RIPPA Posted January 1 Posted January 1 I was gifted the James Bond (not so complete) Blu-Ray set for Christmas so I guess I will be going through and watching the ones I've never seen because sure... why not 5
Andrew POE! Posted January 2 Posted January 2 Another year, more movies watched. As mentioned in 2024 thread, I saw 1116 movies in 2024. Movies today.... The Train To Moscow (Mubi, leaving next week) - 3/5 stars Spoiler Interesting idea but a bit lacking at times. Sauro Ravaglia recollects his time in going to Moscow for a socialist youth festival, what he saw, and the aftermath. Communism is no different than capitalism; those in control make sure they get theirs first. Movie is not really a documentary as it is a series of home movies with moody music attached. Extinction of the Species (Mubi, leaving next week) - 3.5/5 stars Spoiler Intriguing short film about a time during Covid when everyone thought the world was coming to an end. The main character exists almost as a ghost; unnoticed, invisible. She looks for work, follows a delivery driver and meets a woman who talks about Halley's Comet causing the apocalypse. They dance at the end. Homestead (saw in the theaters) - 1/5 star Spoiler "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the war room!" -Dr. Strangelove Homestead has the unique distinction of being a movie where every character is an asshole. There isn't a redeemable quality or story arc to any of the characters. The script is shit and would be something written by someone binging on The Walking Dead after eating paint chips regularly. The movie starts with two men piloting a boat that contains a nuclear bomb. Obviously, they act as though they have no choice or are under duress from doing so. The filmmakers aren't interested in having learn anything about these two characters or why they did it - it's just red meat for the conservatives in the audience to demonize people from Latin American countries and quite possibly with the incoming administration they'll be put into camps. There isn't really any explanation as to why Los Angeles was targeted and as to why the power loss in the East Coast would be related. Instead, it's reactionary and our characters are 'preppers.' The people who buy Prepper Survival Guide at a local Walmart and load a duffle bag into a car and go. (Humorously enough, one of the 'preppers' drives a Tesla, which shows you what the movie will present as the main characters in this premise). Most of the characters were leading a comfortable existence prior to the blast. The poor prior to the nuclear blast don't show up in the compound. It would have been nice if more of a variety of people were in the movie besides white people; it would have shown that the apocalypse affects everyone, not just white people. This movie is a thinly disguised The Turner Diaries except the white people aren't trying to take over the government, they just don't believe the government will actually be competent enough to help. There's also a troubling commentary about mental health illness where one of the characters is treated comically for claiming to have seen FEMA trucks in Las Vegas and then his wife remarking that "he hasn't taken his medication since the bombing" (how he was able to drive without having other side effects I don't know). We meet an absolute asshole of a former military officer Jeff Eriksson (Bailey Chase) with his wife Tara (Kearran Giovanni) and their kids. Notice how Tara and their kids are the only significant people of color in this movie - even then, they aren't given much to work with character wise. Jeff Eriksson is an absolute asshole to his son and talked to him like a dog (I was seriously saying 'fuck you' at the screen while he was talking). This nuclear bomb in LA is what this jerk has been waiting for his whole life. He then gets his buddy bouncers at the local strip club - I mean, his former squad mates - to ride with him to meet up at a compound in Colorado called Homestead. They obviously had a hard-on from filming those scenes with them guzzling gas in SUVs in Colorado. The other main character met is Ian Ross (Neal McDonough) and Jenna Ross (Dawn Oliveri). Ian Ross as a character is basically a millionaire who is in over his head that decided he was a prepper and turned his mansion into a compound. Jenna Ross is bit of an annoyance as a character and within the story; she obviously cares more for other people than her dumbass husband Ian and that asshole Jeff. (Also strangely in one scene there were white sploshes on her left cheek that didn't show up later - was that makeup that was never removed?). Other characters include various relative of Ian that the movie spends part of the time introducing as they scramble to go to the compound and the two children of the main characters - Claire Ross (Olivia Sanaba) and Abe Eriksson (Tyler Lofton). Out of all the characters, Jenna Ross seems like the best one and more consistently acted. Neal McDonough does decent with his character although his character is decidedly one note. Almost every other actor has only one tone for their character - serious and brooding. It doesn't make them seem like real people at all. Ben Smallbone as a director is just inadequate at times. Occasionally, he'll find a great scene - the scene where Claire (Olivia Sanaba) and Abe (Tyler Lofton) are in a greenhouse area and planting seeds and there's some great time lapse shots. Cinematography at times is adequate although veers very close to be a Lifetime movie. Some of the shots of the millionaire's mansion - I mean the homestead - were really magnificent. I personally hope he studies film in film school or get a subscription to the Criterion Channel and watch everything. The dramatic scenes were good at times and he does have an eye with those scenes. The last 10 minutes goes from misery military porn to Jenna Ross turning this into a Hallmark/Lifetime Channel movie by opening the camp to refugees and figuring out ways to set up solar panels and having one of the refugees design an oven for bread and for the greenhouse. It's somewhat sad that the implication that a woman being given a chance to speak up and voice her opinion was only when her husband is incapacitated and near death. Obviously, Jeff wouldn't listen to her because he's too busy leading Roid Meal Team 6 at the compound; he doesn't listen to his wife and kids as it is. Homestead is just people walking around looking tough and being idiots. 