Warfare (2024): I won't say a lot about it. Just that it's good, but not an easy watch. Not a lot actually happens in the movie, but at the same time it says a lot of things.
Drop Zone (1994): Who cares about the movie, I paid 60$ to get the toy parachuter (it was only 5$ more). I'm really tempted to throw it off my apartment 3rd floor balcony, gonna have to wait for a friend to come by... Oh yeah, the movie... It's fine, I had fun, basically Point Break with more sky diving. I would've preferred Terminal Velocity with the same super-mega-cool boxset, but whatever, we got what we got. Patrick wrote a piece on it about 13 years ago, go read it. He didn't care for it that much, but that's exactly the kind of crap I'm craving right now.
Then I got a Rob Zombie trilogy Blu-ray at the used dvd store near me. The movies are: House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects and 3 From Hell, and it's finally my chance to watch that last one.
Also, I finally got Amadeus (1984) on 4k, it looks fantastic. Too bad it doesn't come with the regular Blu-ray with the director's cut and all the extras, so I'll have to hang on to it, I hate having doubles in my collection just for a few bonuses. The new cover is passable, but it will never beat the original.
Everything I've read is that the theatrical cut of AMADEUS is better but I feel like the DC is the one I've gotten used to from watching the DVD several times. Do you have a preference?
There's really only one scene in the DC that's relatively important (Constanze nude scene, not because of the nudity 😜), but honestly for me, the movie is still a masterpiece without it, i can take any version. Let's not forget it's the TC who got all the rewards and recognitions.
Amadeus seems to be one of those movies where half the people swear by the DC and others the theatrical (Donnie Darko is the other one that comes to mind). Which version should I watch? I should probably just watch either or of them, as it's reputably a fantastic movie and I'm missing out.
Thanks. My son wanted to watch Donnie Darko and I wasn't sure which version to recommend to him (queue to me googling intensely). He watched the TC finally. I should watch Amadeus right now. I woke up this morning thinking it was Monday for some reason, and was getting ready for work before I realised. Dumb I know. But now I have an extra day to watch movies! Like Amadeus.
It was nice that Amadeus released as PG so I could watch it as a kid. And be fascinated and obsessed with it as a kid. If it had been R, especially for that really psychologically corrupt scene with Stanzi, I wouldn't have seen it. Is it BETTER? Idk, but it changed its audience.
I can remember watching Amadeus when I was young, but I cannot remember the circumstances. It could have been for school. Everything goes back over well over thirty years.
See? That was so smart. They found a way to slip it into school! I think I also saw it in school actually. And we rented it at home over and over until we bought it.
I checked out the new Gareth Evans flick, HAVOC! I dig it. I saw a promotional interview with him a few days ago, and he mentioned Woo and Ringo Lam, so I immediately started to switch my expectations from THE RAID to heroic bloodshed stuff. It's not a perfect film, but I'm an action dweeb, and once the engine started going, it was fun.
I also saw Patrick's post on Bluesky about THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF TENNESSEE BUCK, so I immediately went to Prime to check that out... What is this movie? Lol. The tone shifts dramatically so quickly, especially in the third act!
LOL. There's a story behind how I first saw that movie on our most recent Patreon show. I haven't seen it for a while but I'm going to watch it on Prime for sure.
SINNERS (2025) Totally lives up to the hype. Coogler is one of these artists who’s working at that top-tier level.
STAR TREK NEMESIS (2002) A mess of a movie, but not without its bright spots. Young Tom Hardy is actually good, and his back-and-forth scenes with Patrick Stewart are more exciting than the space battles.
STOP MAKING SENSE (1984) This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco… this ain’t no foolin’ around!
REBECCA (1940) Alfred Hitchcock goodness!
STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005 -- at the theater!) Good on them for not CGI-ing Ashoka into the background somewhere.
TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU (1999) Finally saw this for the first time. Fun movie! They did right by ol’ Shakespeare.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) Freakin’ census taker probably had it coming.
Give me more of actual him. Not bald Hardy him..haha. It's a decent movie though. I've never felt anything with directors/actors passing, but I might with Stewart. He's a legend.
Between going out to a movie theater for the first time in months and attending a jazz band concert at the local university, it was a pleasant week. I also purchased some Kino releases from the recent sale, the first acquisitions from that company in a couple of years. I got a couple of the Cult titles plus some foreign-language films.
THE MODEL AND THE MARRIAGE BROKER (1951, dir. George Cukor) – Though she does not get top billing in the credits, the star of this is Thelma Ritter. She is the marriage broker, owner of a matchmaking agency in mid-century New York City. With some amusing plot contrivances, a model at a fashionable clothing store comes into her life, and Ritter sets out to find her a husband. Though there is an undeniable level of cuteness to the story, there is also a rougher emotional edge present in the characters. Everything is elevated by a sharp script.
