. As for Watchmen...i agree with you. I was pretty stoked for this new release as i figured it would be the most true-to-source of the different things we've got thus far...and i suppose thats indeed true....but i just didnt connect with it NEAR as much as the source or even the movie adaptation (which ive grown from liking alot to loving).
About Watchmen, same, and JMS is my favorite author, so i was psyched. The nail on the coffin wad the animation, i hated it. I didn't watch Part 2
DeleteWith the start of the American tax filing season, I know having time for movies will be limited in the next few months. I took advantage of my free time to get to some this week.
ReplyDeleteTHE CINCINNATI KID (1965, dir. Norman Jewison) – A film that has been in my watch list for many years and one that exceeded my expectations. With a solid script, a young director on his way to a notable Hollywood career, and an amazing cast, the pieces fell into place for a memorable film. Steve McQueen channels Steve McQueen in the best way (those blue eyes!) for his role as the new hot poker player who takes on a living legend of the game. Edward G. Robinson, however, steals the film.
MY BLUE HEAVEN (1950) – Continuing my watches of 20th-Century Fox Technicolor musicals with this story of a couple trying to start a family. Betty Grable and Dan Dailey are the showbusiness couple moving from radio to the new medium of television. My Blue Heaven is more centered around drama than most of the studio’s musicals. Though I liked some of the musical numbers, particularly the one about Halloween, none of them really stand out as memorable.
HUNDRA (1983, dir. Matt Cimber) on Prime – In the world of Conan rip-offs, Hundra stands out for its skewed feminist slant. Hundra is a woman from a tribe of independent women who are massacred by marauding barbarians. Forced to continue on the tribe's lineage by going out into the world, Hundra has some typical and not so typical sword and sorcery experiences. With the Spanish locations and the Ennio Morricone score, the production values are surprisingly high for this kind of film. If you like dumb and trashy 1980s films, Hundra might be for you.
Since Prime automatically moves on to another film, I ended up watching the low-budget science-fiction human hunt flick SLAVE GIRLS FROM BEYOND INFINITY (1987) right after Hundra. SLAVE GIRLS was a Junesploitation watch many years ago. For what it is, the film delivers a competent dose of VHS or late-night cable exploitation in less than 80 minutes.
Last night there was an unexpected double feature. I first put on a British thriller that I recently found on Prime call ASSAULT, from 1971. When two students of a British girls school are sexually attacked in a wooded area, the police to turn the one witness, an art teacher at the same school, who briefly saw the perpetrator. I would not say Assault is without merits as a thriller, but the story unfolds in a clunky manner. The score is too over-the-top for its own good, too. The lead, Suzy Kendall, starred in several well-known gialli, and a young Leslie-Anne Down portrays one of the victims.
ReplyDeleteThough more of a traditional police thriller, there were undoubtedly some giallo elements in Assault. It whetted my appetite for a real giallo. I went to Tubi and put on 1972's AMUCK!, a sleazy but stylish slice of Italian trash. Amuck! is as fun as I remember it being. Starring two of my favorite Italian genre actresses, this a mystery set around Venice. When a secretary working for a writer disappears, her colleague and friend Greta (Barbara Bouchet) replaces her to investigate the disappearance. Can Greta avoid getting found out before she discovers the truth?
Ok repost without the spoilers for Gladiator, sorry...
ReplyDeleteGLADIATOR II. Uh...well I enjoyed the last acts. I was not into the backstory stuff.
Paul Mescal is NOT what I would consider charismatic in this. I'm sure he's great in other things but I don't get the casting here. This is the first time I've ever seen Pedro Pascal in anything!!! (I secretly don't watch movies....if people here haven't figured that out already over the last few years). He was very sweet looking, which I think was the point. But everyone's acting overall...so odd. I agree with Rob's review of Denzel's performance - that man was obviously having fun.
I was playing with the idea of showing Ridley Scott's THE LAST DUEL in my World History class. But upon watching parts of it again, I can't think of how to make it less sexual. My all-boys class would not be able to handle. Which is too bad because it's extremely informative and provides visual understanding of anti-woman "science".
Thanks for the review AND the reminder that i have yet to see The Last Duel....must correct that post-haste!
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