65 (Netflix, leaving next week) - 1.5/5 stars Spoiler Movie at times is Lone Wolf and Cub meets Star Wars meets Jurassic Park. As a movie it's not very compelling, but it would have been a perfect video game. The story for the movie is an absolute mess and has zero story arc. Mills (Adam Driver) feels like a character with half a story; the movie would have you believe it would play up 'survivor's guilt' for losing his daughter, but does absolutely nothing with it. Ariana Greenblatt as Koa speaking a made-up language without much else to go on doesn't make her character; it makes her a convenience to assist the main character. In a video game like The Last of Us, she would be a NPC that we would learn nothing about as the story progresses. The movie mentions briefly she's from a different part of the planet, but that's all we learn. Cinematography throughout the movie has a dull look to it and everything is shot in a cave. Any sort of majestic shot of prehistoric Earth is lost upon viewing. The movie revealing near the start that the characters are exploring a prehistoric Earth takes the mystery out of the movie; it would have been better that we didn't find that out until the end of the movie. 65 should have been 86'ed. 21 Jump Street (Max, leaving 1/31) - 4/5 stars Spoiler Seriously, one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. So many quotable moments: "Fuck you science!" "You shot him in the dick!" "Since you cowboys love to drink booze, smoke weed with kids, and fuck anything with a big ass in jeans with low self-esteem I'm gonna send you to a place where all that shit is allowed." "Oh, I love Disneyland!" "Stop fucking with Korean Jesus." "You look super young, were you held forward?" "I am one more black gay kid getting punched in the face away from a nervous breakdown." The "drug scenes" are a work of genius. The movie is almost idiotic. Channing Tatum purposely acts like an idiot. Jonah Hill also purposely acts like an idiot. But there's a lot to like - it's up there with Adam McKay's Anchorman and Step Brothers for 'making me laugh out loud to the point that I can't breathe." Phil Lord and Christopher Miller seem to know how to make a scene hilarious and do a quick cut away to the next scene. The crazy thing is they did a children's animated movie before this. 22 Jump Street (Max, leaving on 1/31) - 3/5 stars Spoiler Not as riotously funny as 21 Jump Street (which is a 'lightning in a bottle' type of comedy) and leans into the self-referential parts a bit too much. I did like how this movie was shot however - you can tell the difference with what Lord & Miller did with scenes and more usage of camerawork. There was more attention paid to using higher grade film for the action sequences. The split screen shots made this similar to a Brian De Palma movie - it's almost like if Scarface were a comedy. Story wise wasn't as good but I did love the scenes where Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) meets Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and his parents at a parents' weekend. The scene with Channing Tatum after that was hilarious. "Schmidt fucked the Captain's daughter!" The scene with Schmidt and Mercedes (Jillian Bell) were headspinning in its hilarity too. "You want to kiss me!" "I don't want to kiss you! I don't even like you!" Overall, 22 Jump Street is decent but a step down from 21 Jump Street. On Dangerous Ground (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 3.5/5 stars Spoiler Movie serves as an interesting counterpoint to In A Lonely Place and dwells on similar themes - loneliness driving a person to the brink and someone doing things they would not do otherwise. Robert Ryan as Jim is a police detective who is losing his humanity within his job. Compared to today's times where the police act with impunity and are pretty much encouraged by leadership to rough up suspects, Jim is told several times not to do so. Ryan has Jim acting menacingly toward suspects and seems to almost delight in beating them up. After beating up too many people, he goes to upstate New York to look for a murder suspect. He encounters Mary (an amazing Ida Lupino) who is harboring a fugitive. What I found interesting was how Nicholas Ray did this movie. The camera focuses a bit on facial expressions during scenes as we see actors' emotions without words. Jim goes through several sets of emotions throughout the movie - you can see the weariness in his face as he tracks another suspect in the city and tension as he stops the older man from wanting to murder Danny (Sumner Williams). I found it interesting that Danny's face is never really shown in the movie; Mary cannot see him so we don't see him either. The other aspect is the outdoor cinematography and the way the scenes outdoors were shot. You can see the actors move through the snow filled areas as they engage in a chase. One scene I liked in the city was Jim tossing a newspaper back and forth with a neighborhood kid. On Dangerous Ground for the most part is a decent crime drama. Some of the scripting isn't quite as strong as it should, but it's not too bad.
