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

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Munich (2005: Steven Spielberg): This was my biggest missing Spielberg movie to watch. I have now seen 30 of his directed movies. This is a good political thriller. This shines with technique though not as successful with character development. 

Spy novice Avner (Eric Bana) is recruited for a job to dispatch who was involved in a recent terrorist killing of the Israel athletes during the 1972 Olympics. He is working for MOSSAD yet not working for MOSSAD with what amounts to a team of non-professionals who are about as professional as Chevy Chase and Dan Ackroyd. I wished they had spent a bit more on learning about each other as they appear more as plot points than real life characters. But it is interesting to see a pre-Bond Daniel Craig as a very gung-ho “Kill em all” type. 

Their mission, if they choose to accept it, is to globetrot and find these people, while doing their best not to kill any innocent civilians. There is a scene that works very well when they almost blow up a girl of a father when she picks up the telephone that has a bomb in it. It is very Hitchcockian. 

But when you have a group like this, I think you would have to expect them to be sometimes sloppy – which they are. Killing a KGB agent was a big no-no (this might or might not have consequences later in the film, it probably does). I felt that their government (Israel) possibly wanted them to succeed at first but killed later in their approach to disavow any connection. 

The death of the female assassin was done quite well. Unless you are Bond, be careful of who you sleep with. There is a scene when they are accidentally booked in a same “safe house” with PLO members. That was interesting. This film gets the aspects of paranoia down well. You are living a life where ultimately you cannot trust anyone. 

I kept thinking of the saying “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” and “Vengeance is Mine” (especially the Shôhei Imamura film, but mainly for its title). This is stated in the film that the reprisals have kept getting bigger and bigger with the revenge and all that has happened was that the terrorists were just getting replaced by even more radical terrorists. But it was not about getting even, more than making a point – like their preference for bombs as opposed to shooting (or say poison them). 

There is one laughingly bad scene though. His aftermath sex scene with Avner just made me cringe and laugh at the same time. An interesting feat, but he filmed it so wrong. Also, I do wonder why he was having nightmares about Munich (which we scenes unfold in kind of a clumsy segue) when he was not there. 

Roger Ebert (****/****: https://bit.ly/3myPpAm) and Leonard Maltin (**½/****) differ on this film. I veer more toward Ebert on this one. It is a solidly made film that has an interesting plot (I do not yet know the real-life story as well as I should).

[Jizzmaster Jerry]

NBA playoffs 1986 Bulls vs Celtics game 2- While this isn’t a movie it did feel like watching something fictional because of a young Michael Jordan taking on a great Celtics team pretty much by himself.  Jordan plays point guard and about half the time he will take the ball up the court and set up the offense, but most of the time he takes the ball up the court and shoots, or drives to the hoop.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  A young player 2-3 years into the league and taking on a team of hall of famers by himself.  And he keeps it up the whole game and finishes with 63 points.  And this wasn’t Jordan being selfish.  This game went to double OT so it’s not like Boston wasn’t defending him.  He didn’t have any good players on the team. The second best player was Orlando Woolridge.  Charles Oakley was a rookie and was a foul trouble a lot of the game.  Dave Corzine was the 4th best player.
 

It’s the most impressive performance I’ve ever seen in the NBA.  I have 28 Jordan games mainly coming from ESPN Classic.  But this game is in the Ultimate Jordan collection which has the full broadcast.  
 

it’s always baffled me why they’ve never released a Michael Jordan full game collection.  They could release it by seasons.  Maybe there’s some tapes that they wouldn’t be able to locate and it wouldn’t be a complete collection, but I wouldn’t care. Or maybe Michael Jordan isn’t a popular enough athlete.  Ha.  I don’t know.  

Edited April 15, 2023 by Jizzmaster Jerry

[AlbertV]

Vlieekraal (2022) - a futuristic western about a drifter who comes to a desolate town and finds himself in the middle of a budding war between the farmers and the miners. He sides with the farmers after he's taken in by an elderly one and his family. Slow paced but good finale with narration by the farmer's grandson as an adult...has quite a nice plot twist with the miner leader finding a hired assassin who has a connection with the hero drifter. 

