Rules of Engagement (2000): William Friedkin's A Few Good Men, but with more gunfights. I'll take courtroom-military drama any day of the week. If you like the genre, you'll most likely like this one. The epilogue text at the end of the movie is really not necessary though.
Speaking of Friedkin, Criterion just announced Sorcerer on 4k, to be released in June. I almost jumped for joy in the lunchroom at work. Time to retire the old Blu-ray. My pre-order is already made. Side note, they just released the previous adaptation of the same story on 4k, The Wages of Fear (Le salaire de la peur). Excellent movie, highly recommended.
Blue Chips (1994): another Friedkin, why not? Decent movie, nowhere near his best, or even his 5th best. But as sports movie go, it's entertaining enough. Friedkin sure love his epilogue-explainer-text, because this movie has one too.
Ferrell Takes the Field (2015): I love baseball, so anything to do with it, I'll watch. Will Ferrell is doing a charity thing, which is fun... for a little while. The charity is for a good cause, but the jokes he makes along the way gets repetitive pretty quick. Luckily, it's only 50 minutes.
The Concessionaires Must Die! (2017): fun, very low budget movie about a group of employees trying to save their closing move theatre. Classic storyline, but everybody seems to have fun, and there's a couple of decent cameos, like Dan Lauria and Stan Lee. There's a bit of a Clerks vibe to it that's kinda endearing. I also learned my friend worked on the post-production, he even got a t-shirt of the movie.
Shattered Glass (2003): I finally received the newly released blu-ray from Imprint (Australians are killing it in the blu-ray market) and it's a fantastic disc. One of the extras is the original 60 Minutes interview with Stephen Glass, and I just can't watch that one, it's too awkward to me. The movie is highly recommended. I can never say it enough, Hayden Christensen is actually a good actor and he was able to show it here. And the rest of the cast is absurdly good. Weird coincidence, the cinematographer also did the new Snow white.
Delicatessen (1991): I paid way too much for the Limited Edition 4k from Severin, but it has a 3rd disc with a short movie from the directors, so of course I had to get that edition (the regular 4k edition is coming out next week). The Jeunet/Caro movies (this and City of Lost Children) have always been in regular rotation throughout my life. They're so dark and weird and fun.
The Wages of Fear is one I've been sitting on for far too long. I'm lazy and don't delve into enough foreign language movies. I'm used to Quebecois French and have difficulties understanding the European dialect. The Battle of Algiers is another one.
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955, dir. John Sturges) was a neo-western. Set in a small town that feels like the west except they have cars instead of horses. Spencer Tracy arrives in town on a modern train, unclear why, but everyone is hostile towards him, also unclear why. I really liked this. It’s got a freaking stacked cast. Spencer Tracy, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin. And a one armed man!
I wanted to watch another J. Sturges movie so I watched another Spencer Tracy collaboration, The Old Man and The Sea (1958) which I liked a lot, but wouldn’t recommend to anyone. Movies set on the sea are my jam, and this was unfortunately set in a tank in a studio lot, and it’s obvious. Tracy is fantastic, and most of the dialogue is narration. Funnily enough, I’ve never read the book, although he’s one of my favourite authors. The Sun Also Rises is in my top 10.
INVICTUS (2009) This is the Clint Eastwood movie about Nelson Mandela's support for the SA rugby team. Starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. I watched this so I could show it in class. I cried all the way through. It was very uplifting. Still don't understand what's happening in a rugby game, though.
KRAVEN ATJ just makes me smile. I can't tell if he's a good actor or if I just like him. I think he is but I'm not super confident. I do know he's extremely likable. The movie was OK for me. Definitely better than Morbius. It was a weird watch because I'm kind of on this no-violence thing right now. More talking, less ripping people's guts out next movie would be nice.
THE ULTIMATE SCI-FI FANTASY FUCK UP? Unless I missed it, somehow no one on either of the podcast feeds over the last year even acknowledged the existence of one of the wildest, most misguidedly heartfelt - and most personally expensive - high profile failures ever made. In the last year, I believe, Coppola's The Conversation, Bram Stroker's Dracula and The Godfather were all mentioned in passing, but not MEGALOPOLIS. What gives? Every frame of this thing is trying for something, once in a while with success, plus at one point Jon Voight says "How do you like my boner?" Any chance there's enough here for a podcast?
