What ELSE (other than KUNG FU) has everyone been watching?

[masterofoneinchpunch]

City Heat (1984: Richard Benjamin):  

After years of waiting to see the film and putting it off because of the not-so-good reviews of it, I finally got myself to see it (all film fanatics will countless films they wait years to watch :)). 

The only starring teaming of Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds. Blake Edwards was originally the director. Most likely left because of Eastwood, replaced with the sometimes-decent director Benjamin (My Favorite Year is his best movie that I have seen) and well you have a film that is utterly OK. Not quite a disaster. It has its moments. It it mostly competent. But when the best thing to say it is mostly competent, does not make it a good movie. It is an OK movie. Really for fans of Eastwood and Reynolds and knowing it is only an OK film. Some decent action. The set design is nice. Eastwood is playing a somewhat of a caricature of Dirty Harry. There are so many better Eastwood films to watch and some Reynolds as well. 

Southern Comfort (1981: Walter Hill): 

The third "first-time watch" of a Walter Hill this year. This is another of those films where a person I know stated to me in person: "I thought would have seen that already knowing you are into film." For some reason this cuts me.  It cuts me deep. It is one of the easiest ways to get me to see something and I've seen a lot. Part of the problem of being known as a movie guy. I'm sure all of you who read this have this issue as well (and other issues, well same here). 

The most obvious aspect of the film is that it is a Vietnam allegory. More obvious in 1981 to more people, but obvious if you have seen a lot of Vietnam movies. Use of second language (pretending not to know English). Defense of home, use of helicopter, dense foliage ... 

My least favorite aspect of the film was the shooting of the machine gun twice with blanks. Oh, that was so stupid. A commander, the first time he did it, would have ripped him apart for doing it and taken the gun and sent him home (or had him arrested for doing that). 

I was a little annoyed by the quicksand death since in real life it really is not an issue.  

Kept thinking of the quote "Dog will hunt!" 

But the strong aspects of the film is so many pertinent questions and comments on masculinity. Hill can easily be seen as analogous to John Woo, Jean-Pierre Melville, Johnnie To in honor, what it means to be a man, and codes. 

Well-directed and quite an interesting film. I have heard more about the movie this year and ever in my life. I'm glad I saw it, just like I'm glad with each Walter Hill film I see. I will ponder more on it. 

I still have more Hill films to watch (so many people recommended different Hill movies, well just like myself). I bought Trespass. I have Streets of Fire unwatched. 

[Drunken Monk]

Today I watched the 2019 cosmic horror, Color out of Space. I'd been putting it off since I couldn't get through Mandy and this one seemed similarly odd. Well, I'm super thankful for giving it the time of day. It's FANTASTIC. Bizarre, gross, beautiful, OTT etc. Nic Cage goes bonkers and it works perfectly as that's kind of the point of the film. I highly recommend this one for those that didn't get much joy out of the recent movie, The Beach House. This one is far better.

[Super Ninja]

Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010) - Here's one I've been both eager and reluctant to watch pretty much ever since I've watched Mandy (2018). Panos Cosmatos directed only two movies so far, and this SF movie for the synthwave generation was his debut. In a lot of ways, it's quite similar to his latter effort, but where Mandy goes all gnarly-psycho-bikers-from-hell, Rainbow goes a bit Kubrick, bit Argento and a bit Cronenberg, only to become an experience unlike any you've ever had before. It's weird, strange, surreal, confusing, experimental, colorful, psychedelic, trippy, beautiful, erotic, retro, disturbing, abstract.. it's art. I haven't seen a new movie this beautifully grainy since Death Proof (2007) and I have to say, Cosmatos is a visionary director in true sense of those words, and one that knows what he wants. His camera is almost always up close creating a feeling that the characters live in a world they created, perhaps in their minds, and this gives Rainbow a hermetic, claustrophobic feel. Coupled with the great atmosphere, the end result is quite unique and absorbing. Although it wasn't really well received at first, it has over the years garnered some favorable reviews, and appeared on several lists of the best SF movies of the 21st century. Rainbow is certainly not for everyone, but if this "review" got the least bit of your interest, you should see it.

