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Post by cheesecake on Jun 26, 2021 16:14:12 GMT
Curtis Hanson's early film The Little Dragons (1979). Love this review on Letterboxd: Also saw it described as Disney's The Hills Have Eyes which is pretty apt. This was like a freaking horror movie.
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Post by Mattsby on Jun 26, 2021 16:17:43 GMT
Matewan. Followed up Eight Men out with another Sayles film. This is a pretty great look at a really interesting part of American history. Wonderful debut role for Chris Cooper and a really nice supporting cast all around. Lovely cinematography also. Would love some other Sayles recs? Have on seen these 2 from him. City of Hope definitely.... along with Lone Star they are top tier Sayles and have similar ensemble and scale. then I'd single out two underrated ones: Baby It's You that came before the Brat Pack craze but seems to deconstruct and extend that teen genre, it's a very good, bittersweet movie with a great Rosanna Arquette perf, Michael Ballhaus visuals (he did it btwn Fassbinders and Scorseses), and a Springsteen packed soundtrack. and Honeydripper which is his best later-career movie. there's also Brother From Another Planet that I did a big writeup on recently and his debut Secaucus Seven which predates The Big Chill....and there's all those surprisingly awesome genre scripts he wrote for Corman (Lady in Red, Piranha, Alligator)
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Jun 26, 2021 16:46:47 GMT
echoing the recs on City of Hope. I need to see more Sayles myself but that's a pretty wonderful movie about a political sensibility in a time and place. It's actually kind of epic in scope, an ensemble drama whose character collectively make up this snapshot of a fictional New Jersey city in turmoil. Amazing perfs from the whole cast, especially from Tony Lo Bianco and Joe Morton.
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Post by Mattsby on Jun 26, 2021 16:49:32 GMT
Jigsaw (1962) 7/10. Bobbys about coastal Brighton.... a really solid procedural from director Val Guest that takes us thru the community and doesn't dally, even though it seems scrubbed next to Basil Dearden's Sapphire, a few things keep it - the believable cast (they seem to bring the day's miff with 'em), the B&W widescreen visuals that are slightly overexposed giving the light an interesting bloom, and, thank heavens, no score!
Jeremy (1973) 5/10. At first it's no wonder the makers came from documentary as that style is interestingly implemented here, and then it's no wonder the makers went on to do Afterschool Specials. It's an awkward bore but there is one hilarious scene (the secret walk race) that suggests a cleverer movie like You're a Big Boy Now or something. If you squint you can almost see Baumbach.
Liar Liar (1997) 5/10 or a little more? I watched it often as a kid so points for that and Jim Carrey's shamelessly turned-up Jerry Lewis bit. How many times has he played someone under a silly spell? Similar to (the funny) Me Myself & Irene, he's fighting himself the whole time....but at like 80m this shouldn't lag, which it does, and it's ridiculously sentimental.
Amos & Andrew (1992) 5.5/10, from the writer of Something Wild and Foxcatcher! This movie feels pinched between dated and/or ahead of its time. It does juggle a lot though (racism, politics, media). Not the special pairing you'd want or expect from Nicolas Cage and Sam L Jackson - Cage gets one great scene, the sea monkeys monologue - Sam gets none. But the supporting cast kept making me laugh, especially Dabney Coleman.
In the House (2012) 7.5/10. Rewatch, one of Ozon's best, and like Swimming Pool it unpacks the writer and the writing. It references not only Pasolini, but Woody Allen. Luchini is hilarious.
Web of Deception (1989) 6/10... a preposterous Hong Kong giallo from producer Tsui Hark, directed by cinematographer David Chung (he shot that other HK giallo I really like, The Secret). At best like a pulpy Rope about five femme fatales, full of betrayals, blackmail, the color blue... lotta slow motion and split diopters.... but it doesn't package the story as a tight thriller, it waits it out and becomes closer to Arsenic and Old Lace soap.
