The Movie Preview, Review, & Recommendation Thread pt. II

Perfect Friday, a London bank heist film from 1970. Excellent performances from Stanley Baker, David Warner and a very often naked, Ursula Andrews. When David Warner says the toffs are now adopting cockney slang and personas to get ahead is amusing, as that phenomena, I considered more of the 1990s, than the late 60s or early 70s.
 
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A pair of masked ex military dudes plan to rob a front restaurant of 30 kilos of yayo! When they get there...they realize that the place was holding 300 kilos!

Well, it's only 2 of them, so they grab 50 kilos, get into a shootout with the NYPD, end up killing 7 of them and the worker at the restaurant, and go on the run all around NYC.

Along comes Chadwick B(NYPD detective) and Sienna M(NYPD narcotics) to lead the search for the murderers...along with the FBI who want first dibs.

Chadwick has his own Internal Affairs problems and Sienna is not her usual glamours/gorgeous self(in this role.)

Something doesn't seem right! Everyone from the drug dealer who the masked duo tries to flip the coke to, the FBI, the contact who is supposed to help supply fake ID/passports to get out of the country....down to the NYPD....has an agenda.

Chadwick decides to lock everything down...starting with the 21 bridges that can lead out of NYC! Then the tunnels. They the buses. You get the picture!

This one ain't hard to spot....but it isn't a bad watch...decent action!

3/5.
 
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I hadn't seen this in years and gave it another go last night.

What starts as a unknown flu-like outbreak turns into a global pandemic(where do these Hollywood people get these ideas?)

This flick follows several people who look to identify, replicate, create a vaccine and even capitalize($$) on this tragedy.

Some good performances. Nothing shattering. 3.5/5.
 
What starts as a unknown flu-like outbreak turns into a global pandemic(where do these Hollywood people get these ideas?)

This flick follows several people who look to identify, replicate, create a vaccine and even capitalize($$) on this tragedy.

But...I can turn on the television or look at my mobile and see the same thing since Wuhan 2019.
 
Wesley Snipes is presenting for the Oscars? Did he do something recently other than B movies and go to jail for tax evasion?
 
Spencer. Why was this movie so talked about? I'm watching it on Prime and another round of the latest season from The Crown is more interesting if I wanted to see Diana.
 
Good article by Bret Easton Ellis on Michael Cimino:


I've never seen Heaven Gate's have any of you?
Never made it through the whole thing (maybe watched 40 mins of it). Skimmed the article, but the film also killed westerns and and Kris Kristoferson’s career in addition to new holywood and UA. Honestly, I think Deer Hunter is a very overated film—far inferior to Apocalypse Now.
 
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A man breaks into a billionaire's vacation home and plans to get away with a few thousand dollars and some stolen items.
Just as he is about the leave, said billionaire and his wife show up for some last minute R&R! He is discovered and they are held hostage until he can figure stuff out!

Now what to do?

Well, this little cat and mouse scenario plays out over the course of a few days while the stranger can get his hands on the negotiated $500K ransom money.

The billionaire is arrogant. The wife is almost understanding. The stranger is not a think on his feet kinda guy. His plan is just a mess!

This was watchable. I expected something totally different based on the summary.

2.9/5.
 
Never made it through the whole thing (maybe watched 40 mins of it). Skimmed the article, but the film also killed westerns and and Kris Kristoferson’s career in addition to new holywood and UA. Honestly, I think Deer Hunter is a very overated film—far inferior to Apocalypse Now.
Absolute Beginners in the UK gets a similar bad wrap for being the film that killed-off the English film industry intended for cinema release. I think it's quite good.

Haven't watched Deer Hunter since the 1990s, last time I thought it still stood-up. Apocalypse Now gets even better with age.
 
Am I daft or I really don't understand The Power of the Dog?
 
Perfect Friday, a London bank heist film from 1970. Excellent performances from Stanley Baker, David Warner and a very often naked, Ursula Andrews. When David Warner says the toffs are now adopting cockney slang and personas to get ahead is amusing, as that phenomena, I considered more of the 1990s, than the late 60s or early 70s.
That's funny, I watched it not that long ago as well. I agree with what you said. Overall it's a good watch, the ending is a bit predictable though.

