Flamin' Hot - 8/10

Was pretty enjoyable. For some reason I want to go buy some Flamin' Hot Cheetos now though....

Guess if tpww is going to survive i can start using this again

I was kinda bummed at the prospect of losing this thread. I only post in it so when i watch something a 2nd time i can pull up my 1st viewing's thoughts...but i really like being able to do that. Its really interesting to see how youve changed or what you take away you didnt before etc.

Anyways...hooray

Take the time now (if you so desire) to use the search feature to nab the relevant posts.

You can copy them into something else.... like chat GPT, which will keep dated logs for you as well, and it's free.

When Evil Lurks - 9/10

Probably my favorite horror movie of the year. Argentinian film about demonic posession infecting a small town. Absolutely NOT a feel good movie.

“13 Assassins” (2010) - 3/4

For a remake of a film that blatantly steals the “Seven Samurai” template, it isn’t half bad. The circumstances by which these assassins rise up against their target are much more personal and cruel than the Kurosawa material and I’d wager that the original “13 Assassins” didn’t have much in that regard either. This is Takashi Miike though so it starts ugly, gets moving into the team building fairly quickly and then you get to watch a forty five minute fight scene that puts this film beyond all expectation for even the most well conceived of remakes. It’s just forty five minutes of wild shit happening at rapid pace and at no point did I think “this is getting boring”.

If you want to see a movie by a maniac that has big ideas and the talent to back it up then give it a go. It’s a lot better than that VHS incest one he did.

Posted this in the back-up forum.

Poor Things - 4.75/5

Iron Claw 8.1/10

Dont Worry Darling (2022) - 6/10

Pretty bad script to be honest. It shows its hand about 20 min in and spends the rest of its run slowly revealing the painfully obvious. That said i could watch Florence Pugh white wash a fence and she's really good in this so its not all bad. If you only focus on her performance its a good time.

Zombie Land 2

Not sure y this movie exists... I remember liking the first one just bc it was fun to see in the theaters. They do more with the text on the screen in this one which is fun, I like when movies do that. The dumb girl inventing the concept of Uber was funny and the bizarro guys were funny... but once again I dont know why this movie was made

I really had a fun time with the first and cant bring myself to give the 2nd one a shot.

It isn’t as bad as I assumed it would be, but I also cannot remember anything about it whatsoever.

The Man from Earth 2007
An impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he has a longer and stranger past than they can imagine.

8/10

I liked the second one but wasn't as good as the first. Most of you will be pissed when 2029 hits the the third one comes.

Fair Play (2023) - 4/10

Attempts to explore power dynamics of a couple in the corporate structure but doesnt manage to juggle the topic well and ultimately falls into lifetime movie of the week schlock. Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenriech get some mileage out of the material though. Id like to see the premise tackled again with more deft hands steering the ship.

Anyone but you 8/10

Rom com that had Sydney Sweeney in it. She's quite easy on the eyes and her eyes are so beautiful.

Her boobs are glorious.

Runaway (1984) 3.5/10

A Michael Crichton film, starring Tom Selleck as a cop that deals with robots that deviate from their programming and become a risk to the people around them. It also stars Cynthia Rhodes, Kirstie Alley and Gene Simmons (yes, of Kiss). This film is soooooo bad, but not so bad that it becomes good. The script and acting is on par with a porn film (or what I imagine a porn film is like, as I'm not sad enough to watch such things). I expect more from Crichton. Simmons' performance is especially egregious, but I don't know why I should have expected anything different. Given Selleck's popularity at this point in his career, you'd think he could have got a better film than this. However, saying that, his film career never topped Three Men and a Baby in 1987, and that was due to the combined star power of him, Steve Guttenberg and Ted Danson, who were all at the top of their popularity at the time.


Coma (1978) 8/10

Another Michael Crichton film, starring Genevieve Bujold, Michael Douglas, Richard Widmark and Rip Torn; it also has a pre-Magnum PI Tom Selleck and a young Ed Harris with hair.

