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Post by Viced on Jul 9, 2020 20:48:14 GMT
Wild, awesome plot... but it lags more than it needs to for only 78 minutes and Dick Powell's character (John Kennedy, lol) could have been more interesting/less paper thin. Still mostly well directed by Mann and an interesting blend of genres/eras.
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Post by JangoB on Jul 10, 2020 10:32:46 GMT
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte - Lots of wonderfully made fun. The follow-up to "Baby Jane" may not be as iconic as its predecessor but I think it's just as good and just as entertaining. After a (literally) killer opening the film maintains a high level of enjoyability for its hefty duration. The visual style is quite tremendous with its terrific compositions and magnificent lighting (it's such bullshit that it lost the Cinematography Oscar to "Zorba the Greek"), and the cast is nothing less that a lot of fun too, be it Olivia de Havilland in a rather unexpected turn or the utterly scenery-chewing Agnes Moorehead.
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Post by TerryMontana on Jul 10, 2020 13:34:07 GMT
Training Day (re-watch)
I mean, Ethan Hawke is too good for that role!!
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Post by Pavan on Jul 10, 2020 20:06:27 GMT
Hud (1963)-
A western with a conflict between a principled father and a self centered son. Well written and shot. Paul Newman gave strong performance but it's Melvyn Douglas who got a memorable role and delivered it with total conviction- 7.5/10
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Post by Viced on Jul 10, 2020 21:28:21 GMT
House of Wax (1953)A few iffy scenes (the ones without Vincent Price, the try-hard 3-D stuff) aside, this was a lot of fun and pretty deliciously macabre. And another brilliant two-sided performance from Price... the passionate artist and the mad scientist... can't imagine this film succeeding without him. And for fun, some wild ass imdb trivia:
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Lubezki
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the social distancing
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Post by Lubezki on Jul 11, 2020 4:30:28 GMT
Training Day (re-watch) I mean, Ethan Hawke is too good for that role!!
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Post by fiosnasiob on Jul 11, 2020 8:35:19 GMT
Yeah I didn't get this "Ethan Hawke is too good for that role!!", what do you mean TerryMontana ? Do you feel the role was beneath him ? When it's one of his only 2 acting oscar nominations and that just before and just after he was doing mediocre to awful stuff like The Newton Boys, The Jimmy Show or Assault on Precinct 13 ??? Or do you (probably) mean something else ? Maybe that he elevated the role more than it was needed/supposed ?!
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Post by Pavan on Jul 11, 2020 11:40:53 GMT
Greyhound (2020)-
Decent WW2 naval thriller. Around 90 min of destroyer-sub action with a soulful Tom Hanks performance- 7/10
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Post by TerryMontana on Jul 11, 2020 13:52:54 GMT
Or do you (probably) mean something else ? Maybe that he elevated the role more than it was needed/supposed ?! That's exactly what I mean: He played his role much better than he probably should!! In my mind he was supposed to be a young, inexperienced detective shocked by the corruption he meets in the department. Yet, Hawke managed to react to what he sees and that reaction he has is something I didn't expect from the character or him personally the first time I saw the movie. And I still don't, even if I've seen it about 4 or 5 times. Of course I don't mean he stole the show from Denzel, because he didn't.
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Post by Mattsby on Jul 11, 2020 19:24:38 GMT
The Audition (2020) 7.5+/10 The best performance (non-TV because you know, Blanchett) male or female I've seen all year ...... by the great Nina Hoss. A slow burn psychological character study that maybe goes in directions it doesn't fully support in the screenplay but in the remarkable lead turn fully does. She's not just awesome, I suspect we'll talk about it a lot either in how she makes the movie or the movie lets her down .....a very interesting movie that's missing scenes and it needs to be longer but I'm fighting hard not to rate it higher myself tbh. I checked this out - would give it a 7ish-7.5. Reminded me a bit of Haneke, and A Late Quartet, but really stands on its own bc of the great Nina Hoss perf - maybe she deserved a more rounded movie around her but then it might have overexplained her complex insecurity. I like how ordinary things like ordering food and stained clothes (the bow grease on the skirt) become painful little ordeals for her - and the perf builds, she isn't rushing to impress you, but gets several successive great scenes in the second half, especially the big "again" teaching scene. As for the movie itself maybe they could've had a stronger parallel with her son (and better build his vindictive side) - I thought it was interesting he speaks French with his father and German with her. Also dug the last shot - like the languages, the double sided skirt, the bicameralism idea of two sides in one, etc....
