THIS MOVIE ROCKS! (Regrettably the movie description/teaser/etc lets us know going in the lead is a robot. Going in without that knowledge would be amazing.) This was the most fun ive had with a new movie in a long long time. At face value it could be taken as a fun thriller/horror about A.I. becoming sentient...and pissed. But i think its a LOT more. For starters it somehow blends like 10 genres (sci-fi, relationship/power-dynamics, horror, comedy, action, thriller, mystery-ish, etc) flawlessly. Also the writing is incredibly smart and creative and has tons of fun with Asimov's 3 rules of robotics (and how to break them!).
The highest praise i can give this film is that i think it pairs really well with a movie thats become a personal all time favorite: Ex Machina. The films are wildly different in many ways BUT also very connected in the intelligent handling of artificial intelligence based robotics. Oh, also, its a crazy fun movie.
MacGruber (2010 dvd)
After the recent Val tribute on FThis pod and the recent Lonely Island pod tribute to Val/MacGruber i felt a revisit was in order. I love this batsh@t crazy movie. It is so wonderfully over-the-line in every way. And during this revisit i just adored Val's performance...he's not only playing it straight (as is the secret to any good parody) but he's genuinely a great bad guy! like you could put his character and dialog into a regular action flick and it would play perfectly! He's got this wonderful snarky delivery filled with consistent deprecation and sarcasm. Brilliant. The movie also contains one of my all time fav long-running-bits as MacGruber becomes obsessed with a simple road-rage situation. This is a one of a kind comedy and im glad it exists.
Oh, Companion sounds really good. Thanks for the recommendation. It's streaming on Crave here in Canada, but unfortunately I just cancelled my subscription, ahh! I might just rent it then.
Ah, that's a funny coincidence that the top picture is from Dazed and Confused. It's playing tomorrow evening at my local indie theatre, and I was planning on taking the kids (they're older teenagers) and really looking forward to seeing it on the big screen. Unfortunately, the Easter dinner with family was moved to the same evening, so we'll have to miss it :(
COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK (1958) This movie is... kind of awesome? It feels a little more contemporary than some other '50s sci-fi movies.
THE 4:30 MOVIE (2024) Yes, this is self-indulgent and full of the usual Kevin Smith-isms. But it's a new story with new characters, and I must admit I laughed at a lot of the bits. So, yeah, I enjoyed this one.
BATMAN FOREVER (1995) “Surf’s up, big Kahuna!”
COMPANION (2025) Agreed that movie is a blast. I looked it up, and writer-director Drew Hancock has mostly only done TV stuff before this. I hope there are more features in his future.
THE HEROIC TRIO (1993) Remembering when Hong Kong action movies were just the coolest, where everything was so flashy and stylized. Nobody's making movies like this anymore, it seems.
DROP (2025) I saw the trailer and thought this looked like my jam, and... it is! A super fun twist-turny whodunit. Everyone keeps saying they miss the mid-budgeted thriller, well here’s one that’s in theaters right now.
I also enjoyed the 430 movie. A nice boy meet girl story. And for once, Kevin Smith didn't do some crazy-high-as-a-kite-weird thing that barely hold together
thanks both for the 4:30 push. im a HUGE fan of Smith's early to mid work but agree with Kunider that later era just feels slapdash. will give it a spin.
Also....Heroic Trio!? Nice. Agree with you 110% about the incredible stuff we got from Hong Kong in the 90s. Gonna dig back and watch some favs.
Hey Meredith, I watched The Cassandra Crossing (1976) and really liked it. It's kind of a mix of a disaster movie and a paranoia thriller. A deadly virus has made it to the wild, but is contained aboard a moving train where people are becoming infected. It has a stacked cast, '70s "control rooms" and is a great train movie as well. Thanks for the recommendation!
I also watched King of Kings (1961) seeing it was Easter. It's an epic biblical movie that follows the life of Jesus from birth to resurrection. While Jesus didn't live a particularly exciting life, the movie is surprisingly action packed, with an excellent big banging score and the Romans getting as much or more screen time than J-dog himself. I wouldn't really recommend it, unless you love the epic movies of that era (as I do) and were looking for a deeper cut.
I don't think I mentioned it, but a month or 2 ago I watched Cleopatra (1963) and liked that quite a bit. It's maybe a little too long, but after a certain point you just settle into it. There's pomp and grandiose aplenty to match the larger-than-life character of Cleopatra. Similar to Waterworld, much was made of a troubled production and how expensive it was to make overshadowing the quality of the movie itself.
Spartan (2004): I just love how this movie is written and edited. The movie never really stops moving, even when it's just two characters talking in a room. And let's not forget how good David Mamet is at writing military stuff (see The Unit). Also, dude wrote Ronin, one of the best heist movie ever made.