Andrew POE! Posted January 3 Posted January 3 (edited) Movies today....decided to not worry as much on movies leaving services this month and just started to watch what I wanted to watch. So basically clean up a bit on movies I started but just now finished. The Year Of Everlasting Storm (Hulu, leaving on 1/3) - 2.5/5 stars Spoiler Like I did when I reviewed The Witches, I'm going to rate each short film individually and the final rating is the average of those films. Life (3/5 stars) - Interesting home movie of a person isolated within a country of isolation. Like most Iranian directors, Jafar Panahi is under strict restrictions on anything he does. I guess having worried older relatives is across cultures. Also, they care for a pet iguana who's just chilling out and pigeons are taking care of their eggs. The Break Away (2/5 stars) - At times, it's unique but at other times it's insufferably dull. The husband character is an idiot who gives his family's money to someone else and it's hard to have sympathy for him. Interesting scene was he and his son dancing to a novelty dance song while his wife is trying to work. Little Measures (4/5 stars) - Imaginative short film with a guy trying to get his kids back and dealing with the structure of the US government's social services. Sadly, in the United States, you get punished continuously even if you aren't a criminal. Hell is other people. Terror Contagion (3/5 stars) - Documentary that's basically a Skype call and drone shots about an investigation into NSO Group / Pegasus. Nothing really new but scary to think about. Sin Titulo, 2020 (2.5/5 stars) - Not very memorable but is about a mother and a daughter trying to see other family members. Dig Up My Darling (3/5 stars) - Extremely well shot about a homeless woman exhuming a grave. I loved the voiceover work for the letters. Night Colonies (1/5 star) - A test of patience. I can't figure out the point. Got to be really annoying and I completely zoned it out. Hit Man (Netflix) - 4/5 stars Spoiler Honestly, Glenn Powell in this is like watching Tom Cruise in every one of his non-Mission Impossible comedy/dramas except Powell might be slightly smarter (or at least he portrays a character that's read philosophers). Adria Arjona is positively gorgeous to watch as Madison and Powell/Arjona's chemistry is just unbelievable. The thing about movies is our ability to live vicariously through characters in these stories. Hit Man is a bit of a throwback to late 1980s/1990s comedy dramas like Soderbergh's Out of Sight and Scorsese's The Color of Money. What amazing about Gary Johnson as a character is he initially wasn't anyone and would change who he was based on who he talked to. His persona of "Ron" is the idealized version of himself - going back to the id/ego/superego construct that Johnson would lecture about. The themes for the movie are a bit too on the nose with his being a college professor though. I did like the scene where Johnson has to go to Madison's house and presents notes from his phone while wearing a wire. Like all movies of vicarious living, the main characters walk away into their new lives, having gotten away with what they wanted all along. This probably isn't Richard Linklater's best movie but it's a fun romp and there are worse ways to spend nearly 2 hours. It is quintessentially Texan like his other movies are. Hit Man bears a slight resemblance to Linklater's Bernie due to the source material. Strange Fascination (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 2.5/5 stars Spoiler Although Martin Scorsese loves this movie, it's a bit uneven at times and a bit melodramatic at other times. I wouldn't necessarily call this a 'noir;' it fit neatly into other immigrant films that later directors like James Gray and now Brady Corbet are doing. There's a lot of interesting ideas - the shots of train tracks speeding by with an image of Paul Marvan (Hugo Haas) in the middle, his playing the piano while a train goes by. It's just throughout the movie there isn't much in the way of performances they seem very didactic. Most of the actors seem to be reciting lines rather than inhabiting characters. If the movie came out much later, perhaps there would have been a statement about the immigrant experience in post-WWII from Europe to America. Stress Positions (Hulu) - 3/5 stars Spoiler Movie is completely dark as a comedy; a subject such as the Covid-19 pandemic and year-long lockdown is a different subject to tackle for a movie. All of the characters are driven crazy by the isolation and by the existential morass they find themselves in. Terry (John Early) seems to have everything bad that would happen to him happen; he spends much of the movie hobbling around, getting hit with something, falling down, and staggering; the latter half of the movie is spent with him asleep. It creates a funny impression as his character struggles. His cousin Bahul (Qaher Harhash) has a broken leg and seemingly admired for his youth and his beauty by other characters and is truly an innocent character at times. He is unaware of the wider world he is in. He is open to experimenting as he is a narrator for the movie; he recounts his experience of wanting to become a model, his mother feeling ashamed, and when he got hit by an ambulance - the last voiceover occurring as Ron (Faheem Ali) is loaded into an ambulance after he got hit by an ambulance too. Karla (Theda Hammel) is completely chaotic as a character; she tries to burn an American flag (unsuccessfully) then post about it on TikTok. She, Terry, and Bahul have an extended conversation about the Middle East where Terry and Karla both reveal their lack of knowledge about the subject. A lot of the movie's scenes aren't necessarily memorable, but I remember a lot of tension and arguments with characters throughout the movie. Karla argues with her girlfriend Vanessa (Amy Zimmer); Terry arguing with everyone and especially his ex Leo (John Roberts), Ron getting his motorbike stolen, a homeless guy using Vanessa's phone for....things, and Leo being found unconscious. In a way, the movie feels similar to other 'mumblecore' movies (although it's really not a mumblecore movie) and is influenced by Erich Rohmer with a heavy Gregg Araki sense of angst too. People talk and argue and nothing happens but a lot happens too. Stress Positions as a movie isn't as good as I wanted but it's not terrible either. I somewhat felt lost a bit by the story and by the usage of voiceover narrators and who exactly was the narrator in certain scenes (at times, Bahul and Karla alternate in voiceover work). There's some elements of Jean Luc Godard as well; especially in the scene when Leo is being carried away while the video from his wedding is behind played. Edited January 3 by Andrew POE! 1
odessasteps Posted January 3 Posted January 3 I was looking at what the themes were on the criterionchannel and one is "heroes as villains"" that is people known for playing good guys as heels. Including a face in the crowd, the Boston strangler and once upon w time in the west. The one that was a little off was Red River. If I was picking a john Wayne film for this category, I'd be tempted to say the Searchers.