Konfetti (2014) - South African comedy based on a play about a man whose ex-girlfriend is marrying his best friend. He is the best man and finds himself in one rut after another, including hiring a band at the last minute that is fronted by the woman he cheated on his ex with, and more hijinks ensure. Funny film that has quite an ending, but driven by the comical performance of lead actor/writer Louw Venter. 

Chrissy Judy (2023) - an LGBTQ+ dramedy about a drag queen who loses his best friend after the latter decides to move out of NYC with his new boyfriend. The former attempts to find a way to find and reinvent himself, but doesn't go as planned until a reunion causes him to finally face reality. Good film written, directed by, and starring Todd Flaherty as the drag queen who must reinvent himself. 

El Houb (The Love) (2023) - a Moroccan-Dutch man finally comes out to his family, but when they refuse to listen, he locks himself in the closet until they listen. Lots of flashback about the main character finding himself but still afraid to tell his family, especially after he starts a relationship with a Kenyan-born man. Nice twists mixed in and the ending is very shocking but somewhat realistic. Great performances from the cast. 

[Yihetuan]

Sisu - Dir. Jalmari Helander [2022] (Finland)

Haven't seen it but I'm counting it as one of my most anticipated movies of this year. Anyone seen this already on the festival circuit and can chime in?

https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/sisu

 

 

[AlbertV]

Space Wars: Quest for the Deepstar (2023): If you don't want to see sci-fi epics like Alien and Star Wars but love the cheesy fun and wild sci-fi films reminiscent of the 80s and 90s, even the 70s, then this is a fun film! Michael Pare and Sarah French are a father-daughter team of space scavengers who look for a mysterious ship that may have the ability to revive their late wife/mother, whose soul is in the form of a liquid "essence". They find themselves hunted down by a vengeance-seeking former hire played by an over the top Sadie Katz and a band of mercenaries led by 90's action great Olivier Gruner (who even assisted in choreographing one of the film's fight scenes). It's not meant to be taken seriously....and yet it's just fun and a popcorn film. 

I even got to interview this past Friday the director, writer, and five cast members altogether. Sadly, Michael and Olivier weren't there but hell, still one of my favorite interviews this year. 

 

[PandaPawPaw]

Living with Chucky. Cool little documentary about the little shit. I really dislike the TV series though. That's crap.

Knock at the Cabin. OK film. Usual M. Night Shyamalan film. Starts of promising then just fizzles out. Batista is really good in it though. I think he's a decent actor. The little girl was good too.

Children of the Corn (2020). Utter Shit.

Cocaine Bear. I wasn't expecting much and it was very average. The last 20mins or so were boring. The CGI bear was great though. Could of done with some trimming.

Baby Ruby. Shit.

Game of Death (2017). Started off OK but then it turned into mindless crap. Unlikeable characters but good deaths.

My Lucky Stars. Fun film and I really like colours in it, they really pop plus the Japanese setting looks great. The fights are awesome in it.

Who Am I. I managed to get a nice HD copy of the uncut HK version taken off Japanese TV. I've seen this version once on the Universe DVD and JPN 2 Disc edition. The race in the HK cut goes on for a bit and gets boring as does some of the African bits. Great fights in it though.

Some of the ADR is awful though.

Edited April 18, 2023 by PandaPawPaw

[Coliseum1972]

found footage of DT & Elkouby singing ?

(Topols family found out that he had been a Mossad agent)

Edited April 18, 2023 by Coliseum1972

[SpruceTree]

Avatar 2, D&D: Honor Among Thieves (was frigging great btw)

[Omni Dragon]

Welcome to the forum, @SpruceTree.

[danthemandmv]

Welcome , @SpruceTree !

[Coliseum1972]

Matrix Revolutions 4/6 , just average

 

[Coliseum1972]

007 TLD 5/6 , great movie , Tim shines as 007 , great moment when he bursts the balloon or starts shooting with machine gun to warn the bad guys & great opening. Besides silver anniversary & 15th Bond movie it also had : final Barry score (he has a cameo as conductor at the very end , well deserved) , final Keen as MOD & gen Gogol appearances , final painted movie poster (hopefully they will go back to painted art next time)  

Piranha II -the spawning 4/6 , about as entertaining as the first , had a good time (more unrealistic tho)

Lance Henricksen stars as police man

Edited April 22, 2023 by Coliseum1972

[DiP]

Watcher (2022) - 8/10

The direction made the story quite slow-paced (the beginning in particular) but I liked the overall atmosphere and execution of everything. I can tell the director is a big fan of Alfred Hitchcock since there are so many references to Hitchcock's movies. Rear Window came to mind real quick (people looking at what goes on through window apartments), and the themes of mistaken identity, red herrings, and mysteries being used. The ending was really surprising and satisfying, making it a worthwhile watch for me. Great piece of modern thriller film-making.