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Post by Pavan on Jun 26, 2021 20:04:02 GMT
Sound of Metal (2019)-
Decides what it wants to be very early and that made it a tad predictable and draggy at times. But it's a great subject matter that can only be elevated a medium such as cinema and the filmmakers used it very effectively. Says a lot without the need of words especially that powerful final scene. A unique sensory experience with a soulful performance from Riz Ahmed- 7.5/10
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Post by pacinoyes on Jun 27, 2021 7:27:51 GMT
Celia (1988 /1989) - 7 + / 10 on ShudderUnwieldy Australian film that could be cut down and focused in its narrative and be far better, tighter and more effective.........BUT you get the point and the point is an astute and keen one: Children are awful.......um A precursor of Pan's Labyrinth and Ponette ............and um..........maybe Memento (I dunno, maybe not )..........this is a mystery delving into horror fringes under the guise of a children's film. Almost insanely Rabbit-centric .......lots and lots of rabbits.........but you're no bunny until some bunny loves you - and if you have no idea what this movie is about well, imagine watching it. A marvelous kid performance by the appropriately named Rebecca Smart which I could say a lot about .........this movie would fail without her.
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Post by Pavan on Jun 27, 2021 12:16:46 GMT
An Inspector Calls (2015)-
How silly of me to think that this was just a regular whodunit. For most of its run time i thought it was a solid mystery albeit with one too many coincidences and just when I thought it was going to be over it pulled a rabbit out of the hat and caught me dumfounded. That's how you turn tables without leaving a bad after taste. A pretty good mystery with social commentary and a pinch of the supernatural. Well staged and performed too- 8/10
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Post by MsMovieStar on Jun 27, 2021 20:18:55 GMT
Oh honeys, my second Elia Suleiman movie. Divine Intervention (2002) is a series of humorous surreal and absurd vignettes depicting life in Palestine. I'm loving this director! 8/10
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Post by pacinoyes on Jun 27, 2021 23:13:46 GMT
The Collingswood Story (2006) - 5 / 10Overrated horror - in some circles - and guess what it involves.........no really go ahead guess..........yes, a cult Cheap production is basically all video chat and forced acting and inauthentic bromance for levity. The girl gets on my nerves when she calls her "boyfriend" - "man".........rings false, and sounds like she wants to say "man-child". On the other hand she is sort of cute and that rings very true. Also, I have been to Collingswood, NJ - the title of this film - and I ate dinner there more than once and every time the dinner check was scarier than this. Don't believe the hype ......
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Post by wilcinema on Jun 28, 2021 10:40:02 GMT
Shock Corridor (1963): The acting was great, but the movie overall didn't do much for me.
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Jun 28, 2021 11:13:10 GMT
Spiral (2021)
I've always been a sucker for these films, since I loved the original so much. It was one of and remains one of my top cinema viewings. So, no matter how low my expectations lie for them going in, I still always give them a go. This one not being a direct sequel, but taking part in the same world, seemed interesting to me. Turns out, it wasn't interesting, even in its blunt attempt at topicality, which could have been interesting had they put a bit more effort and thought into it. I will give it props though, as it wasn't bad; in fact it was a couple of notches above bad. Still, I wouldn't go so far as to call it good either. I suppose if a police procedural was on HBO, this is kinda what you might get. In fact, the story itself would make for a great mini-series. The tying of it into this world, with all its tired trappings (pun somewhat intended), was probably not the best idea.
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Post by theycallmemrfish on Jun 28, 2021 18:09:56 GMT
Color Out of Space - Take out Nic Cage and I'd probably rate this better (GASP! I know...) but it has him who stands out like a sore thumb. I put this off for a long time because I'm not big on the Lovecraft stuff (giant monster, people crazy, oh the humanity!) and I'm sad I did because I liked it. Not perfect as it's about 20 minutes too long, but it's solid.