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Post by Mattsby on Jul 11, 2020 19:42:13 GMT
Bloody Nose Empty Pockets (2020) “I ruined my life sober, and then I came to you.” 7.5/10 but could round up for the DIY achievement of its doc-style but fictional sodden last-hurrah. It has some of Iceman Cometh’s empty-dreaming, but with its own gritty-giddy motley of down-and-outs, with Altmanesque overlapping sound, napkin poetry, and barstool didactics. The main guy, Michael Martin a “former actor” - if it’s a performance it’s a very good one - says to himself “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” - this is about a dismal little haven where there is no tomorrow. And the regulars who can hardly square themselves with a future they haven’t for so long had to square. There’s a stinging, sad underside to this whole thing; Michael says “Welcome to the Not party.” This should’ve been slightly shorter at the back; I kept thinking it was ending (security footage, the balloon) and then it would run on with some obviously “scripted” moments. Otherwise a fascinating boozy experiment, and somehow better shot than most recent movies with really dynamic color….
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 12, 2020 10:15:46 GMT
Relic - less than 6/10 - Oh I know you're going to say ......come on pacinoyes how can a 94% RT horror movie be rated that low .......and I'm here to tell you that it's because this film forgets it is a horror first of all. Excruciatingly sensitive and feminine in the worst ways (yup I said it) - this movie - starring 3 females of various ages with a first time female director could use some balls (figuratively, maybe literally too). I really felt burned by this .......
One third atmospheric setup, one third tantalizing twists and one third abysmal "symbolic" garbage about the nature of aging, adulthood and motherhood, the circle of life and many other you know distinctly non-horrific things. Wastes a lot of good stuff early on......that could have easily been resolved by having an actual ending.
You know how the very end (last scene) of The Babadook didn't work and was way too literal .....well this is like that except it's the last half hour and nothing that came before was as good as that movie either.
AND I say this all the time - diversity is all well and good........ but many times you have non-diverse talents address issues better than you'd think. Hence my arguments that any actor can play any role..........and that John Sayles addressed race at least as well as Spike Lee ever had.......... and Robert Eggers made a far more effective and better in every way feminist horror debut than Relic.............don't believe the hype.
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Post by hugobolso on Jul 12, 2020 14:29:23 GMT
Decameron's night (1953). A forgotten mid/low budget film, originally filmed in Spain,better than I thought.- Fontaine and Jordan are very good in it.- I love the low budget italian decameron'sfilms in the early 70s.-
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Post by cheesecake on Jul 13, 2020 4:35:32 GMT
Relic (2020). Dug the shit out of this. The sound design was next level and this had atmosphere for days. Definitely on board for whatever Natalie Erika James makes next.
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Post by mhynson27 on Jul 13, 2020 12:06:58 GMT
Relic (2020)
Huh, what do you know, I now want to marry Bella Heathcote.
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Post by mhynson27 on Jul 13, 2020 12:27:05 GMT
Relic (2020). Dug the shit out of this. The sound design was next level and this had atmosphere for days. Definitely on board for whatever Natalie Erika James makes next. What are your thoughts regarding category placements?
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Post by stephen on Jul 13, 2020 18:10:09 GMT
Excruciatingly sensitive and feminine in the worst ways (yup I said it) What the hell does this even mean?
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 13, 2020 20:13:59 GMT
Excruciatingly sensitive and feminine in the worst ways (yup I said it) What the hell does this even mean? I dunno stephen - maybe just quote the part of my post that covers that more (below in bold), how long have we known each other now - you know the way I post for Godsakes - it is stream of consciousness - it never has to makes literal sense pal that's my whole Raison d'être! ........the last half hour of this movie is "me and mommy and grandma" have a big girl hug......it's about as scary as watching your mom brush her mom's hair while talking about baking - when what this movie needs is a distinctly masculine POV that is missing almost entirely from every aspect of it (just 2 male characters, one a benign one, and the other a benign one who has Down's Syndrome also)......... this film has a sensibility that is utterly at odds with the genre it's working in.......and I didn't find it refreshing or interesting, I found absurd. I have never seen a more "gentle horror film" which is somewhat like "non-alcoholic beer" on my "Why??" list....... Really hated it ....and I suspect I'll be one of the few........92% on RT but 48% audience score.......closer to the latter........ One third atmospheric setup, one third tantalizing twists and one third abysmal "symbolic" garbage about the nature of aging, adulthood and motherhood, the circle of life and many other you know distinctly non-horrific things. Wastes a lot of good stuff early on......that could have easily been resolved by having an actual ending.