Stone (1974) Watched this last night programmed by Night Flight. Pre-Mad Max Ozploitation flick that’s pretty good and then goes full bonkers in the last moments cementing it as must-see sleaze in my opinion.
Mississippi Burning (1988) Finally getting around to this one on my Gene Hackman tribute tour and it’s five stars easy just on cast alone. Between this and Cisco Pike (1972) which I watched last week, it’s easy to see Hackman was never lacking in comedic talent that blended perfectly with his hard nosed characters. I’m going to attempt Crimson Tide (1995) a little later and maybe get around to finishing the Tromaville documentary, Greetings From Tromaville (2017) as well.
Casual: I've already been thinking about Junesploitation, too! I have been considering the following categories:
Eurosploitation Queens (eg, Edwige Fenich, Barbara Bouchet, Ingrid Pitt...) Roughies! Phillipinesploitation! or, perhaps more broadly, Asia! Women in Prison! Exploitation Auteurs! (eg, HG Lewis, Al Adamson, Bruno Mattei, etc...) Nunsploitation!
Just a few ideas. I've also been compiling a list of possible films. I am hoping to watch a lot of foreign films for this year's edition; there's some absolutely bats**t crazy movies from overseas that I have only begun to explore.
Thanks for checking in about this year's 'Spoitivities! Looking forward to June!
I always have a list of candidates for possible Junesploitation watches, Zillagord. Some films have been in the list for several years, moving closer to the top as others are watched. Since my acquisitions have considerably slowed down, that list has not grown as much as past years. There are plenty of titles in my collection to last for a few more Junes before having to re-watch anything.
A prison day is featured every few years, so W.I.P. films could fit into that. Filipino B-movies would be a day of many options. I believe nunsploitation was featured in one of the earliest Junesploitations. The Italian horror and giallo days can provide opportunities to watch some of those actresses you mentioned. I certainly would not mind a day dedicated to them, though.
On Junesploitation free days, I sometimes create my own themes. There have been several director days; including Joe Sarno, Jess Franco and Lee Frost; in past years. Drive-in movies are another common theme of my free days.
STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY (1991) Despite hating the Klingons, Kirk does the right thing and makes a stand for peace. Also, bright pink Klingon blood!
MOANA 2 (2024) This wasn’t as bad as everyone’s been saying. I thought it was quite good. It’s a “young woman in a leadership role” story, something we don’t get enough of.
MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975) I have to push the pram a lot.
JUROR #2 (2024) Not quite what I expected. I thought it'd be more of a thriller, with our hero constantly worried about getting caught. It's almost a "hangout movie" vibe as we get to know the various characters more and more throughout. Did I like the movie? I found it... interesting.
SWAMP THING (1982) Wes Craven goodness!
KRAVEN THE HUNTER (2024) (No relation to Wes.) A disaster of a movie, but not without its amusing bits. I still don’t like this take on the Rhino, though.
UGLIES (2024) Yet another YA dystopia in the Hunger Games/Divergent/Maze Runner mold. This one can’t decide if it’s about the haves-versus-have-nots metaphor or if it’s about the cool hoverboard jumps. And yes, the so-called “uglies” are all played by beautiful people.
Funny you should mention Holy Grail. John Cleese is currently on a never-ending tour; he shows up in your town, screens Holy Grail, and then does a live Q & A. He's coming to nearby Thousand Oaks in September; I'm debating whether to go.
It was a week of the tax work slackening up a little, so I found myself with a little more energy than usual. Although I cannot say that anything I watched was great, I accept that not every film will leave me satisfied.
MAN IN THE ATTIC (1953) – An old film is not necessarily a good one. This pedestrian remake of Hitchcock’s silent film The Lodger has some nice cinematography and an engaging performance from Jack Palance to partially compensate for muddled storytelling. With the film switching between being a thriller, a romance, a comedy, and a musical, the tone is all over the place. The attempt to create a period feel is undermined by some very 1950s Hollywood style, particularly during the musical numbers. I was glad it was only around 80 minutes.
FELIDAE (1994, dir. Michael Schaack) – When a curious cat named Francis moves into a city neighborhood, he discovers that a series of killings is happening within the feline population of the area. He decides to become a detective and discover the truth behind it. Felidae is a German animated film that goes into some weird anthropomorphic territory as it delves into animal cruelty, religion, dream sequences, and some surprisingly bloody deaths. I cannot say I found the ending as satisfying as the build-up to it, but the animation is nice to look at.