Barbarian (2022) - 4/10

The movie's gotten good reviews so it interested me enough to try it out. I now wonder why that is though. The movie is incredibly incoherent, with each act acting out totally different and something that of segments that were just put together. This mixture leaves a bad taste and an impression that the director attempted to mesh different types of movies into one. From an experimental perspective, it might work. But apart from the first act, where the mood is set the way I expected it to be for the whole story, nothing about this approach entertains.

Don't Tell a Soul (2020) - 8/10

This movie deals with morality and justice, questioning what's truly worth in people's situational lives, in such a dramatic way that engrosses and captivates from start to end. Plus it has a great twist that makes the story even more complicated and fascinating once you see these complications conclude. Great performances from Jack Dylan Grazer (his character really annoys you but that's why it's great), Fionn Whitehead, Mena Suvari, and especially Rainn Wilson. 

Shutter (2008) - 7.5/10

I'm not really into spiritual horror movies but this was an exception. It's very entertaining and quite fresh. Love the way the suspense and horror starts and builds from there to see the whole picture of all the hows and whys. The death scenes were brilliantly conceived and executed.

Edited April 25, 2023 by DiP

[ShawAngela]

I'm currently dived into the TV series Girl From U.N.C.L.E.

I had seen a very few episodes as a child many years ago and I think that seeing Stephanie Power's fights and aventures made me begin to be interested in female fighters (Diana Rigg in The Avengers and Kate Jackson in Charlie's Angels definitely drowned me into this kind of movies).

However, many, many years after, I must confess that I'm a little bit disappointed by what I saw until now. I finished the first season yesterday, and I just saw Stephanie in a sword fight until now. Some episodes are less interesting than others, but I still enjoyed the show. I'll begin the second season this evening.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Jezebel (1938: William Wyler): I knew about this but its entry in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die got me to see this.  I like Bette Davis and I just watched The Little Foxes not too long ago (also my first watch).  This makes a nice companion piece to that and Gone with the Wind. 

New Orleans, 1852.  Not hard to notice Camptown Races by Stephen Foster on the soundtrack, which had only been published a few years before this story takes place. The beginning tracking shot down a New Orleans street up until the hotel is a classic introduction and sets the mood for the movie. 

Bette Davis is a force. Wyler had her tone down (as well in The Little Foxes; they did three films together with The Letter as the other one) her character of Julie Marsden, so she does not overwhelm and devour the other actors – which she had been known to do. Her performance here is one of the best I have seen from her (also include The Little Foxes and All About Eve). 

Marsden has this great intro; she is late to her own party and arrives on a horse in equestrian garb (a no no) and sets her character right away like a mixture between a Southern Belle and Jane Austen character. She is headstrong, independent and since it is Bette Davis, she is going to do what she is going to do. She alienates her boyfriend by wearing a red dress to a ball when she is supposed to be wearing white. This is an impropriety for a society very set on protocol. This leads to him leaving her. 

Henry Fonda as Preston (Pres) Dillard works well with her. Fonda has the ability to be intimidating as an actor (no surprise if you have seen Once Upon a Time in the West). One big issue is that I just do not see his character as being so stupid as not to tell her (or have word get to her) that he got married. Did he think this was not going to upset Julie Marsden? (Coincidently there is a scene in The Sea is Watching that is very similar to this).  

But he is married, she is pretending to hold it together and there is an outbreak of yellow fever (1853; this in real life did claim up to 8000 people’s lives). In the film the sufferers get sent to a leper colony – meaning that once they went there, they were not getting out. 