Bujold plays a surgical resident at a Boston hospital who notices that seemingly healthy people coming in for routine operations are falling into comas during surgery. As she starts to dig deeper into what is happening and the cause, she finds her life in danger.

I really enjoyed this film, which slowly ratchets up the tension until the end. Bujold is the stand out performance, with the others not given much else to do than to act as obstacles as she tries to discover the truth.

Your reviews made me want to watch the wrong one until I read “Richard Widmark” and the last stretch of my Western binge came flooding back to me.

“Vigilante” - 1.5/4

Robert Forster stars in a very confused revenge film that can’t decide if it wants to go there or not. Forster’s wife and three year old kid are the victims of a very unlikely home invasion which begins with nonsense and ends in bloodshed. The whole film is just a series of stupid decisions from people who are uniformly one dimensional stock characters. Nobody real exists in this dreary 80’s cash-grab, nobody interesting either. The action is not good and Robert Forster looks confused and ashamed, but at least that makes sense…

I’d like to watch this film with somebody who was really looking forward to a “Death Wish” or a “Nobody” type film. That’s the best way to get any value out of it.

“Mr Majestyk” - 2.5/4

Charles Bronson is a melon farmer who gets caught up with the law and the criminals after a series of bizarre contrivances. It’s basically “John Wick” but replace the dog with a shitload of melons. It is a very fun film despite its stupidity because it gives you enough context about Bronson’s Majestyk to bolster the notion that a fruit farmer could not only kick your ass but he could probably shoot you pretty good too.
I enjoyed it because I like Charles Bronson when he gets to exercise that ridiculous voice of his. He had a great look and he really wasn’t bad, he just needed a taller man’s voice.

“Self Reliance” - 3/4

The directorial debut of Jake Johnson, a weird little film about a lonely loser who gets wrapped up in a dark web reality show where hunters hunt to kill him within 30 days otherwise he wins £1,000,000.

It’s as simple as the synopsis and it’s written, directed and performed by an exceptionally funny man so it has a lot going for it. I laughed a fair bit, there’s a great homeless guy in it.

Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) 7/10

The oft-told tale of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII. The film is around 30 mins too long, but it is kept together by a swaggering performance from Richard Burton and a strong performance from Genevieve Bujold.

Obsession (1976) 6/10

A psychological thriller from Brian De Palma, starring Genevieve Bujold, Cliff Robertson and John Lithgow. Robertson's wife and child are killed in a botched rescue attempt after being kidnapped. 15 years later, he visits Florence and the church where he first met his wife. There, he meets a woman that looks exactly like his dead wife.

I found the film oddly flat and lacking any real suspense. It doesn't help that Robertson's performance is fairly one-note. I also found Lithgow's Louisiana accent annoying.

“The Holdovers” - 4/4

Marvellous. The sort of film that makes you love the art form. Perfect.

Giamatti deserves the Oscar, let him have it.

The Eiger Sanction 6/10

I like the scenery and the climbing scenes are good/credible. However, the story is stupid and the ending is pulled out of its own arse. It gets a 6 for Clint Eastwood and the scenery.

Tightrope 5/10

A lonely cop investigating the murders of prostitutes, some of whom are known by the investigating officer (Clint Eastwood). It seemed more interested in the boobs, than the story, and Genevieve Bujold is wasted as the love interest.

Gattaca 7/10

it needs to go down so yall losers can do something productive in life

Stalag 17 - 3/4

An oddly jovial take on Nazi prisoner of war camps. William Holden was a fine actor in his day.

Dead Ringers 6.5/10

I think Jeremy Irons did a good job of playing the twins; credibly gave them differing personalities. Genevieve Bujold is again fairly wasted in this film. I don't know if she is/was a pain in the arse to work with or she just made bad choices, but I feel she could have had a far grander resume than she has.

The ending is a tad bonkers.

