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

[SMK]

I recently watched the movie Boss Level, which I mentioned here.

Last night I started watching Truth Seekers on Amazon Prime. Another Simon Pegg and Nick Frost collab. I've only watched the first episode so far, but I really enjoyed it. I enjoy the slight scares and creepiness vibes with the humor.

[Super Ninja]

Outlawed (2018) - From a director that didn't deserve the money for his feature debut, comes an action thriller so bad that it didn't deserve to exist. Here's another stuntman-turned-director case which seems to be all the rage at the moment, this time coming from the UK. Adam Collins is ex Royal Marines commando from Nottingham, and holds a black belt in Karate and Kickboxing. As much as it sounds promising, his movie is a vanity project of the worst kind. If I were a fan, I might enjoy watching Collins showing his butt, having fun with four hookers, doing cocaine, loosing all his money on roulette, being homeless and stabbing people, but I'm not, and from the looks of it, I never will be. This is all about a powerful bad guy called Harry Archibald, killing the mayor of Nottingham, and a journalist who has the whole thing on tape. He is of course soon to be murdered by Harry's goons, and years later his daughter finds the tape, and wants to avenge her father's death. Her friend Jake (Collins) is her only hope to do it, so he decides not to be a hobo anymore, arms himself with a ton of guns and rides on his motorcycle to battle. While the end does deliver some solid action, Outlawed is all over the place and it sucks badly. With less Collins in it, it could've been watchable, and if Zara Phythian is the reason enough for you to watch it, think again because she's here for only two minutes or so, doing nothing but looking pretty.

[weier78]

Enjoyed the Lee Van Cleef, Spaghetti Western,  "Day of Anger ".  No true good heroes in this western.

[weier78]

Enjoyed the Lee Van Cleef, Spaghetti Western,  "Day of Anger ".  No true good heroes in this western.

[morpheus]

On 11/9/2020 at 12:40 PM, masterofoneinchpunch said:

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941: Victor Fleming):  

Such a beautifully directed film. Great use of chiaroscuro. The pacing is a bit languid and focuses too much of the relationships, but it is a solid entry in 1940s horror. This came out a little earlier in 1941 than did The Wolf Man. Several themes are similar, but The Wolf Man is the more solid film, the more tragic. The transformation scene is also done better in The Wolf Man (and in the 1931 Dr. Jekyll). 

I have read a few complains on Spencer Tracy's performance. I think it is nuanced and overall good. It just is not as good as Fredric March's (and the superior 1931 version). Tracy has a little more trouble with the Hyde aspects. 

I have read a few complains on Spencer Tracy's performance. I think it is nuanced and overall good. It just is not as good as Fredric March's (and the superior 1931 version). Tracy has a little more trouble with the Hyde aspects. 

I still need to read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I do wonder how it will differ from all the filmed versions I have seen. My Hyde always seems more like the Id than actually evil. 

I like how the Hammer horror film The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll make Hyde more like the inverse of The Nutty Professor. 

Ingrid Bergman as Ivy Pearson.....nuf said.

[Koravec]

Caught a couple from around 2008 that I missed back then and always wanted to see. Both pretty bad lol. Watched both on youtube.

Where The F**k Is Santa: Bam Margera xmas feature has bam and his crew doing a bunch of dumb stuff as usual on a road trip with an underlying theme and goal of finding santa claus. Bad but quite entertaining and wild to be reminded how people (their crew) actually acted around that time. Was really cool to be reminded of the late 2000s gothic near-pirate looking fashion of Bam and some of his crew. Felt bad for the very demeaning and humiliating hazing done to his friend Brandon Novak, very cringeworthy material in that regard, uncomfortable to watch, one scene being even more particularly inappropriate than the rest. Worse than I even expected but spending time with Bam and his shenanigans and property like his show Viva La Bam is great, show much more recommended. 

Coolduder’s Across The Country: This is the movie version of the frequently released Around The Town series where youtuber/dvd-collector Coolduder would go around the town with his bud MJ and basically just grab lunch togo or look for dvds.. lol. This was piped up by the youtuber to be this huge almost movie quality version of the vlog series with many epic moments. I believe was even set to be or was released on DVD. To say this feature fell flat is an understatement. There would be more interesting content packed into almost any regular Around The Town video imo in a much lesser timeframe. Like Bams WTFIS feature, I ended up feeling bad for the shananigans/cruel pranks done to his friend MJ, the only difference being I found the pranks done on MJ somewhat funnier. As far as the channel is concerned this roadtrip ended their longrunning friendship as MJ quit appearing in videos ever since, and even to this day unheard from on the channel. 