Never made it through the whole thing (maybe watched 40 mins of it). Skimmed the article, but the film also killed westerns and and Kris Kristoferson’s career in addition to new holywood and UA. Honestly, I think Deer Hunter is a very overated film—far inferior to Apocalypse Now.
I agree about Deer Hunter being massively overrated, I never thought that Cimino was a good writer or director for that matter most of his career is a bit of a dumpster fire.

I finally watched the Irishman the other day. It was a bit of a bore. It's a long movie that feels long which is never a good sign. I thought that Al Pacino still had it, Joe Pesci as well but De Niro feels like he is already dead inside. It was nice to have a movie made with "the old gang" again, but it's far inferior to Casino or Goodfellas and the whole digital "de aging" just feels wrong to me. From the story telling point of view I see the interest but it just gives an impression of old Hollywood vampires that don't want to die and think they can hang around forever. The ending bothered me as well, it's trying to instill empathy where there should be none.
 
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The Power of the Dog didn't win. Instead everyone gets a live show of Will Smith being the man when Chris Rock insulted his wife.

I thought he had already won best actor for Ali but now reading back it was only a nomination.
 
I hadn’t even heard of any of these movies other than Dune

Watch the movie about deaf people.

But I have to say Marlee Matlin was attractive in Quantico.

Obviously after Priyanka Chopra and Yasmine Al Massri.
 
I finally watched the Irishman the other day. It was a bit of a bore. It's a long movie that feels long which is never a good sign. I thought that Al Pacino still had it, Joe Pesci as well but De Niro feels like he is already dead inside. It was nice to have a movie made with "the old gang" again, but it's far inferior to Casino or Goodfellas and the whole digital "de aging" just feels wrong to me. From the story telling point of view I see the interest but it just gives an impression of old Hollywood vampires that don't want to die and think they can hang around forever. The ending bothered me as well, it's trying to instill empathy where there should be none.
De Niro hasn't been interested in acting for quite some time. He's a pastiche now. Wooden and stock acting. But then again he's of retirement age.

The de-aging doesn't work and I was not impressed either. Looked all pasty and plastic.

Started watching the new West Side Story, up until the 42 minute mark was pretty good with the exception of the de-saturated colours. That kind of musical needs a big bold Technicolor homage. Some of the criticisms I read are unwarranted i.e. the lack of subtitles from Spanish to English. The meaning is all very clear without.
 
I finally watched the Irishman the other day. It was a bit of a bore. It's a long movie that feels long which is never a good sign. I thought that Al Pacino still had it, Joe Pesci as well but De Niro feels like he is already dead inside. It was nice to have a movie made with "the old gang" again, but it's far inferior to Casino or Goodfellas and the whole digital "de aging" just feels wrong to me. From the story telling point of view I see the interest but it just gives an impression of old Hollywood vampires that don't want to die and think they can hang around forever. The ending bothered me as well, it's trying to instill empathy where there should be none.


I caught the Irishman when it came out and I can't see any occasion when I would watch it again!
 
Hopefully de-ageing goes the way of the computer generated horde armies a la Star Wars prequels, Lord of the Rings, 300, Troy, etc.

I understand people want to cash in on their past glories.
 


This is the worst kind of propaganda. Against your own people. Oh wait - we're starting to do it.

The planet dying and they wear masks during the dust storms. Oh yeah we're not far from it.
 
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Watched Death on the Nile on Disney plus. Rather glad I watched Marry Me in the cinema than this. The who dun it plot twists on top of plot twists got tiring after the third cycle.

I wanted to knock off and watch Lost City with Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum. Seemed senseless and mindless.
 
Watched Death on the Nile on Disney plus. Rather glad I watched Marry Me in the cinema than this. The who dun it plot twists on top of plot twists got tiring after the third cycle.

I wanted to knock off and watch Lost City with Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum. Seemed senseless and mindless.


What has he done that isn't?
 
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During the US hostage crisis in 1979, 6 US citizens escape the embassy and hunker down at the residence of the Canadian ambassador.

Now what?

Well, the CIA has to come up with a plan to get them out. Get them bikes to ride to the nearest border? Nonsense. Have them play crop inspectors? Nope...it's winter.

How about fabricating a fake Canadian film project and having the 6 + Ben A play the production team? Say what?