[massa_yoda]

Just binged both seasons of Cobra Kai on Netflix and I’m hooked. Season 3 can’t come soon enough. 

[shukocarl1441996347]

Tenet at the flicks and all of the episodes of The Professionals...half way through series 3...brilliant stuff. They wouldn't let them make this kind of show anymore!

[Takuma]

The Mechanic (USA, 2011) [VoD] – 2/5
A pretty bad remake of a pretty good Bronson film. This suffers from the same censorship problem as the original. The relationship between a master killer and a cocky young apprentice doesn’t feel believable (in the slightest) when it’s been stripped of the sexual tension (in the original novel they are lovers). What this new film adds is a load of bad shaky-cam action where you can’t tell what the hell is happening. Still, somehow, the film remains oddly watchable, perhaps thanks to Statham. He’s no Bronson, but he has some charisma.

Mechanic: Resurrection (USA, 2016) [VoD] – 3/5
Straightforward, fast-paced sequel with amusingly over-the-top action set pieces. Statham is forced back into action to execute three near-impossible assassinations. Hardly anything exceptional, basically a DTV film made for theatres, but it’s got a sense of fun and doesn’t resort to that shaky-cam nonsense that ruined the first film.

Hummingbird (UK, 2013) [VoD] – 3.5/5
An unexpectedly good Jason Statham film about a homeless war vet who steals another man’s identity and finds his way to the underworld. Conscience starts catching up before too soon. This film has been criticized as something that can’t decide between gritty gangster realism and naïve action clichés, but I thought it had a gritty fairytale quality to it. Solid performance by Statham, too, and a nice British vibe all over the film. Very entertaining.  

Homefront (USA, 2013) [VoD] – 3/5
Average Jason Statham actioner originally written by Sylvester Stallone as the 5th Rambo film! Indeed, there’s about 20% First Blood, 50% Last Blood and 30% differing content in the storyline. Statham plays haunted-by-the-past ex-undercover cop who moves into a small town with his daughter, gets harassed by an unfriendly sheriff, and then runs into a narcotics gang who attack his house. Sounds familiar? Not really an accomplished film, but watchable enough to (just) earn a 3 star rating.

Edited September 9, 2020 by Takuma

[Super Ninja]

Antiviral (2012) - In what feels like a near, dystopian future, celebrity adoration came to a sick point where fans are paying good money to get infected with their favorite stars' diseases. You can choose between herpes, flu or something more serious, with a few companies specialized in harvesting samples and selling to interested clients. When Syd March of Lucas clinic gets infected with a deadly virus designed to kill one of his clinic favorite donors, he gets to fight for his life while trying to find out who's behind this vicious plot. 

Being a long time fan of Papa Cronenberg, I was very interested to see what his son prepared in his feature debut, and Antiviral doesn't disappoint. It is a dark and morbid vision of tomorrow realised with confidence, coldness and above all, well developed original idea. Brandon doesn't stop at just the standard hero fighting for his life premise, but goes on to include industrial warfare, black markets, cell stakes and cell gardens producing celebrity clones of sorts. This is a promising debut that further explores the body horror genre and while it might not be everyone's cup of tea, with good reviews following the Sundance premiere of Cronenberg's sophomore effort Possessor (2020), seems David left us with a worthy successor. 

[masterofoneinchpunch]

The Year of Living Dangerously (1982: Peter Weir):  

Weir has some classics under his directorial belt like Gallipoli. This reunites him with Mel Gibson a year later and I found a bit of a mixed bad -- until I watched Altered States and realized this was so much better. 

Both Altered States and this has an elevated diction, but where AS goes into gobbledygook, this flows well especially with Billy Kwan's typed voice over monologues (the funny thing is that Kwan says his pictures are better than his prose which I do not find true). 

Linda Hunt's performance as Billy Kwan is quite good (some trepidation with some overacting in the last part of the film). Gibson is solid but would become much better as he got older. The only thing I was iffy (other than some of the political content) was the relationship between Weaver and Gibson. I think this is partially because of the partial theme of work, making a name for oneself and working on a relationship at the same time. Felt a bit incomplete. Not bad, but could have been explored better. 