Caveat - Let me start this off by saying I would have been running out of that house IMMEDIATELY. With that said, this managed to keep me satisfied despite an extremely unrealistic set-up... and that's saying a lot because usually I harp on that throughout these types of films.
Sator - Nothing fucking happens. I would have honestly preferred watching a Seder than I would this film.
A Dark Song - Flip-flappin-fantastic. There. Easily one of the best I've seen in a while. Reminded me a lot of True Detective season one in its style and music.
Spiral (not from the Book of Saw) - Well it was inevitable that I'd see yet another cult movie... ooo I'm so startled... what a cool and original villain!
Howl - Bah. Could have been interesting if every single character wasn't just some walking cliché.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jun 29, 2021 4:55:56 GMT
Wild Tales (2014) - 9 / 10 rewatchBest.........ending........ever.
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Post by MsMovieStar on Jun 29, 2021 12:25:21 GMT
Wild Tales (2014) - 9 / 10 rewatchBest.........ending........ever. Oh honey, such an entertaining movie! Must rewatch this.
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Post by MsMovieStar on Jun 29, 2021 12:38:49 GMT
Oh honeys, I love Ellen Burstyn but this did her no favors. Queen Bees (2021) I was also attracted to it for James Caan & Ann Margret but seriously is this the best they can do for older actors? A trite generic formulaic comedy, not that different from Book Club (2018) - It also felt really dumbed down. It made me realise why I am now spending so much time now watching World cinema instead. 5/10
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Post by Mattsby on Jun 29, 2021 16:13:39 GMT
Oh honeys, I love Ellen Burstyn but this did her no favors. Queen Bees (2021) I was also attracted to it for James Caan & Ann Margret but seriously is this the best they can do for older actors? A trite generic formulaic comedy, not that different from Book Club (2018) - It also felt really dumbed down. It made me realise why I am now spending so much time now watching World cinema instead. 5/10 Oh I agree. I thought with such a cast this would have more buzz... but having seen the film, it feels like an awkward first-time effort even tho it's directed by an Emmy-winning sitcom vet. It pretty much resists its own 'Mean Girls in an old age home' concept. I enjoy just seeing these legends on screen but you do wish better for them and several of 'em, Ann Margret etc, don't have any other upcoming movies. One plus was James Caan...whose perf has surprising warmth and charm.
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Post by Pittsnogle_Goggins on Jun 29, 2021 16:20:37 GMT
The Ice Road. Meh
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Post by Mattsby on Jun 29, 2021 16:41:01 GMT
O Anjo da Noite [Angel of the Night] (1974) 7/10, an obscure Brazilian horror (77 votes on IMDb) that gets by on slow-burn build and atmosphere... I liked how the camera pans to contraptions and orbits the characters. It's clearly ripping off Turn of the Screw but it shouldn't feel so vague and bare about it... with confusing use of villain that plays kinda racist.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jun 30, 2021 14:59:44 GMT
Resolution (2012) - 6 / 10Wish I loved this but it doesn't really work - a horror movie made on a very low budget with 2 memorable supporting performances that seem more professional and accomplished. The plot is great - a friend stages an intervention on his drug addicted buddy for a week taking him "hostage"........while doing this - in a remote location - he starts to crack while his friend improves. Great set up.......convoluted and underwhelming horror.......it only works half way........if you're making your own movie and want ideas on how to do it on a low budget.....this gets a lot of things impressively right.....
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 1, 2021 16:16:44 GMT
O Crime de Aldeia Velha (1964) - 8 / 10Amazing impressionistic production design and camera angles in a fascinating and spooky little movie - that sometimes assumes God's perspective of events on the ground. Dreyer influenced and Bergman too .......very memorable, overwhelmingly shot......film is also sound in its narrative - it addresses witchcraft but in a real and grounded way - there's nothing hysterical about it in the plot which is lean, effective, troubling .....