Execproducer Posted January 3 Posted January 3 I'd probably go for Riders of Destiny. That Singin' Sandy was scary! 1
Andrew POE! Posted January 4 Posted January 4 Movies today... The Face Behind The Mask (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 2.5/5 stars Spoiler Even for a 1940s movie, this is a dark movie. Peter Lorre as Janos has a sweet and sad edge to him, even when his character becomes a crime boss. There isn't that much of a change in him as a crime boss; he still feels that he can't overcome his disfigurement even with a mask on. The only difference is he's committing robbery with the hopes of paying for surgery. A lot of the movie is centered around this construct; Evelyn Keyes as Helen cannot see but sees the good in Janos. The movie attempts to say something about the superficiality of personal appearances and blindness, but doesn't go far enough to dwell upon this point. At times, the script seems a bit lacking and it settles into a melodramatic crime drama. Naming a character Dinky makes me wonder if his last name is Moore. The last 10 minutes is completely bleak and hopeless. The movie is decent but a bit lacking. The Damned (2024/Palsson, saw at the theater) - 3/5 stars Spoiler Movie at times felt like Robert Eggers doing The Fog meets The Thing and was carried by cinematography throughout the movie. There isn't that much known about the characters in the movie or why they even want to stay other than Eva (Odessa Young) owns the encampment and the men work for her. Much like The Thing, everyone loses their mind and start dying. What's interesting is the horror is indeed in their minds based on a folktale told at the start of the movie. Eventually, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The movie does a lot with the sparseness of the sets and of the location; it takes place in one location (somewhere in Iceland) and a cabin. There's a lot of usage of Kuleshov effect especially around Eva as she observes a ship in the distance. There's one absolutely gorgeous shot towards the end of the movie of the sea and a small island. The ending is a bit of a letdown in some ways when we realize that the horror the characters were experiencing were all in Eva's head. The rest of the characters and their fate is left unknown. The movie isn't too bad, but there are worse movies to come out in January. Porcelain War (saw at theaters) - 4.5/5 stars Spoiler Porcelain War as a documentary is about one subject: individuals fighting for survival of their country of Ukraine. In this case, Slava, Anya and Andrey are civilians in their day to day life; Slava and Anya met in art school and do porcelain figures that are meticuously painted by Anya's hand. While watching this documentary, it left me with a lot to think about. Slava during the course of the movie is shown training other civilians for the usage of machine guns. He remarks at one point that this is not something he prefers to do. "A weapon is a tool that I have to use to defend my country," he says. Reflecting on the American Revolution, many of those involved in that conflict were civilians as well (with much of the leadership being wealthy landowners with slaves like Washington and Jefferson). The Second Amendment was intended to overcome aggression and invasion into a country; at that time, the guns being used were tools as well. It wasn't what it morphed into where it involved people buying AR-15s or military grade weapons because they are there. The civilians in the documentary have other jobs outside of serving their country; one works as a dairy farmer with their squad leader being an IT business analyst. Although not directly the same as the American Revolution, what civilians were having to do in the Ukraine war is a close equivalent. With this movie, it focuses quite a bit on the three mentioned individuals and their lives - in a really tense scene, Slava goes through a forest with his puppy Frodo looking for mines. He finds them and puts down signs with a warning. I was worried a bit that the pup would trigger a land mine. Also, Andrey's description of driving to Polish border with no brakes in the snow to get his family out of Ukraine is unnerving to hear in his native language and read on screen. The other aspect that should be mentioned is with this documentary it is only going to show the side of Ukraine. Slava does reflect on the Russian side and seems to view them as poor unfortunate souls having to serve Putin rather than true enemies. "They're just going to go through soldiers like they are fuel," he says. At one point, we see the aftermath of the regiment that Slava trained killing Russian soldiers with a mortar attack. Although we don't see Russia's side in this documentary, it made me reflect on the fact that those individuals dead were sent and died despite all the training they've received. A better way would have been for them to not go at all, but as mentioned in the documentary, "they would die if they went against Putin." Some of the more tense scenes involved Katya (the regiment leader) rescuing injured Ukrainian soldiers while the rest of her squad mortar'ed the Russian tanks and having the bombs from Russia come very close to their position. They do a retreat - thankfully, none of the squad members died. The final scenes involve the subjects moving on and achieving some semblance of stability. The war is still on going. Stava is still training people. Anya is still painting. Andrey is reunited with his wife and his two daughters. Frodo is happily barking through a field and living his life. Brighton Rock (1948) (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 4/5 stars Spoiler This British noir is a bit ahead of its time. Compared to other noirs of the time in the US, this seems as though it was shot on actual streets (or at least had enough crowds to make it seem like actual streets). The characters move through a lived-in world of Brighton; I especially love the scene where Fred (Alan Wheatley) is trying to evade his former associates through the streets. Much of the movie consists of Pinkie (Richard Attenborough) trying to evade being found out and manipulating Rose (Carol Marsh) into a relationship with him. Rose as a character is wholly innocent and never really learns the truth about Pinkie. Ida (Hermione Baddeley) is an interesting character as well and very different than most female leads in noir movies of the time; in a way, she acts like a Sam Spade or a Philip Marlowe and conducts her own investigation into Fred's death and later Spicer (Wylie Watson)'s death. One scene I liked was how Spicer's death was filmed; the movie handles the death very differently than other noirs at the time did. We as the audience see Spicer's death directly and see him on the floor after falling. Other noirs wouldn't have done so and would have shown Spicer being pushed against the bannister, with the audience filling in the blanks as to the end result. Brighton Rock as a movie is a great noir with a lot of interesting ideas.