It is worth watching, sometimes frustrating (is there a more stupid scene in here than running the guarded blockade for fun), quite good dialogue, but always the feeling that more could have been done. 

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Any Given Sunday (1999: Oliver Stone):  

I ended up liking this quite a bit. Yes it is loud, yes it has tons of cuts, there is certainly a decent amount of predictability, but it is fun. I don't always find fun with Stone films (though a lot I do like). He seems like he fun making it. Fast cuts can get on my nerves, sometimes I think they are done well. They seemed fine here. Tony Scott could make it an art form, Michael Bay can make it a headache, Paul Greengrass can make you want to dropkick the TV. It seemed appropriate here. 

What a hit the Dennis Quaid's stunt double took. That was awesome. I was rooting for him. I liked the arc of Willie Beamen's character even if I felt it seemed unrealistic, and I was certainly rooting for him too in his hero's journey. 

I'm an Al Pacino fan. When he doesn't go all Hooo HAAAA he can be great. I hope you have seen him in The Merchant of Venice. He seems like a coach here. Coaching professional sports is mindbogglingly stressful. To be successful in dealing with highly paid egos is immensely difficult. It is amazing what Phil Jackson had done. I loved the ending. John C. McGinley is always fun to watch. Charlton Heston can read a menu and make it sound awesome. 

Better to win or lose than not to play. 

[ShawAngela]

I watched The Doll Squad (88 Films release) this evening and I enjoyed it a lot !

Everything was good : the plot, the girls, the 70's music and the ending song which was a superb one !

And for once, the girls weren't just as a beautiful vase and were as lethal as clever. Superb movie !

The leading actress Francine York reminded me a little bit of Diana Muldaur and Judy O' Connell was familiar to me, as well as Sherri Vernon.

[Drunken Monk]

The Fall - A British “serial killer drama” starring Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan. With each of the three seasons being six episodes long I whizzed through this one and loved every minute.

Don’t expect an epic cat and mouse thriller with this one. Rather a slow and brooding take that really focuses on the effects a serial killer has on those around him. The third season takes a very interesting turn and everything is capped off rather perfectly...if a little depressingly.

Great performances bolster the show. Dornan and Anderson are incredible. I’m a big fan of even run of the mill serial killer stuff but this one really has depth. I highly recommend for those that like to take a dip in the dark side every now and again.

[Secret Executioner]

Started my October horror marathon tonight with Friday the 13th: A new Beginning (USA, 1985)

 

[Secret Executioner]

Another horror film, this time a cheap zombie film also involving Nazis.

 

[Secret Executioner]

I say, Brit horror movies are mighty fine. Case and point with tonight's viewing, The House that dripped Blood.

 

[thekfc]

Vampires vs The Bronx.

Not really a true horror movie.

It is about a bunch of vampires who moved to The Bronx and buying property (via a company called Murnau Enterprise) and choose The Bronx because no one would notice or care when people goes missing plus they want to make the Bronx their new home.

3 kids discovered their plans and band the community to fight them. 

The kids even watch Blade to learn how to fight the vampires.

It was shot mostly in The South Bronx, with many of the areas I recognize including the old courthouse where the vampires have their nest (I pass it almost everyday). I actually saw a film crew there a while back but I didn't know what they were filming.

One thing of note is that they use the 15th Precinct (which no longer exist but is the precinct used for most shows shot in NYC) as the local precinct while the 42nd Precinct is a few meters away from the old courthouse.

It is low budget, it is stupid but stupid fun.

It is currently streaming on Netflix.

[Secret Executioner]

Santa Fe Trail (USA, 1940)

1854. Centering on Jeb Stuart (Errol Flynn) and George Custer (Ronald Reagan), this western deals with the army facing off against an abolitionist extremist named John Brown who terrorizes the territory of Kansas and prevents expansion, while his more and more violent methods and extremist speech could bring the country on the verge of a civil war.

