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Post by pessimusreincarnated on May 23, 2020 17:47:24 GMT
The Lodge (2019)- Riley Keough and a pair of surprisingly great child performances can't save this insipid slow burn, which manages to somehow be even more frustrating a watch than the directors' previous film Goodnight Mommy. A waste of time. 4/10
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Post by Viced on May 23, 2020 22:56:16 GMT
Shortest movie ever to have an intermission? Strange stuff..... But mostly a strong film. Excellent scenery, some great direction (knife fight, final showdown -- directed by John Ford), and probably one of the better portrayals of American Indians from those days. And what a debut from Geraldine Page! Very believable as an old west lady, and had stunningly great chemistry with John Wayne (especially if you use Angie Dickinson in Rio Bravo as a comparison point). One of the better performances I've seen from Marion as well.
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Post by cheesecake on May 24, 2020 19:56:14 GMT
Woman Times Seven (1967, Vittorio De Sica)
Shirley MacLaine gives it her all playing seven different characters, but the whole thing is really bland unfortunately.
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Post by jakesully on May 24, 2020 23:52:08 GMT
Cowboys & Aliens - This film was dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb. Surprised Craig and Ford signed on to do this stupid project (they were probably paid handsomely though) Also it took its self waaaay too seriously.
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Post by pacinoyes on May 25, 2020 14:11:33 GMT
Tony Manero (2008) 7+/10 Perverse, sexually explicit film from Pablo Lorrain - sort of part Taxi Driver and part American Psycho - that uses his central characters fascination with Travota's Saturday Night Fever character for horror, farce, socio-political commentary too. Should have been a US film you would think.....but we lack the guts first of all and it works better to be set in Chile which makes the story more otherworldly and not as obvious. A tough watch but it's not just to push buttons though it definitely pushes buttons.
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Post by DeepArcher on May 25, 2020 23:03:02 GMT
Naked Lunch (1991): I dug this, but I feel like I ought to rewatch it with subtitles on. I couldn’t make out like 80% of Weller’s dialogue so I feel like I missed a lot.
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Post by Mattsby on May 25, 2020 23:50:42 GMT
The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) 8/10 rewatch “There is no emergency that can’t wait till I sign off,” says Jack Nicholson’s interrupted radio monologist. The opening scene is ingenious - the burying darkness around Nicholson, essentially isolating him, and how we too are isolated from context - is this a memory or a performance? There are droll details (“the incriminating pumpernickel”) and a slow tension-building to Nicholson’s performance. We later see how he practices and reworks his monologues, rounding out thoughts and memories with a fictionalized pull. His brother, Bruce Dern (his “accomplice”) also weaves but out in the open, where money/romance is concerned, where there are personal, tragic stakes. Though their personalities differ they are both bullshitters and bitten by a false promise - beginning from the idea-innocence of their youth, where playacting sufficed, the dream has now greyed into an older, striving, sevened-out reality. Bob Rafelson sets all of this in Atlantic City, known as America’s Playground (a-ha), during the winter months where it looks more like a ghost town. It’s a perfect place to set the reunion of these two brothers, and to unwrap the mental emergency of these characters, stuck and lost in the America Dream. Nicholson is terrific, convincing with his brainy bedheaded sadness, with all sorts of fed-up guard, impotence, and buried envy to his perf. Dern channels hope with a freewheeling charisma, pointed every which way he seems bound to collapse under his restless dealings, and he's quite funny. Both are among their best perfs. Ellen Burstyn gives an uncomfortable, burning perf as the spiteful former beauty queen who's so haunted by her bygone glory that she puts all of her possessions into a fire pit. The actress who plays her step-daughter died in real life at 24y/o in a fire - this was her last movie. She plays an aspiring Miss America (the before to Burstyn’s after) - and in one of the best scenes they create a mock beauty pageant on a stage that starts almost absurdly off-tone as they make-believe and revel in their shared illusion of winning - only for it to be interrupted as its revealed they’re on someone else’s time (aren't we all), and they’re kicked off the stage. The script/movie almost has the impact of a novel. It’s a lot of deep themes, dysfunction, and not a very enjoyable movie - it’s really bleak, and at times ironically bleak with an almost European style. Some of its plot details are blurry, though it steers clear of general cliches - as Burstyn says “I detest cliches” - and doesn’t give over to exposition or mush-emotions. It’s a very good movie to stick with and think about, and a rare movie that feels like it’s reconfiguring right as its characters are too. There’s more to be discussed about why it's been overlooked, its evolvement with New Hollywood, Nicholson, etc………
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Post by cheesecake on May 26, 2020 0:06:20 GMT
Working through the 1930s for my horror retrospective montage series, and dayum, had no idea there was another 1931 Dracula movie that was filmed simultaneously with the Lugosi version using the same sets, props, etc. but in Spanish. Makes for a fascinating companion piece.