Another ‘flick’ to accommodate these into a trinity of nostalgia would be cinemassacres AVGN movie, always have wanted to see but at a 2 hour runtime after watching coolduders 1 hour 30 minute or so ‘movie’ drag on may be hard to muster,  but at least my expectations are already low going in.

edit: wow didnt even realize it but novak and another guy from the cky crew were featured in one of coolduders vids with mj around this time. probably safe to say coolduders around the town/country were quite inspired by bams  antics around the time

Edited December 15, 2020 by Koravec

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Brick (2005: Rian Johnson):  

How is this the same director as Knives Out? I really enjoyed this movie. Yes, I'm late to the party. A film noir influenced teenager neo noir. I first wanted to see this when MMA star Forrest Griffin wrote about it in his first book. 

Weirdly making me think of this as analogous to Bugsy Malone if one can compare a G to an R. Putting all the teenagers into a neo-noir scenario with updated Dashiell Hammett style dialogue, a femme fatale, a murder, an investigation and playing two sides while staying as far from the law as possible. I love that Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character has a cold/flu throughout (I have had an argument on this) and is barely making it through his own investigation, several possible leads, a few minor beatings and getting himself almost killed. I do feel like that sometimes when I am sick. It's like I do not care, about the sickness that is (unlike food poisoning where you welcome death). Love what they did with The Brain. 

Some great dialogue here and some beautiful direction. I tell myself this every night.

Love that the two main gangs dress so singularly: here we have the potheads. The goth gang, well dresses in black. 

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Scent of a Woman (1992: Martin Brest):  

Overall a fun film. Oh it certainly has it's flaws, Pacino dials it to 11 (This Is Spinal Tap reference, you have all seen This Is Spinal Tap I hope), oh-ah, he chews scenes like Chow Yun-fat chews a toothpick. 

Could Chris O'Donnell be any more milquetoast? I know it makes the scenes when he does not put on his sad puppy dog imitation more poignant (like when Bresson allows a little bit of acting at the end of Pickpocket), but he drives me crazy in so many scenes. It also makes Pacino appear even more demented. If Pacino was acting with say Sam Kinison he might seem tame (Why did we not get a road film from these two? as I shake my hands at the sky). But I digress ... again. 

The key is the relationship between the two. Surprisingly it worked for me. Yes it seems like O'Donnell would be eating alive at a convent much less New York but he has some endearing qualities. 

A few scenes I was less than keen of was the "suicide" scene, the end of the dinner with brother scene (so much of this conversation seemed a bit forced though I did like some of it). I really don't think the "trial" scenes would have went that way, but they still worked. 

90s attire is known for being over baggy. Pacino's suit is nice (a bit baggy), notice the Windsor (looks like a half, but he names the knot in the movie) knot in his glen plaid suit. 

I love this still and quote:

And random TMI: I have a scar in the same place Al Pacino does above his brow (looks just the same). 

[DrNgor]

On 11/16/2020 at 7:31 PM, Koravec said:

While martial arts related, hardly true martial arts movies. So Ill just include them here.

I'd just throw them in the "What was the last modern..." section. I hardly think anybody would care.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001: Coen Brothers):  

This is such a beautiful looking film. The black-and-white cinematography is exquisite in its use of chiaroscuro. The composition is superlative. I liked Billy Bob Thornton's performance as Ed Crane. He had his own internal code and logic. Did he deserve his fate? I do not think so, but in a way this film is a tragedy.  It is both the combination of what life dealt him and how he dealt with it. A continuation of the "Fate" theme in the Coen Brother's work. I actually think he could have easily got out of the final trial if he mentioned his wife's pregnancy. 

Any decent lawyer would have gotten him off that final murder. Tony Shalhoub is such a good actor, but it is hard for me not to think of him as Monk (check out his performance as Primo in Big Night). 

These two quotes describe the saturnine protagonist (Is he Saturnine and/or just laconic?) But he was pitch-perfect in his performance. 

Hilarious that there is a similar incident in both Thinner and this movie. Also the homage to Night of the Hunter is obvious:

Do you know I live in Modesto? 