DRIVE (2011, dir. Nicolas Winding Refn) – I have had a DVD of this for years, thinking that would be my first viewing of it. The Gap Theatre, a re-opened movie theater near me, was showing Drive on Wednesday, so I decided to make it my first watch there. The colors of the film really pop on a big screen, and the condition of the print was excellent. I am glad I waited to see it this way. Ryan Gosling gives an appropriately quiet performance as the driver. The violence gets increasingly brutal as the film goes along.
THE BITCH (1979) on Tubi – Trash that is given a little class by Joan Collins and high production values. Joan is the title character, the owner of a failing London discotheque with expensive tastes. Mixed in with her numerous flings is a plot about a gambler with a debt to the American mafia. Coming to London does not solve his problems. For any fans of disco dancing, there is plenty of it on display. Ironically, this is based on a novel written by Joan’s sister, Jackie Collins. In spite of its faults, I found The Bitch an amusing time-waster.
HERA PHERI (1976, dir. Prakesh Mehra) on Tubi – If your concept of a Bollywood film is a romance full of large-scale musical numbers and women wearing saris, Hera Pheri will be a big surprise. This is a crime film about two conmen who face a crisis in their friendship. Everyone is wearing modern (at the time) Western clothing. There are numerous fight scenes, intriguing villains, colorful sets, musical numbers (of course), and plenty of comedic bits. Though the film is nearly three hours in length, there was enough going on to keep me entertained the whole way through.
I went to see The Wild Robot. There's a group, Ottawa Family Theatre, that puts on a movie once a week. It's run by volunteers and the proceeds are given to a charity. Anyways, it's in a school auditorium and I saw many great movies there with my kids over the years. They play a short (it was Tom and Jerry this week) followed by a little bit with a raffle with about a dozen prizes, then on to the main feature. It's a lot of fun.
I hadn't seen a 3d movie in years, but it might have been the movie the most suitable for it. It was great and I was very emotionally moved by the bit when the goose was leaving to migrate.
I've been patiently, excitedly, waiting for this for a long time. Director Gareth Evans previous movies The Raid and The Raid 2, to me, are standout masterpieces in the history of action cinema. Havoc is not The Raid 3, nor is it exactly John Wick. It is a very well made take on theme/genre of "good cop stands against crooked cops n baddies". I quite liked Tom Hardys characterization of the lead. However the story felt a bit by the numbers and Oliphant and Whitaker felt underused.
As for Evans wheelhouse, action, this move moves away from martial arts and physical confrontation action and goes towards huge Wick-esque set pieces. There's a quick one early and two long ones in the second half. They are chaotic and bullet laden. Had an early Woo vibe as Jason M references above.
In the end I liked this movie a lot. I suppose I would have preferred it was more non stop action based on his earlier work but I also respect he was trying to do more storytelling. I very much look forward to future films from Evans
Saturday night was capped off by a watch of a 1950s B-movie that I have long wanted to see, THE ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU. Clocking in at a concise 70 minutes, this is the story of The Walking Dead guarding a shipwreck with a cache of stolen diamonds located off of an African island. When a salvage ship arrives to take the diamonds, the zombies go into action against the crew. Although there are inevitably some clunky moments, The Zombies of Mora Tau has consistently good production values for the time and is not drawn out with stock footage. I had a good time with the film.
Next weekend might be my first visit to the Mahoning Drive-In for the season. Saturday is a night of Muppet films. The Muppets were definitely a part of my youth. I remember watching the TV show as a kid. The Muppets Take Manhattan is one I remember growing up, and Muppet Treasure Island sounds like it could be fun.
Wow, there's a lot of good stuff in your future. Muppet Treasure Island is a gem (although I love all versions of that story, so am a bit biased), and Muppets take Manhattan is probably the best movie. You've never seen Muppets Christmas Carol? Muppets Family Christmas Special (which is a annual watch for me)?
Warfare (2024): I won't say a lot about it. Just that it's good, but not an easy watch. Not a lot actually happens in the movie, but at the same time it says a lot of things.
ReplyDeleteDrop Zone (1994): Who cares about the movie, I paid 60$ to get the toy parachuter (it was only 5$ more). I'm really tempted to throw it off my apartment 3rd floor balcony, gonna have to wait for a friend to come by... Oh yeah, the movie... It's fine, I had fun, basically Point Break with more sky diving. I would've preferred Terminal Velocity with the same super-mega-cool boxset, but whatever, we got what we got. Patrick wrote a piece on it about 13 years ago, go read it. He didn't care for it that much, but that's exactly the kind of crap I'm craving right now.