 

This public-domain film - though it's apparently initially a Warner production if logos in the credits are to be believed - is a fictionnalized account on real-life soldiers Jeb Stuart and George Cluster, including a love interest that comes out of nowhere as Stuart's wife would be the daughter of a high-ranking officer and not the daughter of the head of the railroad company, whose name the movie gets wrong (she was named Lillie and not Kit, but the completely imaginary character is rather solid and Olivia de Havilland shines in this part).

The film is also interesting as it starts out by downright antagonizing the abolitionists, making a pro-abolition solider who was at West Point with Stuart and Custer a rather villainous guy. Eventually though, there is more nuance and it's more of a "noble idea but poor methods" kind of vision. The movie makes it obvious that the noble ideal of its villain - a very intense performance by Raymond Massey - gets twisted when his fanatism takes the best of him and he won't even care that his own sons are dying. He is also a religious fanatic and thinks he is on a mission for the Lord, thinking of his fight as a crusade. He has some eerily fore-shadowing speeches towards the end, as between his Kansas resistance getting crushed and his later scheme (the last 30 or so minutes) also falling apart, he speaks of how blood will wash the horror of slavery, how peace has failed and a flat out war is the only way out of this... Pretty unsettling, but sadly quite true to what the situation in the US was like at the time. The tensions were already high by this point. From what I recall hearing, President Fillmore Pierce had a great deal of work trying to delay a possible war, said delay eventually allowing what would become the north to be able to ultimately defeat the Confederate states.

To balance things, the movie provides some lighter moments notably when Stuart and Custer are seen flirting with Kit (whose middle name is Carson because her parents thought they were having a boy and had dubbed her that before she was born) or with two civilians escorting the soldiers bickering and managing to get their way in the army. These two characters are pretty funny, especially with how they keep throwing jabs at each other and they also have a nice chemistry with Stuart. But beside being comic relieves, they are also shown to be useful and competent, contributing to the plot notably when Stuart is captured by Brown's men. 

The movie include some action of course, mostly shootouts. It's okay, but pretty tame. The climatic battle is a nice piece.

 

Overall, a really enjoyable, interesting and solid film. My main complaint would be that it feels a bit long at times, and that it suddenly ditches the whole Kansas/Santa Fe stuff for a new plot where the villain manages to re-assemble an army and seize an arsenal in a small town that he plans to use to raid Virginia and other slave states to cause a rebellion among slaves (though the little we see involving slaves seems to indicate he doesn't give a shit about them as people, he just wants to end slavery for some reason). Naturally, Stuart, Custer and co. learn of it and eventually crush his plans, leading to Brown being arrested and executed. But that sudden turn comes right out of left field even though it allows more action (a massive shootout) and an interesting character act for a supporter of Brown who initially clashed with Stuart,

 

Very random fact: I have this on a double-sided DVD that also includes Jesse James meets Frankenstein's Daughter - because "double feature" apparently means "random pairing" for the people who made the 5-DVD set this is from- and I only watched this because I put on the wrong side of the disc and decided to stick with it. The set otherwise contains public domain stuff from the 1930s to 1960s and features the likes of Marlon Brando (starring in a film he apparently also directed), John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster or Kirk Douglas.

[Secret Executioner]

Ultimately watched Jesse James meets Frankenstein's Daughter (USA, 1966) last night.

ed

[Takuma]

Lone Wolf McQuade (USA, 1983) [DVD] - 3/5
Texas Ranger Norris vs. asshole Carradine. Solid film, but I’m a little allergic to Texas.

Missing in Action (USA, 1984) [DVD] - 3/5
Ridiculously stereotypical Vietnamese villains, boobs, and suspense. What’s not to enjoy? Well, the action is pretty full. The storyline actually fares better!

The Delta Force (USA, 1986) [DVD] - 3.5/5
America kicks arse. First rate cast (Norris, Marvin, George Kennedy, Robert Forster as terrorist!), good action and a solid plot flow even at 130 minutes. Alan Silvestri’s score is a bit crappy.