The ending is nuckin futs

Over the last three nights I have seen:

12 Angry Men - 4/4
Sonatine - 3.5/4
Yojimbo - 3.5/4
Ran - 3/4

I’m going to watch a few more Japanese films over the next few weeks, hopefully some of the epics from the 60’s.

Liar Liar - 7/10

Was alright. I don't know why but I always assumed this was a more "serious film" (as serious as it could be with that concept) and not full of Jim Carey pulling faces, acting manic, and doing lots of physical comedy. In retrospect I probably would have really loved it as a kid.

From the other board:

The movie seems to be really getting ripped apart critically and I don't think it really deserves that.... but I am waiting for Destor/Seanny to tell me how I am wrong....

The more I think about it the weirder the big action sequences do get without the ability to have any blood.

Watched The Insider. My favourite '90s Pacino performance. Russel Crowe is great, too. Christopher Plummer knocks it out of the park as Mike Wallace. And I'll never complain about Philip Baker Hall in a movie.

I enjoyed this more than Heat, I have to say. Although Heat's grown on me, I didn't need multiple watches to get through The Insider...I'd even say it was almost (ALMOST) breezy, which is saying something since there isn't a hint of action.

I love Pacino as a grizzled reporter who is passionate about breaking meaningful stories but also doing so ethically and taking care of his sources. I saw him less as Al playing a character, instead seeing him as Lowell Bergman, which really is a testament to a guy who's known as such a caricature these days.

9/10 for a movie that really surprised me.

I watched “Elite Squad” the Brazilian narco-cop film from 2007 last night.

“Elite Squad” - 3/4

Wagner Moura was cool as Pablo Escobar, but he’s just as good when playing the other side of the law.

I might watch it at some point but it didnt grab me enough to go to the theater for it. Critics have def been beating it up though. Im rooting for Cavil so i hope it does well.

I saw the poster a few days ago and I remember thinking “Oh great another shitty action ensemble from somebody who wants to be Guy Ritchie. Then I saw it was by Matthew Vaughn, the world’s leading Ritchie misinterpreter.

People keep trying to make “Lock, Stock” again but all we keep getting is “Snatch”. It’s bad for morale.

I suppose it’s the same as Rian Johnson trying to become Agatha Christie all of a sudden. It’s incredibly gay.

Elite Squad: The Enemy Within - 3/4

Not quite as exciting but a worthy sequel with higher stakes and a total lack of romance. Great stuff.

I watched The Fugitive last night. Another one where I've seen bits and pieces on TV but never the whole thing.

8.5/10. A masterpiece of the genre. Ford and Tommy Lee Jones both cooking at a high level. The tension is forever through the roof, and it's cheesy in all the right ways.

This movie's strength is it knows exactly what it is, and it never gets too cute. It's self-serious without taking itself too seriously. A difficult balancing act. The whole premise is preposterous but you're into it as the viewer from the beginning.

A weak final villain isn't enough to spoil this all-time classic for me. It makes sense to me why everyone loved and referenced this movie at the time.

“Night Of The Hunter” - 2.5/4

This is described as a neo-noir thriller but if it was made today you would call it a black comedy. It is very, very funny in ways that Charles Laughton could not have intended. I think it was supposed to have an almost fairytale feel to it - the perspective of good and evil is incredibly childish and the performances can only be excused if the director is creating his own morality tale seen through the eyes of the children.
I have this on blu-ray but never got to see it before my player died, so I stuck it on last night when I was in the Mitchum mood.
Robert Mitchum is fantastic in this, totally unhinged and yet completely buttoned up. The only comparison I have is James McAvoy in “Filth”, truly an incredible performance in an otherwise ridiculous film. Mitchum let’s it all hang out and it is a performance that I was not expecting at all.

Lots of genre films sneak a hefty amount of comedy in between the 40’s and mid 60’s… it can take me out of a picture or it can give me time to breathe. I prefer when John Wayne films would throw a few yuks in, it is more suited to a broader genre. Thrillers don’t need laughs in them.