Then I got a Rob Zombie trilogy Blu-ray at the used dvd store near me. The movies are: House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects and 3 From Hell, and it's finally my chance to watch that last one.
Also, I finally got Amadeus (1984) on 4k, it looks fantastic. Too bad it doesn't come with the regular Blu-ray with the director's cut and all the extras, so I'll have to hang on to it, I hate having doubles in my collection just for a few bonuses. The new cover is passable, but it will never beat the original.
A 4K of TERMINAL VELOCITY would rule!
DeleteEverything I've read is that the theatrical cut of AMADEUS is better but I feel like the DC is the one I've gotten used to from watching the DVD several times. Do you have a preference?
There's really only one scene in the DC that's relatively important (Constanze nude scene, not because of the nudity 😜), but honestly for me, the movie is still a masterpiece without it, i can take any version. Let's not forget it's the TC who got all the rewards and recognitions.
DeleteAmadeus seems to be one of those movies where half the people swear by the DC and others the theatrical (Donnie Darko is the other one that comes to mind). Which version should I watch? I should probably just watch either or of them, as it's reputably a fantastic movie and I'm missing out.
Delete"Either or of them"...you get what I mean. I should just watch it.
DeleteIf you ask me, for Donnie Darko, go for the TC. The DC drastically changed the movie, and not in a good way imo.
DeleteBut yeah, Amadeus you can go either way
Thanks. My son wanted to watch Donnie Darko and I wasn't sure which version to recommend to him (queue to me googling intensely). He watched the TC finally. I should watch Amadeus right now. I woke up this morning thinking it was Monday for some reason, and was getting ready for work before I realised. Dumb I know. But now I have an extra day to watch movies! Like Amadeus.
DeleteIt was nice that Amadeus released as PG so I could watch it as a kid. And be fascinated and obsessed with it as a kid. If it had been R, especially for that really psychologically corrupt scene with Stanzi, I wouldn't have seen it. Is it BETTER? Idk, but it changed its audience.
DeleteI can remember watching Amadeus when I was young, but I cannot remember the circumstances. It could have been for school. Everything goes back over well over thirty years.
DeleteSee? That was so smart. They found a way to slip it into school! I think I also saw it in school actually. And we rented it at home over and over until we bought it.
DeleteI checked out the new Gareth Evans flick, HAVOC! I dig it. I saw a promotional interview with him a few days ago, and he mentioned Woo and Ringo Lam, so I immediately started to switch my expectations from THE RAID to heroic bloodshed stuff. It's not a perfect film, but I'm an action dweeb, and once the engine started going, it was fun.
ReplyDeleteI also saw Patrick's post on Bluesky about THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF TENNESSEE BUCK, so I immediately went to Prime to check that out... What is this movie? Lol. The tone shifts dramatically so quickly, especially in the third act!
LOL. There's a story behind how I first saw that movie on our most recent Patreon show. I haven't seen it for a while but I'm going to watch it on Prime for sure.
DeleteSINNERS (2025)
ReplyDeleteTotally lives up to the hype. Coogler is one of these artists who’s working at that top-tier level.
STAR TREK NEMESIS (2002)
A mess of a movie, but not without its bright spots. Young Tom Hardy is actually good, and his back-and-forth scenes with Patrick Stewart are more exciting than the space battles.
STOP MAKING SENSE (1984)
This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco… this ain’t no foolin’ around!
REBECCA (1940)
Alfred Hitchcock goodness!
STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005 -- at the theater!)
Good on them for not CGI-ing Ashoka into the background somewhere.
TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU (1999)
Finally saw this for the first time. Fun movie! They did right by ol’ Shakespeare.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
Freakin’ census taker probably had it coming.
I personally love Nemesis
DeleteI'm going to see Sinners this tuesday. Can't wait
I liked Nemesis too. I think I just love Patrick Stewart. Just give me more of him.
DeleteGive me more of actual him. Not bald Hardy him..haha. It's a decent movie though. I've never felt anything with directors/actors passing, but I might with Stewart. He's a legend.
DeleteBetween going out to a movie theater for the first time in months and attending a jazz band concert at the local university, it was a pleasant week. I also purchased some Kino releases from the recent sale, the first acquisitions from that company in a couple of years. I got a couple of the Cult titles plus some foreign-language films.
ReplyDeleteTHE MODEL AND THE MARRIAGE BROKER (1951, dir. George Cukor) – Though she does not get top billing in the credits, the star of this is Thelma Ritter. She is the marriage broker, owner of a matchmaking agency in mid-century New York City. With some amusing plot contrivances, a model at a fashionable clothing store comes into her life, and Ritter sets out to find her a husband. Though there is an undeniable level of cuteness to the story, there is also a rougher emotional edge present in the characters. Everything is elevated by a sharp script.