THE LIMEY (1999, dir. Steven Soderbergh) – I have not watched many of Soderbergh’s films. Seeing that this is going off of MUBI soon, it was my pick for a Saturday night watch. After all, I am always up for a revenge thriller set in Los Angeles. This is no sleazy romp like Death Wish II or Vice Squad (R.I.P. Wings Hauser), though. Soderbergh’s intention seemed to focus on playing with the elements of revenge films more than to exploit them. That aspect of The Limey sometimes took me out of the film, but the terrific cast succeeded in drawing me back into it. Still, it is not one my best watches this year. There are many familiar faces from the 1960s and ‘70s that show up.
I watched a bunch of crap over the weekend, but one movie stood out...
O'Dessa (2025): A weird post-apocalyptic musical that doesn't always work, but was very interesting. Nobody's gonna see it because it was seemingly dumped on Hulu without too much noise, but I think it's worth the watch. It would be right at home between 70s musicals like Hair and 80s sci-fi like Cherry 2000. Anyway, it worked for me.
FOR LOVE OF IVY (1968) This is a civil-rights era romcom starring Sidney Poitier and Abbey Lincoln. I thought it was much more smart and political than most films I've seen from the time period, including all of Sidney Poitier's other movies actually, even though I'm a fan of most. It was really enjoyable. Highly recommend.
Sorry for the long one, i jad a good week.
ReplyDeleteRules of Engagement (2000): William Friedkin's A Few Good Men, but with more gunfights. I'll take courtroom-military drama any day of the week. If you like the genre, you'll most likely like this one. The epilogue text at the end of the movie is really not necessary though.
Speaking of Friedkin, Criterion just announced Sorcerer on 4k, to be released in June. I almost jumped for joy in the lunchroom at work. Time to retire the old Blu-ray. My pre-order is already made. Side note, they just released the previous adaptation of the same story on 4k, The Wages of Fear (Le salaire de la peur). Excellent movie, highly recommended.
Blue Chips (1994): another Friedkin, why not? Decent movie, nowhere near his best, or even his 5th best. But as sports movie go, it's entertaining enough. Friedkin sure love his epilogue-explainer-text, because this movie has one too.
Ferrell Takes the Field (2015): I love baseball, so anything to do with it, I'll watch. Will Ferrell is doing a charity thing, which is fun... for a little while. The charity is for a good cause, but the jokes he makes along the way gets repetitive pretty quick. Luckily, it's only 50 minutes.
The Concessionaires Must Die! (2017): fun, very low budget movie about a group of employees trying to save their closing move theatre. Classic storyline, but everybody seems to have fun, and there's a couple of decent cameos, like Dan Lauria and Stan Lee. There's a bit of a Clerks vibe to it that's kinda endearing. I also learned my friend worked on the post-production, he even got a t-shirt of the movie.
Shattered Glass (2003): I finally received the newly released blu-ray from Imprint (Australians are killing it in the blu-ray market) and it's a fantastic disc. One of the extras is the original 60 Minutes interview with Stephen Glass, and I just can't watch that one, it's too awkward to me. The movie is highly recommended. I can never say it enough, Hayden Christensen is actually a good actor and he was able to show it here. And the rest of the cast is absurdly good. Weird coincidence, the cinematographer also did the new Snow white.
Delicatessen (1991): I paid way too much for the Limited Edition 4k from Severin, but it has a 3rd disc with a short movie from the directors, so of course I had to get that edition (the regular 4k edition is coming out next week). The Jeunet/Caro movies (this and City of Lost Children) have always been in regular rotation throughout my life. They're so dark and weird and fun.
The Wages of Fear is one I've been sitting on for far too long. I'm lazy and don't delve into enough foreign language movies. I'm used to Quebecois French and have difficulties understanding the European dialect. The Battle of Algiers is another one.
DeleteYou'll need the english subtitles anyway, there's a few scenes with other foreign languages.