Andrew POE! Posted January 5 Posted January 5 Movies today.... Ladies In Retirement (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 3.5/5 stars Spoiler Movie is at times almost Hitchcockian and has an unique aspect of featuring characters that aren't truly 'good' in the sense. Albert (Louis Hayward) borrows money from Leonora (Isobel Elsom); later, he had robbed a bank. The main character Ellen (Ida Lupino) visits Leonora with her sisters and murders Leonora in a great scene reminiscent of Hitchcock; the camera focuses on Ellen's facial expression, you hear the splatter of piano keys and see the pearls fall to the floor. Much of the movie is spent with Ellen hiding this fact that Leonora is dead from everyone. In a way, this movie isn't really a 'film noir' as it is an early version of psychological horror and horror focused on a woman's state of mind throughout the movie. Lupino really conveys this internal conflict throughout the movie; eventually, she suffers a breakdown when the housekeeper is disguised as Leonora in the middle of the night. The one complaint I have is the movie is a bit melodramatic and tries to have a relationship between Albert and the housekeeper Lucy (Evelyn Keyes) but that goes nowhere. Pickup Alley / Interpol (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 2/5 stars Spoiler This movie somewhat acts like a pre-cursor to the James Bond movies Albert Broccoli would later produce. After a hot start (with the car model from Ghostbusters making an appearance in the title sequence!), the movie settles into a rather boring and listless slog around the world. Trevor Howard as Frank McNally has as much as style as Sean Connery did in James Bond; Victor Mature plays this dark and serious and acts like he's in a different movie. If the filmmakers are trying to tell us dope is a terrible thing, they did a terrible job. I'd rather be as cool as Frank McNally than a boring stiff like Charles Sturgis. Cinematography throughout the movie only goes so far and there's a ton of beautiful shots and camerawork but it's ultimately vacant. I did like the rooftop chase that would be later similar to The International. Still, CinemaScope sometimes works for this movie, but is lacking in this case. Pickup Alley shouldn't have been picked up. Hercules (2014) (Max, leaving on 1/31) - 3/5 stars Spoiler Movie on its surface appears to be a blood and guts historical drama, but is actually a George Roy Hill style movie with togas and sandals. Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) is a con man essentially; he conned his way into the services of King Cotys (John Hurt). Hercules and his troop of fellow mercenaries train King Cotys' troops Magnificent Seven style to unite the other areas under King Cotys' rule. They go after Rhesus (Tobias Santelmann) (the entire time I kept thinking about Reese's Peanut Butter Cups whenever they mentioned his name) until it's revealed that....King Cotys is the real villain. Eventually, Hercules and his mercenaries decide to stand up to the king and are captured - Johnson does his incredible feat of pulling the chains out and the final battle commences. This isn't a very deep movie, but it doesn't need to be. The spectacle of the visuals and pace carry the movie. John Hurt is campy as hell and Ian McShane is hilarious to watch. Brett Ratner isn't a good human being, but he made a decent movie. The Crimson Kimono (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 4.5/5 stars Spoiler Although the movie is thought of as a noir with romantic elements, the relationship is not between Joe (James Shigeta) and Chris (Victoria Shaw) and Chris and Charlie (Glenn Corbett). The relationship is between Joe and Charlie; their bond is stronger than blood and yet Joe and Chris end up together. In a lot of ways, the murder of Sugar Torch (Gloria Pall) parallels the same strenuous relationship between Joe and Charlie; jealously got between them like it did with the murderer and Hansel (Neyla Morrow). What I love about Samuel Fuller as a director is a lot of what does in this movie holds up well even today; the camerawork is tight and everything fits well within the frame. Sugar Torch's murder is visceral and frantic as she runs through the streets. She ends up collapsing in front of the marquee with a figure of her. What's great about this movie is Joe and Charlie are just accepted as police detectives; the movie does touch upon the racial differences and how Joe has concerns about how he's regarded. "Who am I? Am I Japanese-American, American-Japanese, or just something else?" Joe and Charlie have their love for each other until they both develop feelings for Chris. A lot of the marketing at the time for the movie was about the 'shock' of a Japanese man kissing an American woman (which doesn't happen until the end of the movie)> In a lot of ways as well, Charlie and Joe's relationship reminded me of what Quentin Tarantino did in Once Upon A Time....In Hollywood with Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt's characters. One scene I really loved was the transition that had a line with "sometimes love means you get a bloody nose" to the Kendo tournament that Charlie and Joe compete in. Later movies did similar transitions that I've seen. The only drawback with The Crimson Kimono is it almost too neatly resolves itself. The murderer is caught in the parade - although it was a great foot chase at the end. Still, The Crimson Kimono is a great noir movie and holds up well today.
driver Posted January 5 Posted January 5 (edited) I Saw the TV Glow, I watched that yesterday and I'm still trying to figure out what I watched. It wasn't bad, just different. Nightbitch, I really liked this. Edited January 5 by driver 1
Andrew POE! Posted January 6 Posted January 6 Movies today.... The Big Heat (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 5/5 stars Spoiler As a movie and as a noir, this is absolutely perfect. The story and scripting just works and draws you into this violent, angry world - I can see a lot of later conspiracy laden dramas (like Polanski's Chinatown and Scorsese's The Departed) take a Big Influence from The Big Heat. Glenn Ford is absolutely maniacal as Dave Bannion - he's on the hunt for justice and doesn't care who gets in the way. What I liked is he has principles too - he won't even sleep with Debby Marsh (Gloria Grahame) because of his vehement hatred towards her boyfriend Vince Stone (Lee Marvin). A lot of the subject matter is shocking even for today. the movie literally opens with a suicide. The wife Bertha Duncan (Jeanette Nolan) calmly looks at her dead husband and calls someone else before calling the police. Even at the start, there's a lot more going on than is let on. I loved the relationship between Bannion and his wife Katie (Jocelyn Brando). Their relationship is built on love but doesn't involve them kissing each other in every scene to demonstrate that; it's the little details. Bannion recounts at the end how she would smoke his cigarette or drink from his beer. They considered what they have to be shared. Let's talk about the famous scenes as well - one of my favorites was the lead-up to Katie dying in an explosion. The music for the scene leading up to it was happy and content and made it seem like a calm moment; Bannion telling a story to his daughter before bed. Then the explosion happens and the music immediately changes as Bannion sees the fire and goes outside. He pries open a window on the car door to get his wife out. Of course, there's also the famous scene with Lee Marvin throwing coffee into Debby's face. The