I obtained a good amount of information on this movie from the book Dark Victory: The Life of Bette Davis by Ed Sikov. Random TMI: the director and Henry Fonda were both divorced by actress Marget Sullavan. Excessive takes are nothing new in cinema. Wyler had Davis do 48 takes on a specific scene during her intro, but he overdid takes throughout the filming. John Huston came on this project to do rewriting of the script and second unit direction. 

There is a North vs. South feeling pervading this movie and it is integral to the plot. There are a couple of Plantation scenes that are a bit wincing (the sing along with Julie; I disagree with the essay in 1001 Movies that states this movie avoids the plantation myth), but the direction and atmosphere is exquisite. 

And what about the ending? A combination of self-serving, manipulation and pretending to be virtuous to get her way. Pure Bette Davis. 

[DiP]

Significant Other (2022) - 5/10

Central Intelligence (2016) - 6/10

The Upside (2017) - 8/10

Die Hart (2020) - 7/10

Ride Along (2014) - 6.5/10

Ride Along 2 (2016) - 6/10

The Tomorrow War (2021) - 7/10

Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City (2021) - 5.5/10

Edited May 1, 2023 by DiP

[masterofoneinchpunch]

This Happy Breed (1944: David Lean): The impetus for watching this was the finish off the Criterion David Lean Noel Coward box set. I like Lean a lot as a director, but this just does not have the reputation of most of his other films. I ended up enjoying this as a well made and resembles Calvacade (1933, Best Picture winner, which Noel Coward also wrote) and I was not the only one to think this as Barry Day mentions the resemblance in the extras on the Criterion release. On a side-note: Day attacks Robert Newton’s performance which I did not think was bad (Farran Smith Nehme’s essay on Criterion is much more kind). 

The title comes from a Richard II quote: “this happy breed of men, this little world.” Coincidental on Friday at a lunch I used a variation of this quote “I would bite out my tongue and spit it …" from Richard II. 

This takes place between 1919 and 1939 as an episodic life of a family, the Gibbons in one particular house. It covers the end of The Great War to the early stages of World War II. It moves at a brisk pace, but with a small running time and a lot to go over it does sometimes feel hurried and is a bit elliptical. 

The politics of it are fascinating. It has its propagandistic aspect to it (understandable) and has a bit of hindsight especially as it criticizes the pacificist stance and disarming that happened pre-WWII (and this happened all through Europe, except for Germany of course). 

Lean uses an interesting technique of dollying in and then dollying out for the passage of time. Often though you get a marker such as a newspaper “Woman Flies Atlantic Alone”, the King’s illness and death (also resembles Calvacade) or just a plain old date. 

Like in The Haunting the house is a character – except it is not haunted yet. Early on the house is empty, seems small, but seems larger when the family is there. Then it seems small again (and the soundtrack uses an echo style effect) when they leave for the country (also safer to be there since there is less bombing there). 

But you get to see the growing up of the children, the death of family, a snide grandmother (she is a bit of a rotter), a cat (which kept worrying me that something was going to happen to it), a spinster sister (also passive aggressive, everyone really is or just plain bloody bickering like the wife) and love in bloom – even if it takes a bit longer than it should. John Mills’s character is a good example of persistence about falling in love. Would you have done what he did in this situation? 

This film is an embodiment of keep a stiff upper lip and carry on. It is worth watching even if it is more minor in Lean’s oeuvre. But watch Calvacade before this one. 

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Trances (1981: Ahmed El Maanouni: Morocco): I watched this because it was on a Martin Scorsese Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project No. 1 Criterion set with The Housemaid.  With Criterion I do not mind watching films I have no idea about. It is now the first film I have seen from Morocco.

This is a good, but basic documentary on the popular Moroccan group Nass-El Ghiwane.  Criterion sells this as “Trances is pure cinematic poetry” but when you see this you will be reminded of so many other music documentaries – heck even Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz (1978) and Shine a Light (2008).  In one scene of going to a concert’s stage I was even reminded of This is Spinal Tap.

This group, inspired by the poems of Abderrahman El Majzoub, uses an acoustic mix of the bendir drum, a fretless banjo, a darbuka drum and a guambri (sintir). Pay attention to the crowd and how it reacts so similarly to many at a rock concert.