The Wraith (USA, 1986) [VoD] – 3.5/5
Amusingly ridiculous Charlie Sheen / revenge / car / sci-fi / 80s teen flick. A murdered teen returns to earth with a magic automobile to take revenge. Somehow they forgot to explain how the hell did he resurrect and where did the car come from. Instead they got the ridiculously cute Sherilyn Fenn go topless! And the ending WTF? [Spoiler] Did he frame his brother for the murder of 5 kids? He just casually donated the car to him, the car that was used for killing 5 people and to crash through a police roadblock. I’m pretty sure the brother ended up in gas chamber. [End of Spoiler]

Beyond the Law (USA, 1993) [VoD] – 3.5/5
Surprisingly good Charlie on a Harley (ok, maybe it wasn’t a Harley) film with Sheen going undercover in a biker gang. Stupid childhood trauma / side-plot aside, this finds a good balance between cool and dumb, and has decent production values, too. This delivers what it promises: nothing more, nothing less.

Upgrade (USA, 2019) [VoD] - 4/5
Clever, fun sci-fi / cyberpunk revenge film made with just the right amount of money. If this dude does the Escape from New Your remake, I'm in.

The Invisible Man (Canada etc., 2020) [DCP] – 3/5
A horror update for the #me too era: Elisabeth Moss haunted by a toxic, mansplaining ex-boyfriend whom no one else can see. Interesting as a product of its time, but also politically correct to the point of frustration. The biggest issue, however, is the film’s reliance on loud sounds and the viewer’s inability to see the enemy as means of creating tension and jump scares. And yet, the film is effective, even clever at times. Excellent performance by Moss, too.

[Secret Executioner]

13 hours ago, Takuma said:

The Invisible Man (Canada etc., 2020) [DCP] – 3/5
A horror update for the #me too era: Elisabeth Moss haunted by a toxic, mansplaining ex-boyfriend whom no one else can see. Interesting as a product of its time, but also politically correct to the point of frustration. The biggest issue, however, is the film’s reliance on loud sounds and the viewer’s inability to see the enemy as means of creating tension and jump scares. And yet, the film is effective, even clever at times. Excellent performance by Moss, too.

Guess it's a good thing I ultimately didn't get to see this one... It would have annoyed me.

 

Meanwhile, I kept my horror marathon going with... A pretty lousy Puppet Master sequel.

 

[masterofoneinchpunch]

On 10/5/2020 at 2:01 PM, Secret Executioner said:

Guess it's a good thing I ultimately didn't get to see this one... It would have annoyed me.

It was the last film I saw in the theater before it shut down because of COVID (I was the only person in the theater).  Overall, I just did not enjoy it (for several of the points he mentions and some huge plot faults involving a suit).  Now I miss the theater so much I'd probably rewatch it in the movie theater.  There is something really nice about getting the theater to one's self.

[Secret Executioner]

@masterofoneinchpunch I've been to the theater a couple of times since they re-opened over here - notably saw The New Mutants and Tenet. Haven't been there that much because there isn't much that gets my interest these days. It's certainly nice getting back in there. Getting the whole theater to one's self may be pleasant but also a bad sign - there may be nobody because the movie's really bad.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

11 hours ago, Secret Executioner said:

@masterofoneinchpunch I've been to the theater a couple of times since they re-opened over here - notably saw The New Mutants and Tenet. Haven't been there that much because there isn't much that gets my interest these days. It's certainly nice getting back in there. Getting the whole theater to one's self may be pleasant but also a bad sign - there may be nobody because the movie's really bad.

Just because I got a several hundred seat theater to myself to watch xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017)  does not mean that the movie is bad, oh wait nevermind.

Still have some great memories of getting the whole theater to myself.  Loved seeing Doctor Sleep and the latest Halloween by myself (something about horror by one's self in a theater is soooooooo cool.)  I did see Brave by myself and that was a little weird.

[ShawAngela]

I watched The girl in gold boots this evening.

It's a ni ce little movie with some interesting songs and some action, but I didn't enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed The dolls squad.

[Secret Executioner]

Double dose of Lucio Fulci.

 

[Secret Executioner]

Some more horror, this time with good old dinosaurs. And as a dino nerd, I can say this one has a more accurate title than Jurassic Park (where the dinos are mostly from the Cretaceous era, save for the Brachiosaurus and the Dilophosaurus which are species from the Jurassic period).

 

Edited October 8, 2020 by Secret Executioner