camera focuses on the coffee pot and Vince grabs it. He throws the coffee towards Debby and we see the aftermath. What’s interesting is the violence was perpetrated by Debby and not Bannion. It’s a bit progressive compared to other noirs in the 1940s/1950s. My one complaint is the sudden appearance of the Army friends to watch over the house where Bannion's daughter is staying and making a point to introduce them; yet they have no bearing upon the conclusion of the movie. Despite that one quibble, The Big Heat is a Big Win. Human Desire (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 3/5 stars Spoiler "So you think being a man is easy?" -Man Hell, from Paperback Paradise's Instagram page After watching the incredible The Big Heat, I decided to watch Human Desire after it. Human Desire as a noir is step down from the earlier movie but featured two of the same actors - Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame - as characters involved in a love affair. Ford plays Jeff Warren, who is a bit understated and not as well rounded as a character. Grahame plays Vicki Buckley, who is married to Carl (Broderick Crawford). The movie seems indicative of its time. Vicki is pretty much blamed for driving Carl to murder his boss John Owens (Grandon Rhodes) after she visited Owens to get Carl his job back. Later, it's implied that Vicki was raped at a young age by Owens and the movie grossly implies that she married Carl to get back at Owens while still having an affair with Owens before then. Carl is shown beating up Vicki quite a few times and murders her at the end of the movie. In a lot of ways, the script or the story seems to give the male characters a 'pass' for their behavior. Jeff Warren continues his affair with Vicki while given opportunities to identify them at the inquest and following Carl when Carl was drunk and lost his job again. Ellen (Kathleen Case) harbors feelings toward Jeff that Jeff seemingly isn't interested in or doesn't want to act upon; to me, that is an equal tragedy to what Vicki went through as well. But again, it goes back to the time period the movie was made. From my research, this is a remake of the French film Renoir's La Bete Humaine, which I need to track down and watch as well. Lang in this movie has a lot of usage of silent actions and shadows to depict scenes and characters watching something in a scene; the camera tracks what is being observed really well. In some respects, this and The Big Heat have different kinds of actions - The Big Heat is kinetic and always moving, while Human Desire is a bit slower paced and somewhat universal. Even then, Human Desire is just merely okay as a movie and as a noir. Gilda (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 5/5 stars Spoiler "You make your own luck." -Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyallenhaal), The Dark Knight Gilda as a movie is a towering achievement. Rita Hayworth portrays a character that's at the peak of beauty yet masks a terrible pain that she just smiles her way through in Gilda Mundson. Throughout much of the movie, the men in her life - Johnny (Glenn Ford) and Ballin Mundson (George Macready) - try to control her but find that she cannot be controlled. What I noticed - beyond the famous introductory scene where Gilda flips her hair back and smiles - is the lighting for the character seems to shine the brightest. The other characters are obscured by shadows, by darkness. The other aspect I noticed is the introductory scene for Johnny. The camera angle is at the floor level as the dice come into view, looking as large as statues. The camera pans up as we see Glenn Ford having just thrown the dice to set the number. He throws them again and is able to win. He collects his money and goes. He almost gets robbed if it weren't for Ballin Mundson's appearance and usage of his cane or "his little friend" as he calls it. The crime saga that follows more than likely had an influence on Martin Scorsese with Casino with the dueling focus - Johnny is focused on Gilda despite his immense hatred of her as well as focusing on Ballin Mundson's gambling business. Eventually, as Gilda kicks against the structure that's been established for her, she and Johnny kiss. Ballin leaves and disappears on a plane that crashes, with Johnny now the owner of the casino and of the businesses Ballin runs. I loved the scene that has Johnny being introduced as the executor - most of the story of the movie seems to have been told to the gathered committee that Ballin used to manage. The other aspect I noticed is how Johnny is treated as a character. He is called a 'peasant' by Pio (Steven Geray) even as Johnny obtains a higher rank as the casino manager. Johnny still feels like he has something to prove and he's just maintaining the casino in Ballin's absence and even believes he's dead. What I liked as well was the Carnivale Party that takes, which is very Fellini-esque as the various revelers gather around the bars that Johnny runs. One of the drawbacks to this movie is it does tend to drag a bit. (Plus I had constant interruptions while trying to watch this, which broke my concentration). Also, it is misogynistic in the treatment of Gilda but not nearly as bad as Human Desire was; Gilda honestly has no voice as a character except when she is singing and trying to seduce other men. Her singing "Take The Blame On Me" actually makes Johnny mad and he hits her. The ending is a bit of a dark ending to be honest. Gilda and Johnny are trapped in Argentina now. They have no escape - the police inspector considers Ballin already dead so nothing will happen. But it doesn't erase Johnny's controlling behavior on Ballin's behalf and doesn't erase Gilda's very nature. Even then, Gilda is just a treat to watch. The Big Clock (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 5/5 stars Spoiler If you told me otherwise, I would be convinced that The Big Clock is a Coen Brothers movie. They discovered a time machine, went back in time, got the actors and actresses for this, and directed the movie. Every scene feels like a scene from one of their movies. The whipsmart dialogue. The unusual characters (Louise Patterson predicted Frances McDormand's characters in every Coen Brothers movie - "I'm looking for my 4th husband!"). The darkly comic tone throughout the movie. The camerawork fits with Coen Brothers and also fits with Robert Altman too. Of course, they didn't find a time machine and make this. John Farrow did. How John Farrow did this, I don't know. But a lot of the scenes play out so precisely and smartly, it feels like a contemporary movie and not a movie from the 1940s. Some of the scenes I really loved were the drunken scene where George (Ray Milland) and Pauline York (Rita Johnson) are hanging out after having green drinks ("worst drinks I've ever had," said the bartender) and a collage of images appear at once. The introductory scene had a voiceover as George gets inside the Big Clock and then the movie does a flashback to lead up to those events. The elevator shaft scene had me gasping. The ending had me laughing. Honestly, The Big Clock is a great darkly comic masterpiece. 1
odessasteps Posted January 6 Posted January 6 Been on a Super Marianation kick so watched the second Thunderbirds movie. The classist nature of the show really shows in this one, where all the work done by Brains is under appreciated and Parker is nit treated well either. This would been a great plot where they have a heel turn, perhaps under influence by some bad guy cabal, because they are fed up by the way they are treated.