[DrNgor]

1 hour ago, masterofoneinchpunch said:

Tony Shalhoub is such a good actor, but it is hard for me not to think of him as Monk (check out his performance as Primo in Big Night). 

You say Monk, I say Antonio Scarbachi. But we both say the same thing.

Edited December 10, 2020 by DrNgor

[DragonClaws]

On 12/8/2020 at 4:35 PM, masterofoneinchpunch said:

Overall a fun film. Oh it certainly has it's flaws, Pacino dials it to 11 (This Is Spinal Tap reference, you have all seen This Is Spinal Tap I hope), oh-ah, he chews scenes like Chow Yun-fat chews a toothpick. 

 

Enjoyed watching this one, Al Pacino is one of my all time favorite actors. Despite his performance being over the top in Scent of A Woman(1992), he just rains it in enough that works really well. I picked it up on VHS paired with Sea of Love(1989). Heat(1998), The Merchant of Venice(2004) and Serpico(1972) feature three of my favorite Pacino performances. The latter being based on a true story/real life police officer.

[J.J. Hayden]

John Carpenter's "The Thing"

Best re-make ever?

 

[masterofoneinchpunch]

5 hours ago, Dredderick_Tatum said:

John Carpenter's "The Thing"

Best re-make ever?

 

Close, but I would go for John Huston's The Maltese Falcon or William Wyler's Ben-Hur as two of the greatest remakes of all-time.

[J.J. Hayden]

4 minutes ago, masterofoneinchpunch said:

Close, but I would go for John Huston's The Maltese Falcon or William Wyler's Ben-Hur as two of the greatest remakes of all-time.

Nice. I'd also suggest Brian De Palma's Scarface.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Being John Malkovich (1999: Spike Jonze):  

I'm really not sure how I overall feel about this. I think it is a good film. It is clever. It is fun, though the ending depressed the hell out of me. I just do not have that Roger Ebert feeling of thinking this is a great movie. He called it the best of 1999. It starts off absurdist, keeps a certain amount of that tone throughout. But when it diverges from it is where it would annoy me. I had more trouble with the characters and their relationships which were more annoying than anything. 

They are like less-dimensional and more vapid Woody Allen characters. Sometimes it felt like being stuck in a closet with Vanna White or Dr. Gonzo. I felt like I wanted to go Moe Howard on them. 

The self-referential (and self-deprecating) jokes are funny. So it Charlie Sheen. But nothing more than that to me. It felt more like an idea driven movie than anything else (not that there is anything wrong with that, I just did not connect as much). 

[DarthKato]

Mostly Batman films at the moment. But I got plans to start a marathon of Christmas Movie Classics soon.

[SMK]

The last week or so, I've been mostly watching the FX series Snowfall. I started with Season 1, episode 1, and I'm currently on Season 3, episode 4.

[Hong Kong Cinema Appreciation Society]

Most recent things watched (the past few weeks):

• Numerous episodes of The Great British Baking Show
• Come and See (great Christmas season movie)
• The Sacrifice (Tarkovsky is my current obsession)
• Die Hard
• Rudolph 
• Frozen 
• Frozen 2 (can you tell I have young kids yet?)
• The Bishop's Wife
• Lethal Weapon
• Lethal Weapon 2
• Lethal Weapon 3
• His Girl Friday
• Palm Beach Story
• The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

 

[DarthKato]

1 hour ago, Hong Kong Cinema Appreciation Society said:

Most recent things watched (the past few weeks):

• Numerous episodes of The Great British Baking Show
• Come and See (great Christmas season movie)
• The Sacrifice (Tarkovsky is my current obsession)
• Die Hard
• Rudolph 
• Frozen 
• Frozen 2 (can you tell I have young kids yet?)
• The Bishop's Wife
• Lethal Weapon
• Lethal Weapon 2
• Lethal Weapon 3
• His Girl Friday
• Palm Beach Story
• The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

 

"The Great British Baking Show" is awesome! 

[Hong Kong Cinema Appreciation Society]

19 hours ago, DarthKato said:

"The Great British Baking Show" is awesome! 

Totally agreed. Why has it taken me so long to discover it? It's blowing my mind. 

[Drunken Monk]

Today I watched what I think is my number one movie of 2020: Possessor

I won’t spoil the plot for those that know nothing about it (try to go in blind) but it’s a smart, brutal sci of thriller that’s incredibly well directed by Brandon Cronenberg (son of David). This one ticked all the boxes for me. I highly recommend it.