You get the obligatory concert footage intermixed with interviews and other scenes of the band members.  Unfortunately, you really do not get to know them that well.  Two members are more outspoken than the others, like Omar Sayed who looks like a combination of Chevy Chase and Andy Kaufman and is easily the most interesting (from the film) of the bunch.  You see some arguments with Larbi Batma (who is the other outspoken member and Sally Shafto’s Criterion essay states that he looks like Frank Zappa – which he does), but Omar seems to be the leader of this group. Boujemâa H’gour, before his death, was one of the more important members and is mentioned in this doc.

The title comes from how their music puts people into a trance.  This was the first film Scorsese picked for his World Cinema Project – lesser-known films to be restored. He had watched this one day on TV and was mesmerized by it.  So much so that this movie (really the group) is an influence on the music of The Last Temptation of Christ.  I love picking up cinematic tidbits like that.

This is a fun, sometimes fascinating music documentary on an important Moroccan group.  Worth watching. 

 

[teako170]

From the Teako Watchlist...

Nope (2022)
Kept me intrigued. Director Peele definitely created an M. Night Shyamalan type atmosphere.

Paths of Glory (1957)
Powerful anti-war flick from Kubrick. Loved the scene when Kirk Douglas takes a "stroll" through the trenches before the attack.

Murder Mystery 1 & 2 (2019, 2023)
Not a big fan of Adam Sandler but these are some great date flicks with the wife/gf. Very funny combo with Jen Aniston.

Rocky II (1979)
These films never get old. Wish I could the same about us. Spoiler: Rocky wins this time (lol).

Knives Out 1 & 2 (2019, 2022)
Craig AKA 007 is very funny. I actually preferred the sequel but still two good flicks again for Date Night.

Troll (2022)
Norwegian monster film ala King Kong. It was ok.

The Quake (2018)
Another popcorn flick. Decent enough.

The Way We Were (1973)
It was the 50th anniversary and had never seen before, so...  Streisand was great. She owned this film. Redford, not so much.

The Unthinkable (2018)
From Sweden. Chemical attack via rain. Would've been much better if they had a more likeable lead. Cool ending though.

Under Capricorn (1949)
Re-watch. A lesser know Hitchcock effort but still good nonetheless. Looong takes in this one. Bergman and Cotten were superb.

Waiting (2005)
Another re-watch. If you ever waited tables, you'll love this. Too funny.

The Pale Blue Eye (2022)
Slow burn with Christian Bale. The guy who plays Edgar Allen Poe was damn good.

The Time Travelers (1964)
Fun B-flick from the 60s. Reminded me of those Saturday afternoon sci-fi movies we'd watched as a kid.

 

 

Edited May 16, 2023 by teako170

[shukocarl1441996347]

The Prisoner (1967 - 68) Patrick McGoohan

[Super Ninja]

17 hours ago, teako170 said:

Nope (2022)
Kept me intrigued. Director Peele definitely created an M. Night Shyamalan type atmosphere.

Peele's best so far if you ask me, never was crazy about Get Out. Lazy Sunday night watch for me, but I got more than expected in the end. 

[masterofoneinchpunch]

César (1936: Marcel Pagnol: France) Sometimes I watch a film just to finish off a set.  Here we have the end of the The Marseille Trilogy (Marius and Fanny were the first two). I really liked the first film which establishes the characters, and I did not like the second film as much where I felt the characters traveled down paths that did not feel natural.  I have long tweet threads I could share on both of these.  But this film had a way of putting all three films together and I was moved by it. Sometimes you must take a trilogy as a composite to critique it properly.

Alexander Korda directed the first, while Marc Allégret directed the second and Marcel Pagnol  

directed the third.  Maybe Allégret was just not as strong as the other two, but it helps that Pangol was the writer on all three and did both the writing and direction in true auteur form.

This starts off twenty years after the events of the second film (no one looks twenty years older); however, we have a dying husband Honoré Panisse, married to the much younger Fanny whose love is still Marius (Pierre Fresnay) who made that fateful decision in the first movie to explore his love of the sea, while unknown that his love got pregnant without marriage (which ultimately forced her into marrying Hon Honoré). 

Honoré had a serious heart attack.  He is dying and well this gives him a lot of time to wax eloquently like a later Eric Rohmer film about his philosophy and his affairs (hilarious how even at his age he was well not true to Fanny).  He was a good dad for his “adopted” son Césariot, who did not know that Marius was his true dad.  I did find it hilarious that the actor for the son is only about 11 years older than the actor for his dad.