DRIVE (2011, dir. Nicolas Winding Refn) – I have had a DVD of this for years, thinking that would be my first viewing of it. The Gap Theatre, a re-opened movie theater near me, was showing Drive on Wednesday, so I decided to make it my first watch there. The colors of the film really pop on a big screen, and the condition of the print was excellent. I am glad I waited to see it this way. Ryan Gosling gives an appropriately quiet performance as the driver. The violence gets increasingly brutal as the film goes along.
THE BITCH (1979) on Tubi – Trash that is given a little class by Joan Collins and high production values. Joan is the title character, the owner of a failing London discotheque with expensive tastes. Mixed in with her numerous flings is a plot about a gambler with a debt to the American mafia. Coming to London does not solve his problems. For any fans of disco dancing, there is plenty of it on display. Ironically, this is based on a novel written by Joan’s sister, Jackie Collins. In spite of its faults, I found The Bitch an amusing time-waster.
HERA PHERI (1976, dir. Prakesh Mehra) on Tubi – If your concept of a Bollywood film is a romance full of large-scale musical numbers and women wearing saris, Hera Pheri will be a big surprise. This is a crime film about two conmen who face a crisis in their friendship. Everyone is wearing modern (at the time) Western clothing. There are numerous fight scenes, intriguing villains, colorful sets, musical numbers (of course), and plenty of comedic bits. Though the film is nearly three hours in length, there was enough going on to keep me entertained the whole way through.
I went to see The Wild Robot. There's a group, Ottawa Family Theatre, that puts on a movie once a week. It's run by volunteers and the proceeds are given to a charity. Anyways, it's in a school auditorium and I saw many great movies there with my kids over the years. They play a short (it was Tom and Jerry this week) followed by a little bit with a raffle with about a dozen prizes, then on to the main feature. It's a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't seen a 3d movie in years, but it might have been the movie the most suitable for it. It was great and I was very emotionally moved by the bit when the goose was leaving to migrate.
Howdy F This Folk!
ReplyDeleteHavoc (2025 Netflix)
I've been patiently, excitedly, waiting for this for a long time. Director Gareth Evans previous movies The Raid and The Raid 2, to me, are standout masterpieces in the history of action cinema. Havoc is not The Raid 3, nor is it exactly John Wick. It is a very well made take on theme/genre of "good cop stands against crooked cops n baddies". I quite liked Tom Hardys characterization of the lead. However the story felt a bit by the numbers and Oliphant and Whitaker felt underused.
As for Evans wheelhouse, action, this move moves away from martial arts and physical confrontation action and goes towards huge Wick-esque set pieces. There's a quick one early and two long ones in the second half. They are chaotic and bullet laden. Had an early Woo vibe as Jason M references above.
In the end I liked this movie a lot. I suppose I would have preferred it was more non stop action based on his earlier work but I also respect he was trying to do more storytelling. I very much look forward to future films from Evans
I don't know if you knew, but Evans directed a few episodes of the tv series Gangs of London. I haven't seen it yet, but I hear it's very good
DeleteSaturday night was capped off by a watch of a 1950s B-movie that I have long wanted to see, THE ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU. Clocking in at a concise 70 minutes, this is the story of The Walking Dead guarding a shipwreck with a cache of stolen diamonds located off of an African island. When a salvage ship arrives to take the diamonds, the zombies go into action against the crew. Although there are inevitably some clunky moments, The Zombies of Mora Tau has consistently good production values for the time and is not drawn out with stock footage. I had a good time with the film.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds good. I'll have to track it down
DeleteAfrican island? Zombies? Diamonds? Shipwreck? Sound like Junesploitation is nearly here!
DeleteI have been thinking about that this week, Paul. A few discs from my collection are already set aside for June.
DeleteNext weekend might be my first visit to the Mahoning Drive-In for the season. Saturday is a night of Muppet films. The Muppets were definitely a part of my youth. I remember watching the TV show as a kid. The Muppets Take Manhattan is one I remember growing up, and Muppet Treasure Island sounds like it could be fun.
ReplyDeleteMan, i have some catching up to do with the muppets movies. I've seen most of the tv show and the first movie, but that's it.
DeleteUh, you do.
DeleteWow, there's a lot of good stuff in your future. Muppet Treasure Island is a gem (although I love all versions of that story, so am a bit biased), and Muppets take Manhattan is probably the best movie. You've never seen Muppets Christmas Carol? Muppets Family Christmas Special (which is a annual watch for me)?
DeleteMuppet Treasure Island was robbed of its rightful Best Picture statue. Oscars, Smoshcars! I'll take it over Braveheart any day! :P
Delete