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Post by Mattsby on May 26, 2020 0:13:39 GMT
Naked Lunch (1991): I dug this, but I feel like I ought to rewatch it with subtitles on. I couldn’t make out like 80% of Weller’s dialogue so I feel like I missed a lot. What do you think of the Judy Davis perf? I haven't seen this yet but I know a lot like her perf here...
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Post by mikediastavrone96 on May 26, 2020 0:20:38 GMT
Working through the 1930s for my horror retrospective montage series, and dayum, had no idea there was another 1931 Dracula movie that was filmed simultaneously with the Lugosi version using the same sets, props, etc. but in Spanish. Makes for a fascinating companion piece. My ideal version of the original Dracula would be the Spanish version but with Lugosi's magnetic performance.
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Post by DeepArcher on May 26, 2020 0:37:33 GMT
Naked Lunch (1991): I dug this, but I feel like I ought to rewatch it with subtitles on. I couldn’t make out like 80% of Weller’s dialogue so I feel like I missed a lot. What do you think of the Judy Davis perf? I haven't seen this yet but I know a lot like her perf here... She’s good — the performances in general here are quite fun, Cronenberg often has an uncanny ability to get his actors onto his very specific wavelength and that’s definitely the case here. I actually sort of wish Davis had more screentime but I enjoyed her in her early scenes in particular.
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Post by Mattsby on May 26, 2020 1:07:47 GMT
What do you think of the Judy Davis perf? I haven't seen this yet but I know a lot like her perf here... She’s good — the performances in general here are quite fun, Cronenberg often has an uncanny ability to get his actors onto his very specific wavelength and that’s definitely the case here. I actually sort of wish Davis had more screentime but I enjoyed her in her early scenes in particular. This is true - and he's always talked about with body horror but totally overlooked for having directed so many great perfs. Viggo, Irons, Fiennes, Walken, etc etc. Even his casting is on point - Oliver Reed, Michael Ironside, James Woods - cleverly unexpected like Jeff Goldblum - or downright ingenious - Marilyn Chambers in Rabid.
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Post by Viced on May 26, 2020 3:26:41 GMT
A great heist film up until the awful, awful ending. Total rip-off of The Killing's ending... but while that was a great, ironic ending... this one is just the characters inexplicably turning into dumbasses for the sake of a cool final shot. But outside of that, enjoyed everything else. Excellent, unique set-up... with a great score and setting (would've looked great in color). Gabin and Delon are perfect together (sad that I've now seen all three of their films together). Delon the perfect mix of suave and shady... Gabin with the that perfect languid cool (that some idiots nowadays would call "autopilot," lol). Just wish the ending didn't put such a damper on the whole thing. Could have used some more fleshed out supporting characters too. But still a solid 7.5/10
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Post by Mattsby on May 26, 2020 18:30:15 GMT
The Trip to Greece (2020) - 7/10. These movies are easy to enjoy - travelogue, history bits, great food, constant celebrity impressions. At best like a traveling improv-vaudeville My Dinner with Andre - and they always end with the reflective weight of returning home. Enjoyment might come down to whether you find Rob Brydon funny or not as he often overeggs the pudding, as 'em Brits say, but that's intentional. And he's especially hilarious this time around. Coogan got one laugh from me with his Ray Winstone bit (and a split second Basil Fawlty reference) but Brydon got all my other laughs - his CPR bit, Dustin Hoffman impression, etc. Their battling patters are like small rivalries - "What's a BAFTA, sire?" Brydon's impressions are like second nature, it's kinda touching - he can't help it, it's almost like a comfort buffer for him before human connection. And this ends almost on a Before Sunset note where he says to his wife "That was my Anthony Hopkins" and she says lovingly, "I know."