The film is titled after the grandfather played by Raimu in another good (loud) performance.  He and so much of the cast originated from the play.  Can you see him playing Tevye in Fiddler on the roof?

Pierre Fresnay as Marius gives an awesome verbal beatdown to everyone around him in dealing with this affair.  This was brilliant and pretty much everyone took it.  It really is satisfying for the whole entire second film (I know you have to have seen the film to understand this). 

But what made this work was how it ended.  I found it quite moving.  There are diverting scenes for many of the secondary characters (kick the hat for example), but ultimately this is a love story that at first chose “doing the right thing” over love, but whose fire was never extinguished. 

Leonard Maltin is quite high on all three films (though higher ratings on the last two) and this is on The Times (UK) Top 100 Films.  All three can be thought of as one like Lord of the Rings or like the Antoine Doinel movies.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Flags of Our Fathers (2006: Clint Eastwood): I have been meaning to watch this for years and I eventually want to see all of Eastwood’s directed movies (I am not at 31).  I also just read a book on Eastwood (I will write about it later) and the producer Steven Spielberg.  The amount of WWII films is mindboggling and I have seen a lot of them.  Before watching I wonder what can be added here that I have not seen before. 

This movie is a combination of the siege of Iwo Jima and the story of the iconic photograph of the flag raising event (one of the most well-known photos of all-time) in which it was raised twice and much earlier than when the island was taken. 

This is a good film, though I do not quite feel it is great nor as good as Letters from Iwo Jima, the second film in this diptyque. I felt the narration and flashback structure was not as good as it should have been.  I am not sure it was even necessary.  You needed to see more of an aftermath, more cohesion between the past and present.  It felt like obligatory storytelling 101.  Also, some technical aspects like the flashback jumps with noise were a bit irritating and the CGI was noticeable when it should not have been.  The awkward racist scenes with Ira Hayes (Adam Beach) made its pathos point and then beat it into the ground. 

But the strength is the story and some of the acting helped make this a good movie.  The story itself is an incredible siege on an almost impregnable island.  The marine fatalities were near 2000 on the first day alone.  I was a bit incredulous of the scene where they were wondering where they were since they do not spot barracks.  I know hindsight is 20-20 but dug out fortifications were not new.  Regardless it was going to be hell and the island had to be taken. 

Adam Beach was a standout in this film.  I liked the scene with him crying and hugging the mother of a deceased comrade. But I never felt like I got to know the soldiers as much as the ones in Letters from Iwo Jima.  They are forgettable.  I loved seeing David Rasche for small role (but also a bit of overdone cringe humor). 

The battle scenes were done well.  Not quite Saving Private Ryan nor Hacksaw Ridge.  I do not particularly like the color usage of this (and really do not like it in Letters from Iwo Jima). 

Interesting historical tidbit is that just a few years ago (2019) there had been a change of who possibly did the flag raise.  Though Eastwood’s point about this mainly being a political propaganda rah-rah event is correct and why it was important.  Money was needed for the war and this worked. 

https://bit.ly/3VPYBxD Ebert has a four-star review of this movie. He is a bit more laudatory than I am.  

But this is worth watching. Also, there are so many great WWII films like The Thin Red Line, The Burmese Harp, Fires on the Plain that I think you should watch. 

 

Edited May 18, 2023 by masterofoneinchpunch

[ShawAngela]

On 5/17/2023 at 4:43 PM, shukocarl1441996347 said:

The Prisoner (1967 - 68) Patrick McGoohan

Great series. I loved it, but I was very dissapointed with the last episode when I watched it many years ago on French TV.

[ShawAngela]

I watched SPY two days ago, with Jude Law, Jason Statham and Melissa Mac Carthy.

I enjoyed it a lot ! And I laughed a lot too. Great spy comedy movie in the James Bond's style, I recommend it.

It  even begins with a song and credits ala James Bond too. I think that it's a movie I'll rewatch with the same enjoyement each time I'll watch it.

And it was so funny to see Jason Statham playing a kind of idiot spy with a lot of misadventures instead of his serious fighting hero's roles.