Ben A along with some help from John Goodman, Alan Arkin and others build a deep cover not only for the 6 Americans, but for the "movie" itself.

Ben heads to Iran as an associate producer and "trains" the 6 on what they need to do/know to make this happen. They are doubtful, but what is the other option? Oh...and the Iranian security peeps are starting to get hip to who those 6 really are and will stop at nothing to capture them.

This is based on a true story. I have seen this several times but caught it again last night. Solid performances all around.

4/5.
 
And the Canadian ambassador, Ken Taylor, apparently was a CIA informant.

The Alan Arkin making a fake movie studio and answering the phone scene was funny.
 
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School teacher wife is grieving the recent loss of husband in an unexpected suicide. Starts investigating and looking for motives and also starts hearing seeing suspicious/spooky activity at home.

8/10 for this intelligent horror film. Brilliantly acted with a good pace and some real chills.
 
Rewatched I Was Monty's Double, with Clifton James recreating the role he played for real in WWII for British Intelligence. His resemblance to General Montgomery is uncanny and he plays it like a mild mannered thespian gentleman, not a luvvie type. Released in 1958 and still well watchable.
 
Rewatched I Was Monty's Double, with Clifton James recreating the role he played for real in WWII for British Intelligence. His resemblance to General Montgomery is uncanny and he plays it like a mild mannered thespian gentleman, not a luvvie type. Released in 1958 and still well watchable.
God, I've not seen that for years, in fact I watched with my late grandfather which would have been the 80s.
 
God, I've not seen that for years, in fact I watched with my late grandfather which would have been the 80s.
Well, you will be glad, it's definitely as good as you remember. I'm pretty good when recalling when I first saw remarkable films, A Matter of Life and Death and The Thief of Bagdad were both with my grandfather and must have been 1974/75. I've seen them many times since. One film I've only seen once, and it made a big impression on me and it was 1981, was the coming of age film, Breaking Away. I saw Big Wednesday at the same time, BBC2 were doing a series of coming of age/teenager films and those two films struck a chord. Only got the chance to see Big Wednesday again when it came out on video in the early 1990s.

There's two films I rewatched recently that didn't hold up anymore: Scott of the Antarctic and Bonnie Prince Charlie with David Niven. Both very wooden and stilted in dialogue and plot.
 
Well, you will be glad, it's definitely as good as you remember. I'm pretty good when recalling when I first saw remarkable films, A Matter of Life and Death and The Thief of Bagdad were both with my grandfather and must have been 1974/75. I've seen them many times since. One film I've only seen once, and it made a big impression on me and it was 1981, was the coming of age film, Breaking Away. I saw Big Wednesday at the same time, BBC2 were doing a series of coming of age/teenager films and those two films struck a chord. Only got the chance to see Big Wednesday again when it came out on video in the early 1990s.

There's two films I rewatched recently that didn't hold up anymore: Scott of the Antarctic and Bonnie Prince Charlie with David Niven. Both very wooden and stilted in dialogue and plot.
The only coming of age film I remember from that period is P'tang Yang Kipperbang.
 
Can I arks youse pommies formby002 formby002 & Pimpernel Smith Pimpernel Smith if youse have seen The Duke?

Does it have meaning for brits perhaps that an Australian might not get?

I saw it the other night, looking for something light, (as opposed to Belfast) and was seriously underwhelmed. I wondered why it was made. Its not a stinker - but I couldn't connect and couldn't understand about 20% of dialogue - might have been the cinemas sound system.
 
Can I arks youse pommies formby002 formby002 & Pimpernel Smith Pimpernel Smith if youse have seen The Duke?

Does it have meaning for brits perhaps that an Australian might not get?

I saw it the other night, looking for something light, (as opposed to Belfast) and was seriously underwhelmed. I wondered why it was made. Its not a stinker - but I couldn't connect and couldn't understand about 20% of dialogue - might have been the cinemas sound system.
No not watched it. Its based on a true story, set in Newcastle, so they'll be talking with a Geordie accent. Not the easiest to understand at the best of times, especially so, if spoken with local slang, pet.
 
Can I arks youse pommies formby002 formby002 & Pimpernel Smith Pimpernel Smith if youse have seen The Duke?

Does it have meaning for brits perhaps that an Australian might not get?