J.H. Posted January 6 Posted January 6 (edited) Two Mules For Sister Sara - Shirley MacLaine, in this movie, is directly responsible for more than one "coming of age moment" during my Bar Mitzvah year. As far as Clint Eastwood movies go? It's not terrible and just a bit thumbs up. Wait that's not my thumb! I mean it's fun and Clint and Shirley are fun together but its just you feel every second of this 114 minute movie. By the time it's over you want to take a nap. The only reason why you didn't fall asleep during the movie is because, well Shirley MacLaine makes you think "You know, 80's era Shanna McCullough in a nun's habit..." James Edited January 7 by J.H. 3
Andrew POE! Posted January 7 Posted January 7 Movies today...not as many as usual on account of starting back up at work. The Man I Love (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 3/5 stars Spoiler Movie at times is a great melodrama but at other times it's a little too involved with the plot. Ida Lupino's character Petey seems to be the only character with a great arc; oftentimes, her character's concerns are with the gangster club owner Nick (Robert Alda) or down on his luck piano player San (Bruce Bennett). There's also various story arcs with her relatives and the neighbors across the hall who are struggling to stay together only for the wife to get killed. Where the movie shines is in the musical numbers. Lupino is magnificent singing "Bill" and you can sense the emotion behind the performance. The movie would have been different if it had embraced more of the nightclub / musical aspects - later movies like Coppola's One From The Heart and Scorsese's New York New York capitalized more on this aspect. The introductory scenes were really great and I loved the 'on a set' look the scene had with the two guys outside the club. The performance inside was shot really well and reminded me a little bit of the performances from Altman's Kansas City. Even then, The Man I Love is just average. The Light That Failed (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 2.5/5 stars Spoiler Movie has a tremendous opening scene that the rest of the movie never really lives up to after that. At times, it's set up like the much later (and longer yet more compelling) La Belle Noiseuse where Dick Heldar (Ronald Colman) is wanting to do a final painting with Bessie (Ida Lupino) and drives her to madness. Ida Lupino honestly is the standout for the entire movie; Colman seems too far removed at times despite being the main character. I did like how Wellman shot scenes where Heldar begins to lose his vision. Better Man (saw at the theaters) - 3/5 stars Spoiler Growing up, I absolutely loved 1990s British pop music. I had about every Oasis album, Blur album, Pulp, Spacehog, The Verve, Manic Street Preachers, The Motherfuckin' Stone Roses (that's their official name in case you didn't know) and even obscure ones like Mansun, Ocean Colour Scene, The Charlatans UK, Stereophonics, Kula Shaker, The Divine Comedy, and Super Furry Animals. No one would admit to listening to Take That. "Oi, mate, innit Take That for girls? What da fook is wrong with you?" Much less Robbie Williams. "Innit he the fat dancer from Take That?" With that sense of derision towards Williams, I was expecting to hate Better Man. In a lot of ways, it's worthy of hate. It's also worthy of love too. Just like Robbie Williams apparently. The movie does do what is now standard with music biopics and goes through the subject's life. Not every song or milestone is really noteworthy or triggered any memories (about the only song of Williams I knew prior to the movie was "Angels" and I thought it was okay). Within the context of the movie, Williams' songs take a more pivotal place within the story and explains some of the character's emotions. I really loved the spectacle and camerawork (seemingly done in one long shot) for "Rock DJ" scene. The rest of the movie is a lot of visual pizzazz but lacking in any sort of story anchors. Even if you are vaguely familiar with the subject or even know about All Saints from their one song "Never Ever," the guideposts for the movie makes it easy to get lost along the way. The CGI monkey gimmick is pretty well played out before the first 30 minutes is over. I had hoping the ending of the movie would have the monkey version of Robbie Williams becoming the human version to symbolize that he is no longer mechanically functioning as a toy monkey or as an animal but is an actual person. But obviously no, that's not the story choice that was made. I will say the finale with Williams singing "My Way" with his father is a nice full circle moment - since one of the earliest scenes was Williams as a kid doing that with his father in front of the television (or the telly like they say in England). The cinematography choices throughout the movie was adequate, with a lot of muted coloring and darken lighting evocative of Williams' home country of the UK. Better Man was decent but not really that noteworthy. It doesn't pretend to explain who Robbie Williams is and figures you know who he is.
J.H. Posted January 7 Posted January 7 Madame Web - All I can say about this movie is this... this movie IS! That is all I can say. It exists and I can't wrap my brain as to why. Was anyone clamoring for a third string Spider-Man supporting character to get a movie? The lengths this movie goes to in order to NOT say May Parker by name is crazy. Sony execs thinking that they can build a Spidey-verse without actually being able to use Spider-Man is just a "Wile E. Coyote, Super-Genius" level of ignorance it boggles the mind! In summation, I hate myself for having watched this. It exists, it occupies space in my brain. MADAME WEB IS!!! James 5
Matt D Posted January 7 Posted January 7 8 minutes ago, J.H. said: Madame Web - All I can say about this movie is this... this movie IS! That is all I can say. It exists and I can't wrap my brain as to why. Was anyone clamoring for a third string Spider-Man supporting character to get a movie? The lengths this movie goes to in order to NOT say May Parker by name is crazy. Sony execs thinking that they can build a Spidey-verse without actually being able to use Spider-Man is just a "Wile E. Coyote, Super-Genius" level of ignorance it boggles the mind! In summation, I hate myself for having watched this. It exists, it occupies space in my brain. MADAME WEB IS!!! James Now I wish they had gotten the Fantastic Four instead. Can you imagine a movie for each rogue? Silver Surfer, sure. Doom, sure. But then Mole Man gets his own movie where he has to find love. Diablo gets his own origin movie with aristocrats and alchemy. The Mad Thinker with a big Dragon Man third act. A Jailbreak movie with the Frightful Four. Red Ghost something something monkeys. 4
J.H. Posted January 7 Posted January 7 (edited) But this is Madame Web, not really a villain. The FF equivalent is Wyatt Wingfoot or Wllie Lumpkin James Edited January 7 by J.H.