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Post by Pavan on Jul 14, 2020 10:31:47 GMT
The Battle of Algiers (1966)-
Algerians fight for independence from the French and the urban guerilla warfare is depicted. The documentary style filming with non-actors gave it a realistic feel- 7.5/10
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 14, 2020 11:33:35 GMT
The Rose Tattoo
Anna Magnani was great. Burt Lancaster was terrible. A really misjudged and phony performance.
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sirchuck23
Based
Bad news dawg...you don't mind if I have some of your 300 dollar a glass shit there would ya?
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Post by sirchuck23 on Jul 14, 2020 15:57:35 GMT
Saw North by Northwest for the first time last weekend. Might be my favorite Hitchcock film and I've seen Rear Window, Psycho, Vertigo, etc. Lighter than some of Hitchcock's other films but a terrific thriller of a man with a mistaken identity. The entire cast is great: Cary Grant, James Mason, Eva Marie Saint, Martin Landau, etc. and some all-time great direction by Hitchcock. I see why the film is the highly regarded masterpiece that it is. My apologies for taking so long to finally watch it..lol
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Jul 14, 2020 18:34:12 GMT
Excruciatingly sensitive and feminine in the worst ways (yup I said it) generally sounds like my cup of tea, pacinoyes But in a horror movie? Hmmm. I'm interested to watch this and see for myself. Agree with your thoughts re: Babadook (which is too literal and in some ways pretty campy IMO). Literalness is horror's Achilles heel. If you can engender a tangibly frightening concept but indistinct enough to make you wanna look over your shoulder (and especially if you can apply this terror to psychological anxieties) you have a horror masterpiece. And yes, The Witch is a brilliant feminist horror film (maybe the best?). We disagree about a lot but never about that.
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Post by Viced on Jul 14, 2020 21:22:04 GMT
I feel like the plot could've gone in some better directions... but overall this was a very strong, somewhat unique prison movie. Bit too preachy to be great though... Cagney was great though (and terrific in one particular breakdown scene) and George Raft was cool as hell. Why didn't he star in The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca?
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 14, 2020 21:47:24 GMT
Nobody Lives Forever (1946) ~7/10 re-watchI'm overrating it but that's how much I like Garfield here and if it ended better I'd be more adamant about it .......a role that's perfect for Bogie but Bogie isn't handsome enough to really pull this off. This movie is a misdirection which sets up one plot before following a whole other. Some of this is formula stuff despite the swerve in plot but it's one of those "Post-WW II" noirs where desperate men return home willing to do desperate things to eat dammit. These movies always gain a lot from that set-up and this one is no exception.
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Post by MsMovieStar on Jul 14, 2020 23:11:39 GMT
Oh honeys, this is delicious! This Spanish 8 parter (8 x 30 mins) is just so good and hilarious in parts. Two individual civilians are sent by the repressive Francoist government to pose as a married couple and work as Ava Gardner's maid and chauffeur in order to spy on her wild and decadent lifestyle... This drama is faction (part fact / part fiction) as Ava was living in Madrid in 1961, away from Hollywood, where she could burn up the town and party all night. What I love about this movie is that it is told through the Spanish viewpoint so Ava is always this exotic, wild, aloof character, beautifully played by Debi Mazar, with a devil may care attitude. This is not a biopic, and Ava is a secondary character. Exiled Argentinian President Juan Peron (Evita's husband) and his wife Isabella, were actually Ava's neighbours and lived the the same prestigious apartment house but were being driven mad by her noisy partying and her lack of deference towards them. But the main plot involves the two servants, their animosity to each other, a gypsy mafia, Ava's panties, and other absurd characters and situations. Spain's answer to Mad Men meets Pedro Almodovar & Luis Buñuel. I love it! 8/10
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