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Post by pacinoyes on May 26, 2020 21:01:34 GMT
Spirit of The Beehive (1973) -10/10 re-watchOne of the great, poetic films ever - like a something profound contemplated in silence and so delicate almost fragile at 97 minutes that you almost think it can't even sustain for its short run-time. Once seen, never forgotten.......... and when seen again it somehow seems more miraculous.
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morton
Based
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Post by morton on May 27, 2020 2:25:17 GMT
The Lovebirds - I guess one upside of the pandemic for me is that I would have seen this in the theaters, and while it would have been with A-List, I probably still would have felt a little bad that I didn’t make a better choice.
The leads really tried, and while the concept has been done a lot, it still could have been much better. As it was, I don’t think I’ve seen such a boring movie that was only 80 minutes long.
I expected a lot more from Michael Showalter.
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Javi
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Post by Javi on May 27, 2020 21:24:06 GMT
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957) - Was in a foul mood yesterday and this came as a tonic. One of John Huston's unlikely pairings--Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr, who hide in their cave with little more than a crucifix and raw fish for dinner as God throws bombs and bugs at them. It's like Robinson Crusoe with a nun; sweet but playful. Mitchum is at his near-best: watch his heart break as Kerr confesses a previous engagement. And how do you not fall in love with Kerr as she tries to work "poop" into a sentence? Theirs are the most improbable scenes from a marriage... a man, a woman, an island. This pic says it all.
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Post by Mattsby on May 27, 2020 21:39:23 GMT
The Last Detail (1973) - 8.5/10 rewatch. "Know what I mean?" Why isn't there any talk on Nicholson's pet expression? You'll hear it across a lot of his work (Five Easy Pieces, One Flew, etc) - he'll tag it on the end of sentences, often improvised. I love when we get it - and Nicholson is so clever in how he catches certain tones with that one little casual quip. Maybe never better used than here as rhetorical - the way he says it to Otis Young with a sort of insider wink, and with a catch-up be-a-man condescension to Randy Quaid, who they’re taking on a generous but hilariously crappy rite of passage before his prison sentence. There’s interesting subtext to their kinda parenthood over him throughout the movie - what they think it takes to be a man is transmuted sadly thru Quaid’s unready innocence. And it connects to more subtext of their guilt over the raw deal he’s getting - they are part of the system that’s dealt him that raw deal. Towne’s script is precisely drawn - the dialogue feels right - and Ashby’s direction is simple but tops. With all of its dissolves, the ironic patriotism in the score, the way he cuts on comically mundane action (trying to open a cot, kicking wet firewood)…. He shapes out a closing in and there’s real sharpness to this unwed America and its forms of serving time (both literal and otherwise, with religion, prostitution, and service - “You’re a lifer like me” Otis says). Nicholson is the capstone here - it’s one of his best, I wouldn’t argue it being called his very best. There’s a defeated fury in him, a coarse grab-all that contradicts his cooperation (to that system that only gives them “chickenshit details”). He’s magnetic, demanding, quick tempered like a shook can of beer himself, and there’s a searching in him, the way he leans into anything at all he seems like someone forgetting regret. How his eyes give a thankful flag when he talks about his ex wife and the trade school he never went to - it might be how he thinks he feels but he’s no picture of pride sitting looking small in the dingy brothel waiting room. Or at the end, yelled at by the officer waiting for a Sir, how Nicholson staggers his eyes before him, letting him wait, a private little feeling of control over the situation.
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Post by jakesully on May 28, 2020 0:41:44 GMT
Dragged Across Concrete - (re watch) yep still love this film by S. Craig Zahler. Love how uncompromising he is and he doesn't bother to pander to anyone. He took his sweet time in a lot of scenes at times which was pretty refreshing. Definitely a gripping watch. Can't wait to see what is next for him.