Andrew POE! Posted January 7 Posted January 7 I can't believe I willingly sat down and watched Madame Web. I had motion sickness in the first five minutes. 3
Andrew POE! Posted January 8 Posted January 8 Movies today....not as many as usual because stupid work stuff got in the way again. The Killer That Stalked New York (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 2/5 stars Spoiler Movie is saved by the wonderful noir cinematography and Evelyn Keyes. The script succumbs to a fate worse than smallpox: the movie should be on MST3K. A lot of really bad dialogue and dialogue delivery completely undermines this movie. The movie is indeed a propaganda piece after starting reasonably well as a noir. After the year long lockdown and the Covid-19 pandemic, it's amazing to see the mayor of New York City in this movie doing whatever it takes to get people vaccinated against smallpox. In our current time, we had people not believing Covid-19 was real and refusing vaccinations (and on their dying breath believing that horse tranquilizer would save them). The movie does address and thankfully there weren't government officials not believing smallpox wasn't real or calling it 'fake news.' Although how the movie handled Sheila Bennet was a bit gross at times. Sheila Bennett would have been saved if only she ingested bleach. Or had direct exposure to UV light. Or taken ivermectin. Or watched FOX "News." Or.... Se7en (saw in the theaters) - 5/5 stars Spoiler Saw this in IMAX on January 7th. If that's not something that ties in, I don't know what will. In a lot of ways, Se7en is in the noir tradition. Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) are complete opposites in characters. Somerset's first scene has his back to the camera; basically telegraphing his 'turning his back' on his line of work. Mills' first scene in the movie has him climbing up stairs in a hurry, symbolizing him as the 'up and comer' within his profession. With both characters in the scene together and walking down the street, the camera is a bit lowered and a bit close up; other people with umbrellas and coming in and out of business appear in view while the camera maintains focus on the two actors. A lot of the movie is darkly lit which reflects the darkness of the world the characters reside in. The conversation between the two characters about their approach reflects this; "How did you become like this?" Mills asks Somerset at one point. "Those that spend time with me begin to find me disagreeable," Somerset muses during a conversation with Tracey (Gwyneth Paltrow). Throughout the movie, I had wondered if Somerset was somehow the killer and was investigating his own crime. John Doe (Kevin Spacey)'s reveal was a bit underwhelming in my mind. One scene towards the end with the police interrogation reminded me a bit of a similar police interrogation from In Cold Blood (which the movie directly mentions at one point). A lot of the killer's motive is shrouded in classical literature, with Paradise Lost and The Divine Comedy referenced. Mills on the other hand is really an idiot; he munches away on potato chips while Somerset listens to classical music in a library. Towards the end, I noticed that the camerawork had changed to wider angle shots and was further back as the detectives and the killer ride to the site of the 'last two bodies' as part of Doe's scheme. With Se7en, a lot of the movie is about the decline of morals and a vindictive of living in a city with the type of people the environment creates. Somerset is sick of the apathy the city creates and with the case being his last it's over. The final line being a Hemingway quote "The world is a fine place and worth fighting for. I agree with the second part" is indicative of this apathy and desire to see the world become better. Somehow, that's just not the case. 1
Curt McGirt Posted January 8 Posted January 8 A fun bit of trivia: in his Fangoria convention interview right before he died, Lucio Fulci said that Seven was a ripoff of The New York Ripper! He also said it sucked because it was shot so dark you couldn't see anything. 1
Andrew POE! Posted January 8 Posted January 8 51 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said: A fun bit of trivia: in his Fangoria convention interview right before he died, Lucio Fulci said that Seven was a ripoff of The New York Ripper! He also said it sucked because it was shot so dark you couldn't see anything. I wonder if Fulci saw the same movie I did because nothing about Seven was shot darkly. It's a dark movie and they did something special to the film to appear darker, but everything was visible in the movie. 1
Curt McGirt Posted January 8 Posted January 8 It's extremely dark yet with clarity. There's a difference than it and, say, that new Jericho movie whos trailer I posted in the upcoming films folder. That just looks unnecessarily dim.
Technico Support Posted January 8 Posted January 8 (edited) 16 hours ago, Andrew POE! said: Mills on the other hand is really an idiot; he munches away on potato chips while Somerset listens to classical music in a library. The part where he's bitching about having to get familiar with the books the killer read, and he pronounces Marquis de Sade like the name of the singer of Smooth Operator, just fucking killed me. FUCKIN MARKEE DE SHARDAY Edited January 8 by Technico Support 3
AxB Posted January 8 Posted January 8 On 1/5/2025 at 10:21 PM, driver said: I Saw the TV Glow, I watched that yesterday and I'm still trying to figure out what I watched. It wasn't bad, just different. It's allegorical. I've not seen the movie, but lots of people I follow on BlueSky/ Subscribe to on YouTube have done analyses on it (that I'm refusing to read/ watch because I've not seen the movie). 1
Zimbra Posted January 8 Posted January 8 On 1/7/2025 at 9:03 AM, Matt D said: Now I wish they had gotten the Fantastic Four instead. Can you imagine a movie for each rogue? Silver Surfer, sure. Doom, sure. But then Mole Man gets his own movie where he has to find love. Diablo gets his own origin movie with aristocrats and alchemy. The Mad Thinker with a big Dragon Man third act. A Jailbreak movie with the Frightful Four. Red Ghost something something monkeys. Reunite Burn Gorman and Charlie Day as Mad Thinker and Puppet Master. 1
odessasteps Posted January 8 Posted January 8 Seven seems to owe a lot to Phibes and theme-based murders.
(BP) Posted January 8 Posted January 8 Fulci didn’t even know what his own movies looked like by 1995. 1 3
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