THE HAWAIIANS (1970) An epic melodrama about contemporary Hawaii. It got a lot wrong. Even the title - nowadays no one who is not of Hawaiian blood would call themselves Hawaiian. And there are almost no stories about any Hawaiians. Their portrayal of the overthrow of the monarchy was simplified and inaccurate. Still, at least the movie presents some information about at least two sides of the story. And it put a spotlight on immigrant labor life in Hawaii, which I've never seen in movies before. I liked a lot about it. If I can find a way to show it to students sans nudity, I will. Students need stories!
I realized I saw PICTURE BRIDE (1995) about Japanese sugar plantation workers when I was in high school and disliked it because I thought it was boring. Welp. I guess it's too much to hope that teenagers will LIKE these movies.
With the end of the American tax season this week, I can focus on movie-watching again. There are so many films in my mental watch-list at the moment, but fatigue and other obligations have gotten in the way of my plans. Even with what I watched, I struggled with concentration. I know it will get easier in the weeks ahead. I am looking forward to getting out to theaters soon.
SAMPO (1959, dir. Aleksandr Ptushko) – Magical adventure inspired by Finnish mythology, Sampo is the fantastical tale of an object that can provide riches to those who possess it. The story revolves around the struggle between a wizard (Louhi) and the people of Finland to control it. Sampo is a gorgeous color film and is full of memorable imagery, which the version put out by Deaf Crocodile showcases beautifully. With this and Ilya Muromets, Ptushko has impressed me as a filmmaker. Both films, though, may have too much story crammed into the running time. This one might be familiar to MST3K fans as The Day The Earth Froze.
LOVE LIES BLEEDING (2024) – One that I have meant to get to, and having access to MAX this weekend finally pushed me to watch it. Thinking about the film, I realize how many noir elements are present in Love Lies Bleeding. Characters are certainly drawn down some violent paths. Kristin Stewart, Katy O’Brian, and Ed Harris all give gutsy performances. The tonal shift at the conclusion did take me out of the film but not enough to have me not like Love Lies Bleeding overall.
G'DAY MATES!
ReplyDeleteCompanion (2025 Max)
THIS MOVIE ROCKS! (Regrettably the movie description/teaser/etc lets us know going in the lead is a robot. Going in without that knowledge would be amazing.) This was the most fun ive had with a new movie in a long long time. At face value it could be taken as a fun thriller/horror about A.I. becoming sentient...and pissed. But i think its a LOT more. For starters it somehow blends like 10 genres (sci-fi, relationship/power-dynamics, horror, comedy, action, thriller, mystery-ish, etc) flawlessly. Also the writing is incredibly smart and creative and has tons of fun with Asimov's 3 rules of robotics (and how to break them!).
The highest praise i can give this film is that i think it pairs really well with a movie thats become a personal all time favorite: Ex Machina. The films are wildly different in many ways BUT also very connected in the intelligent handling of artificial intelligence based robotics. Oh, also, its a crazy fun movie.
MacGruber (2010 dvd)
After the recent Val tribute on FThis pod and the recent Lonely Island pod tribute to Val/MacGruber i felt a revisit was in order. I love this batsh@t crazy movie. It is so wonderfully over-the-line in every way. And during this revisit i just adored Val's performance...he's not only playing it straight (as is the secret to any good parody) but he's genuinely a great bad guy! like you could put his character and dialog into a regular action flick and it would play perfectly! He's got this wonderful snarky delivery filled with consistent deprecation and sarcasm. Brilliant. The movie also contains one of my all time fav long-running-bits as MacGruber becomes obsessed with a simple road-rage situation. This is a one of a kind comedy and im glad it exists.
I'm not a fan of the Lonely Podcast in general, but I made an exception for Val. And now I'm gonna watch Spartan
DeleteOh, Companion sounds really good. Thanks for the recommendation. It's streaming on Crave here in Canada, but unfortunately I just cancelled my subscription, ahh! I might just rent it then.
DeleteAh, that's a funny coincidence that the top picture is from Dazed and Confused. It's playing tomorrow evening at my local indie theatre, and I was planning on taking the kids (they're older teenagers) and really looking forward to seeing it on the big screen. Unfortunately, the Easter dinner with family was moved to the same evening, so we'll have to miss it :(
ReplyDeleteCOLOSSUS OF NEW YORK (1958)
ReplyDeleteThis movie is... kind of awesome? It feels a little more contemporary than some other '50s sci-fi movies.
THE 4:30 MOVIE (2024)
Yes, this is self-indulgent and full of the usual Kevin Smith-isms. But it's a new story with new characters, and I must admit I laughed at a lot of the bits. So, yeah, I enjoyed this one.