DeleteBad Day at Black Rock (1955, dir. John Sturges) was a neo-western. Set in a small town that feels like the west except they have cars instead of horses. Spencer Tracy arrives in town on a modern train, unclear why, but everyone is hostile towards him, also unclear why. I really liked this. It’s got a freaking stacked cast. Spencer Tracy, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin. And a one armed man!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to watch another J. Sturges movie so I watched another Spencer Tracy collaboration, The Old Man and The Sea (1958) which I liked a lot, but wouldn’t recommend to anyone. Movies set on the sea are my jam, and this was unfortunately set in a tank in a studio lot, and it’s obvious. Tracy is fantastic, and most of the dialogue is narration. Funnily enough, I’ve never read the book, although he’s one of my favourite authors. The Sun Also Rises is in my top 10.
Bad Day is definitely in my basket right now
DeleteINVICTUS (2009)
ReplyDeleteThis is the Clint Eastwood movie about Nelson Mandela's support for the SA rugby team. Starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. I watched this so I could show it in class. I cried all the way through. It was very uplifting. Still don't understand what's happening in a rugby game, though.
KRAVEN
ATJ just makes me smile. I can't tell if he's a good actor or if I just like him. I think he is but I'm not super confident. I do know he's extremely likable. The movie was OK for me. Definitely better than Morbius. It was a weird watch because I'm kind of on this no-violence thing right now. More talking, less ripping people's guts out next movie would be nice.
THE ULTIMATE SCI-FI FANTASY FUCK UP? Unless I missed it, somehow no one on either of the podcast feeds over the last year even acknowledged the existence of one of the wildest, most misguidedly heartfelt - and most personally expensive - high profile failures ever made. In the last year, I believe, Coppola's The Conversation, Bram Stroker's Dracula and The Godfather were all mentioned in passing, but not MEGALOPOLIS. What gives? Every frame of this thing is trying for something, once in a while with success, plus at one point Jon Voight says "How do you like my boner?" Any chance there's enough here for a podcast?
ReplyDeleteStone (1974)
ReplyDeleteWatched this last night programmed by Night Flight. Pre-Mad Max Ozploitation flick that’s pretty good and then goes full bonkers in the last moments cementing it as must-see sleaze in my opinion.
Mississippi Burning (1988)
Finally getting around to this one on my Gene Hackman tribute tour and it’s five stars easy just on cast alone. Between this and Cisco Pike (1972) which I watched last week, it’s easy to see Hackman was never lacking in comedic talent that blended perfectly with his hard nosed characters. I’m going to attempt Crimson Tide (1995) a little later and maybe get around to finishing the Tromaville documentary, Greetings From Tromaville (2017) as well.
The stunt with Grant Page driving off of the cliff in Stone is one of the craziest I have ever seen. It amazes me that he made it to the age of 83.
DeleteWith Junesploitation approaching, I have been putting together ideas for new categories and actors to feature for the 2025 edition.
ReplyDeleteCategories:
Private Eyes!
Heists!
Magic! (witches, wizards, sorcerers, etc.)
Actors:
Wings Hauser (R.I.P.)
David Carradine
Pam Grier
Michelle Yeoh
Lance Hendrickson
Lee Marvin
What ideas do all of you have for Junesploitation days?
Casual:
DeleteI've already been thinking about Junesploitation, too! I have been considering the following categories:
Eurosploitation Queens (eg, Edwige Fenich, Barbara Bouchet, Ingrid Pitt...)
Roughies!
Phillipinesploitation! or, perhaps more broadly, Asia!
Women in Prison!
Exploitation Auteurs! (eg, HG Lewis, Al Adamson, Bruno Mattei, etc...)
Nunsploitation!
Just a few ideas. I've also been compiling a list of possible films. I am hoping to watch a lot of foreign films for this year's edition; there's some absolutely bats**t crazy movies from overseas that I have only begun to explore.
Thanks for checking in about this year's 'Spoitivities! Looking forward to June!
I always have a list of candidates for possible Junesploitation watches, Zillagord. Some films have been in the list for several years, moving closer to the top as others are watched. Since my acquisitions have considerably slowed down, that list has not grown as much as past years. There are plenty of titles in my collection to last for a few more Junes before having to re-watch anything.
DeleteA prison day is featured every few years, so W.I.P. films could fit into that. Filipino B-movies would be a day of many options. I believe nunsploitation was featured in one of the earliest Junesploitations. The Italian horror and giallo days can provide opportunities to watch some of those actresses you mentioned. I certainly would not mind a day dedicated to them, though.