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Post by Viced on May 28, 2020 2:59:13 GMT
I guess I should've read some reviews before watching this because I wasn't expecting that. I went in thinking it'd be Malle's Alice in the Cities (yeah, I know that came out 14 years after this)... instead of a live-action Looney Tunes mixed with a bunch of other batshit stuff. I was into it at first but kind of got exhausted as it went along. I still laughed more than a few times though, and the editing was unique and great.
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Post by Viced on May 28, 2020 23:05:53 GMT
Guess I unfortunately watched the 86 minute butchered version (fuck you, Amazon Prime)... but there's still greatness there despite some noticeable truncation. Very lame co-lead and some cheesy moments aside, Lee Van Cleef was unbelievably badass and there's a decent amount of kino spaghetti western moments and quotes. Will definitely have to track down the proper cut some day...
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Post by Mattsby on May 28, 2020 23:46:41 GMT
Cooley High (1975) 7.5/10 rewatch. I've always prized my DVD of this, though I hadn't seen it in forever. Enormous success at the time; it's a classic of its kind. Preach and Cochise are a memorable duo and Glynn Turman is especially funny, with quick body language and line readings ("We take bribes!") - he's not at all predictable like the bathroom scene with the teacher, he's charming with the girl (he'll get her that book of poetry as soon as he steals it!) and he saves the ending too by playing it just right. Lotta great scenes - the movie theater scene encapsulates everything - the interruptive young who’re stuck at the aisles, the comical limit to intimacy (no privacy), those eager to fight and how that chaos (their shadows) literally fill the screen and becomes a more present “entertainment.” This movie captures that high carelessness of youth (Fast Times at Cooley High?) and how it can suddenly crash down. It's an intuitive Chicago portrait, too, with a great soundtrack to boot. Swish!
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Post by Mattsby on May 29, 2020 19:03:00 GMT
Vincent Price double feature! Both are 6/10s or so but I enjoyed them..... The Mad Magician (1954) - pre The Prestige magician competitiveness, b-horror thrills (Price in peak vicious mode as he screams "Laugh at me now!" while beheading someone), and also a showbiz metaphor (prisoner to contracts, the shame of an artist failing in front of their audience). Price reads a book called Murder is a Must - for him that become true, as he uses his own illusions for murderous self-gain, but my favorite moment might be when Price karate chops a cop unconscious. Price dons a few disguises here and I'm kinda shocked by how well he disappears in them. Is that always him or another actor? Did they dub the different voices? This, btw, looks ahead to the better Theatre of Blood. Confessions of an Opium Eater (1962) - with a creepy-soothing Price voiceover, this pulpy slave-trade thriller is amusingly barmy. With a spooky drumming score, oceanic fog, birds dropping dead at Price's feet, and Price swinging fists at paper dragons in the sky like a cool Quixote. With a striking climactic slo-mo dream sequence and a homunculus sidekick who says "Not have so much fun since I got caught in the lettuce machine in Salinas!" To its credit, I can't name another movie quite like it.
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Javi
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Post by Javi on May 29, 2020 19:45:37 GMT
The Robe (1953) - Decadent. What exactly was Hollywood trying to atone for with these plodding holy yarns? They sure were popular in the 50s. This one's about a Roman tribune who goes Christian after crucifying Jesus. With Richard Burton, who's given lines like "The messiah? What's that?" He treats the crummy material with so much contempt that it's not even a fun performance; his discomfort is too obvious. (Apparently Burton had a fear the camera didn't like him very much, and in this one it really, really doesn't; he looks porous and off). No one in Hollywood seemed to have any idea of how to properly handle an epic until David Lean came along...
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Post by pacinoyes on May 29, 2020 23:38:49 GMT
Magic (1978) - 7+/10 re-watchA strange film that you can't quite pinpoint why it works so well......you never really buy it, but you sort of do at the same time (it's movie logic!) and Hopkins is precise and eerily controlled (almost mundane in a way) - marvelously effective. Richard Attenborough directs in an unfussy way and everyone is counting on William Goldman's screenplay which hits all the right notes. Sort of in a way like The Omen which you think isn't that good, watch it and think "Oh that's why I thought it wasn't that good" but you like it more on every re-watch than before. He's no dummy:
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