BATMAN FOREVER (1995)
“Surf’s up, big Kahuna!”
COMPANION (2025)
Agreed that movie is a blast. I looked it up, and writer-director Drew Hancock has mostly only done TV stuff before this. I hope there are more features in his future.
THE HEROIC TRIO (1993)
Remembering when Hong Kong action movies were just the coolest, where everything was so flashy and stylized. Nobody's making movies like this anymore, it seems.
DROP (2025)
I saw the trailer and thought this looked like my jam, and... it is! A super fun twist-turny whodunit. Everyone keeps saying they miss the mid-budgeted thriller, well here’s one that’s in theaters right now.
I also enjoyed the 430 movie. A nice boy meet girl story. And for once, Kevin Smith didn't do some crazy-high-as-a-kite-weird thing that barely hold together
Deletethanks both for the 4:30 push. im a HUGE fan of Smith's early to mid work but agree with Kunider that later era just feels slapdash. will give it a spin.
DeleteAlso....Heroic Trio!? Nice. Agree with you 110% about the incredible stuff we got from Hong Kong in the 90s. Gonna dig back and watch some favs.
Hey Meredith, I watched The Cassandra Crossing (1976) and really liked it. It's kind of a mix of a disaster movie and a paranoia thriller. A deadly virus has made it to the wild, but is contained aboard a moving train where people are becoming infected. It has a stacked cast, '70s "control rooms" and is a great train movie as well. Thanks for the recommendation!
ReplyDeleteI also watched King of Kings (1961) seeing it was Easter. It's an epic biblical movie that follows the life of Jesus from birth to resurrection. While Jesus didn't live a particularly exciting life, the movie is surprisingly action packed, with an excellent big banging score and the Romans getting as much or more screen time than J-dog himself. I wouldn't really recommend it, unless you love the epic movies of that era (as I do) and were looking for a deeper cut.
I don't think I mentioned it, but a month or 2 ago I watched Cleopatra (1963) and liked that quite a bit. It's maybe a little too long, but after a certain point you just settle into it. There's pomp and grandiose aplenty to match the larger-than-life character of Cleopatra. Similar to Waterworld, much was made of a troubled production and how expensive it was to make overshadowing the quality of the movie itself.
Oh, great! Glad you liked it. It's fun to watch/share/enjoys recs from our weekend thread :)
DeleteSpartan (2004): I just love how this movie is written and edited. The movie never really stops moving, even when it's just two characters talking in a room. And let's not forget how good David Mamet is at writing military stuff (see The Unit). Also, dude wrote Ronin, one of the best heist movie ever made.
ReplyDeleteTHE HAWAIIANS (1970)
ReplyDeleteAn epic melodrama about contemporary Hawaii. It got a lot wrong. Even the title - nowadays no one who is not of Hawaiian blood would call themselves Hawaiian. And there are almost no stories about any Hawaiians. Their portrayal of the overthrow of the monarchy was simplified and inaccurate. Still, at least the movie presents some information about at least two sides of the story. And it put a spotlight on immigrant labor life in Hawaii, which I've never seen in movies before. I liked a lot about it. If I can find a way to show it to students sans nudity, I will. Students need stories!
I realized I saw PICTURE BRIDE (1995) about Japanese sugar plantation workers when I was in high school and disliked it because I thought it was boring. Welp. I guess it's too much to hope that teenagers will LIKE these movies.
DeleteWith the end of the American tax season this week, I can focus on movie-watching again. There are so many films in my mental watch-list at the moment, but fatigue and other obligations have gotten in the way of my plans. Even with what I watched, I struggled with concentration. I know it will get easier in the weeks ahead. I am looking forward to getting out to theaters soon.
ReplyDeleteSAMPO (1959, dir. Aleksandr Ptushko) – Magical adventure inspired by Finnish mythology, Sampo is the fantastical tale of an object that can provide riches to those who possess it. The story revolves around the struggle between a wizard (Louhi) and the people of Finland to control it. Sampo is a gorgeous color film and is full of memorable imagery, which the version put out by Deaf Crocodile showcases beautifully. With this and Ilya Muromets, Ptushko has impressed me as a filmmaker. Both films, though, may have too much story crammed into the running time. This one might be familiar to MST3K fans as The Day The Earth Froze.
LOVE LIES BLEEDING (2024) – One that I have meant to get to, and having access to MAX this weekend finally pushed me to watch it. Thinking about the film, I realize how many noir elements are present in Love Lies Bleeding. Characters are certainly drawn down some violent paths. Kristin Stewart, Katy O’Brian, and Ed Harris all give gutsy performances. The tonal shift at the conclusion did take me out of the film but not enough to have me not like Love Lies Bleeding overall.