It’s only $5 to buy on Amazon Prime Video.

[DarthKato]

4 hours ago, Hong Kong Cinema Appreciation Society said:

Totally agreed. Why has it taken me so long to discover it? It's blowing my mind. 

Yeah, its my favorite cooking show. I don't recommend the American version though. It was nowhere near as good.

[Koravec]

Freaky- So this was like some kind of unofficial sequel to Freaky Friday? Never got around to seeing that one. Pretty funny movie at parts. I think b*tch and gay humor can be quite funny sometimes if done right and theres a bit of that here. The red leather jacket antagonist wielding a bloodsplattered chainsaw would make for a good exploitation action figure. 

Fatman- I actually loved this movie. Without knowing much about it I described it to a friend as looking like a Tarintino, coen brothers inspired christmas revenge movie. And surprisingly even to myself thats exactly what it was like. This was like the Nolan (if I didnt name drop enough already) version of santa claus like what Dark Knight was to batman in terms of realism. The realistic approach was done so well and entertaining. Turns a mystical concept into a full on blue collar worker fare displaying the harsh reality of things not always going ideally with two ‘naughty’ main characters, one kid and another adult both holding grudges against santa. 

Bad Santa- Another really crude christmas movie like Fatman, this one being much worse of course. I was unaware of the acclaim or cult status this movie had going in, just thought it sounded like itd be an easily watchable xmas comedy and thought I had heard or seen it around a few times. That being said I thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Some hilarious moments and the main characters down and out alcoholism takes you for a very comical care free ride.

Krampus [2015]- I grabbed a Krampus themed mug I thought was really cool from Spirited Halloween store and as I do with a lot of storylines, start off by grabbing a piece I think it badass enough Id like to display then later end up wanted to check out the series. As Ive dont with Stranger Things, Bioshock and currently the Witcher tv series after buying a somewhat large Leshen funko, sort of Krampus looking figure in itself. 

Starts off with a very irritating family dinner, which is as irritating to watch but quickly becomes quite hilarious in the depiction of typical family disfunction. We finally see the monster half an hour in or so which is a badass creature entry as he runs pounces on roof to roof. The rest of the movie mostly takes place inside the boarded up house as the family stakes inside without much of an idea on how to defeat the beast. When the monster finally enters, we see evil gingerbread men attack some characters [thinking of checking out an evil gingerbread flick or two btw lol] and the Krampus take place very disturbingly in the embodiment of a gigantic puppet with gross and grisly jaws and teeth.

review intermission: I started dozing off at the animation flashback part so I paused the movie to take a mini nap. Between the different creatures in the movie and my siamese cat laying on me, I had a dream I was in some workshop or something and a squirrel with a collar on it came running at me, I didnt know what it was at first but slowly eased my way into petting it, in which it behaved like a cat oddly enough. Then there was a crocodile the walked in, also appeared to be a pet of some sort. It just sat there with its mouth open in an almost affectionate way, or pike those taxidermy busts you see all over florida gift stores. I reached down to begin to pet it, then stopped myself thinking ‘this thing may be someones pet but its still a damn crocodile (or baby alligator)’. Somebody hollered something, presumably the owner of the workshop as if to either say the croc was friendly or to be careful. I woke up, never knew if that pet croc would of attacked if I got too close or not.

Back to the review. Toni Collette nearly dies a horrific death in an attic like she does in Hereditary again, almost hung here whereas she was stabbed repeatedly in the latter. Like in Hereditary the evil is present because the grandma dabbled in some strange wizardry. 

They finally brave the danger and go outside. And some of the coolest monsters in my opinion are the many inanimate snowman lined in front of their house, presumably each containing a dead corpse. Not a bad flick, bit also not anything groundbreaking or too noteworthy. 

[massa_yoda]

Mulan (2020)

This is...okay.  I feel like the movie really loses something without the songs. In the 1998 animated movie, the songs had a lot of world building to them.  This live action version of the story removes the songs (giving small references to the lyrics), but doesn’t replace these moments with anything of substance.  For example, the early scene when Mulan’s “lady like” skills are being tested, it goes by way too quick, and the reason for her rejection is very silly.  On the positive side, I thought the casting is mostly good.  Donnie Yen is the best part IMO.  Mulan being super-powered from the beginning is a bit lame, but not the movie’s worst sin for me.  It just needed more substance.