I saw it the other night, looking for something light, (as opposed to Belfast) and was seriously underwhelmed. I wondered why it was made. Its not a stinker - but I couldn't connect and couldn't understand about 20% of dialogue - might have been the cinemas sound system.
The Geordie accent I'm use to, but that part of the world, has some strange rivalries that are impenetrable to the outsider i.e. Newcastle and Sunderland. I've always found the North East of England very closed and dare I say it, old fashioned in attitudes and culture. Even now.

That film I think depends how they play the theme...if they play it as social commentary and serious, it risks being very dour. But if they play it for laughs, it would work. I assume then it was the former.

The Belfast film interests me more. I would have gone to see that.
 
I keep reading Mad Max Fury Road was one of the best action movies of the last decade. It looks like a bunch of mindless action scenes strung together in some hopelessly dystopian world. I just read the synopsis in Wikipedia.

Does it resonate more to people who were intellectually conscious when the first movies were released?
 
I keep reading Mad Max Fury Road was one of the best action movies of the last decade. It looks like a bunch of mindless action scenes strung together in some hopelessly dystopian world. I just read the synopsis in Wikipedia.

Does it resonate more to people who were intellectually conscious when the first movies were released?


Must have been a shit decade!
 
I keep reading Mad Max Fury Road was one of the best action movies of the last decade. It looks like a bunch of mindless action scenes strung together in some hopelessly dystopian world. I just read the synopsis in Wikipedia.

Does it resonate more to people who were intellectually conscious when the first movies were released?
The original is THE classic petrolhead and crime avenger film. They got progressively worse after that. Fury Road was the ultimate in dumb post-apocalyptic nonsense.

After that, they got increasingly Americanized.
 
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I keep reading Mad Max Fury Road was one of the best action movies of the last decade. It looks like a bunch of mindless action scenes strung together in some hopelessly dystopian world. I just read the synopsis in Wikipedia.

Does it resonate more to people who were intellectually conscious when the first movies were released?

I liked Fury Road quite a lot actually, at least when it came out, I haven't watched it since and I probably wouldn't because it's entirely made with the idea of being seen in a movie theater. I do have a projection screen at home and a very good hifi installation and I am convinced it still wouldn't be the same thing.

The Mad Max franchise was never meant to be taken seriously. They were always dumb, very action packed and quite humorous movies and that's why the second installment was the most revered until Fury Road came out, it struck a nice balance. If there is one that's a bit shit, it's definitely Thunderdome, it got too goofy, it's lacking a charismatic villain and is overall a bit flawed. Some people are clinking to the first one like it's some jewel in the rough or something but that's mainly because they misunderstood the film and/or dislike the direction that was taken by Miller, but he's made his point and has continuously showed where he wanted to go with his franchise.

So yeah, Fury Road IS dumb, but it never claimed to be something else, it's literally all you'd expect from a Mad Max movie. The whole point of the film is how it is narrating its story through the action. Literally the script is the action and it does that really well.... at least in a movie theater, at home you'd lose probably 70% of the effect. Oh and on top of that they managed to not entirely rely on CGI and have made some truly astonishing props and stunts for the film. The real question is where Miller takes it from there, because I can't see how he can keep going in this direction, I fear the studios are going to be greedy and just ask for the same movie over and over until the franchise is dead.
 
Saw "The Northman" on Friday. Three little words of advice: Save...Your...Money!!! However, if you get off on seeing nearly nude men hacking at each other with swords in the mode of "300," then maybe you'll like it. A friend of mine once characterized the latter movie as "gay slasher porn." Lest you accuse my pal of having been some sort of "peace creep," he had been a captain in the USMC with combat experience in Afghanistan. In any event, "The Northman" was terribly hokey and inauthentic, and since it's based on the story of Hamlet, you know how it's going to end from the get-go.
 
The VVitch.

Maybe I was too drunk, but the cinematography and slow, atmospheric build didn’t do anything for me. Seeing a sexy witch sabbath in the last minute didn’t save it for me.
 
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There is a plot to kill the president of the USA. The "twist" is that the mole works for the secret service.

The hunt is on for the mole and to stop the assignation.

M Douglas, Kiefer S and Eva L rush to prevent the murder. But wait.....is the mole amongst that group?

This is a solid flick with a few twists. Well worth a watch.

3.9/5.
 

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