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Post by theycallmemrfish on Jul 2, 2021 18:10:07 GMT
Hell House LLC 2 - Was on par with the first one (that I liked) until it tried to do something else with the ending... which basically anyone could see coming. Still, if you disregard that little reveal I was very happy with the film. Haunt - Generic late-teens/early-twenties haunted house movie but it was actually decent. Nothing to write home about. The Beach House - I had just watched two "house" horror movies and figured I'd go for the hat trick. This one surprised me as it was able to be a low key sci-fi aliens/zombie hybrid. It's obviously not zombies, but it's the best way to describe it without giving it away. Solid stuff. Hell House LLC 3 - Decided to finish out the trilogy and you know that last reveal I was talking about in 2 that I didn't like... well this one just steered right into that skid and hit the gas. So yeah, I did not like this one... it's hard to say this one was too supernatural of a film when the series is predicated on the fact that a house is haunted by supernatural forces... but this was too supernatural to fit with the first and (lesser so) the second. The Power - Hunted - What happens when the hunters become the hunted? I definitely have a soft spot for these and while it's not as good as Alone and some of the others I've watched recently... it's still good. One thing that perturbed me was that every person in the movie had a completely different accent so the whole time I was thinking, "WHERE DO YOU TAKE PLACE?!" The Seventh Day - Guy Pearce and Stephen Lang in a horror movie about exorcism, what could go wrong? I'm not even going to answer that question because you all know where I was headed with that. No Sudden Move - Disappointing. The Watcher - Not bad. A little too been-there-done-that and some moments where it was far too much style over substance... but it's okay. Trick R Treat - I could not make heads or tails of this movie... was it supposed to be a comedy? If so, it failed. Is it supposed to be scary? If so, it failed as well. To say I didn't like this movie is a gross understatement. This was yet another in a long line of films where I was saying to myself over and over "this is so fucking stupid" because I am always right and this was so fucking stupid.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 3, 2021 4:41:40 GMT
I Remember You (2017) - 6.5 + / 10 - rewatch?I feel like I saw this before .......but I'm not sure and yeah given the title yes that's sorta funny.......anyway a too gentle mystery / horror that's about friendly ghosts which I can never stand .......that's Casper/M. Night stuff ......anyway this mystery poses a lot of weird things to ponder: It's from Iceland and people say Iceland is Green and Greenland is Icy and Green plays a big part in this .......and a character specifically says there are no submarines in Iceland but everybody knows what a submarine is here........hmmmmmm Extremely slow but logical within its insistence that ghosts aren't evil they can help us too...........awwwwww One of the better Icelandic films I've seen (um) ........Good cast : Icelandic Chris Pratt, Icelandic Amy Adams, Icelandic Catherine Keener and below Icelandic Nick Offerman:
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 3, 2021 16:29:35 GMT
Vicious Fun (2021) - 4+ / 10 on Shudder
I wanted to like this too.....but.......nah The previous Shudder exclusive I watched got a 2 out of 10 and was my worst of a godawful 6 months (An Unquiet Grave) .......this one gets a 4+ solely because I'm sexually attracted to the female lead - Amber Goldfarb. So I don't think Shudder is good for me, my use of my free time or in my standards in film criticism when I'm wondering why there weren't more shots of the actresses ass instead of you know the plot and stuff ....... ..........Right in the middle of my free month of Shudder and I feel like I'm significantly overpaying atm ......
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Post by theycallmemrfish on Jul 3, 2021 18:11:55 GMT
Fear Street 1994 (Netflix) - Uhhh okay... this was certainly something akin to a microwaved hamburger you get from a gas station. It's so bad. But there's another two to go, so huzzah?
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Post by jakesully on Jul 3, 2021 18:31:12 GMT
The Invitation (re watch) I gave this a re watch on Netflix last night and it was a lot better than I remembered . The performances by the leads kept me interested (Logan Marshall Green was good as the lead and you can never go wrong with John Carroll Lynch( Also thought the ending was a nice touch but can totally understand how viewers would think its laughable.
7/10
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