On Junesploitation free days, I sometimes create my own themes. There have been several director days; including Joe Sarno, Jess Franco and Lee Frost; in past years. Drive-in movies are another common theme of my free days.
STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY (1991)
ReplyDeleteDespite hating the Klingons, Kirk does the right thing and makes a stand for peace. Also, bright pink Klingon blood!
MOANA 2 (2024)
This wasn’t as bad as everyone’s been saying. I thought it was quite good. It’s a “young woman in a leadership role” story, something we don’t get enough of.
MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975)
I have to push the pram a lot.
JUROR #2 (2024)
Not quite what I expected. I thought it'd be more of a thriller, with our hero constantly worried about getting caught. It's almost a "hangout movie" vibe as we get to know the various characters more and more throughout. Did I like the movie? I found it... interesting.
SWAMP THING (1982)
Wes Craven goodness!
KRAVEN THE HUNTER (2024)
(No relation to Wes.) A disaster of a movie, but not without its amusing bits. I still don’t like this take on the Rhino, though.
UGLIES (2024)
Yet another YA dystopia in the Hunger Games/Divergent/Maze Runner mold. This one can’t decide if it’s about the haves-versus-have-nots metaphor or if it’s about the cool hoverboard jumps. And yes, the so-called “uglies” are all played by beautiful people.
Funny you should mention Holy Grail. John Cleese is currently on a never-ending tour; he shows up in your town, screens Holy Grail, and then does a live Q & A. He's coming to nearby Thousand Oaks in September; I'm debating whether to go.
DeleteDo it, then report to us how it went.
DeleteAnd The Holy Grail was produced by Mark Forstater the same producer who did Xtro! It's all connected
DeleteIt was a week of the tax work slackening up a little, so I found myself with a little more energy than usual. Although I cannot say that anything I watched was great, I accept that not every film will leave me satisfied.
ReplyDeleteMAN IN THE ATTIC (1953) – An old film is not necessarily a good one. This pedestrian remake of Hitchcock’s silent film The Lodger has some nice cinematography and an engaging performance from Jack Palance to partially compensate for muddled storytelling. With the film switching between being a thriller, a romance, a comedy, and a musical, the tone is all over the place. The attempt to create a period feel is undermined by some very 1950s Hollywood style, particularly during the musical numbers. I was glad it was only around 80 minutes.
FELIDAE (1994, dir. Michael Schaack) – When a curious cat named Francis moves into a city neighborhood, he discovers that a series of killings is happening within the feline population of the area. He decides to become a detective and discover the truth behind it. Felidae is a German animated film that goes into some weird anthropomorphic territory as it delves into animal cruelty, religion, dream sequences, and some surprisingly bloody deaths. I cannot say I found the ending as satisfying as the build-up to it, but the animation is nice to look at.
THE LIMEY (1999, dir. Steven Soderbergh) – I have not watched many of Soderbergh’s films. Seeing that this is going off of MUBI soon, it was my pick for a Saturday night watch. After all, I am always up for a revenge thriller set in Los Angeles. This is no sleazy romp like Death Wish II or Vice Squad (R.I.P. Wings Hauser), though. Soderbergh’s intention seemed to focus on playing with the elements of revenge films more than to exploit them. That aspect of The Limey sometimes took me out of the film, but the terrific cast succeeded in drawing me back into it. Still, it is not one my best watches this year. There are many familiar faces from the 1960s and ‘70s that show up.
I personally love The Limey, but I get why some wouldn't get into it.
DeleteI watched a bunch of crap over the weekend, but one movie stood out...
ReplyDeleteO'Dessa (2025): A weird post-apocalyptic musical that doesn't always work, but was very interesting. Nobody's gonna see it because it was seemingly dumped on Hulu without too much noise, but I think it's worth the watch. It would be right at home between 70s musicals like Hair and 80s sci-fi like Cherry 2000. Anyway, it worked for me.
FOR LOVE OF IVY (1968)
ReplyDeleteThis is a civil-rights era romcom starring Sidney Poitier and Abbey Lincoln. I thought it was much more smart and political than most films I've seen from the time period, including all of Sidney Poitier's other movies actually, even though I'm a fan of most. It was really enjoyable. Highly recommend.