The House That Dripped Blood. Early 70's anthology thingy. Very watchable thanks to a decent cast. The final segment with a very Dr Who like Pertwee hamming it up is perhaps the highlight. 7.5/10
I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking) (2021) A recently widowed mother finds herself homeless, living in a tent with her young daughter in Pacoima, CA. She’s $200 short of the deposit she needs for an apartment and the film follows her as she tries to raise the money. Against the odds it’s a funny, engaging film that tells a simple story well. 9/10
'Revenge' - a 1990 Kevin Costner film with Anthony Quinn and Madeline Stowe. Zero chemistry between the leads and a generic storyline make this a 2/10.
I don’t usually see the Oscar-nominated short films but I watched a few of them yesterday that stream for free on YouTube and Vimeo. I want to single out the 11 minute animated film An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It This is a unique twist on stop motion animation and is absolutely hilarious. It is head and shoulders above the other three I watched that are nominated in that category and is well worth 11 minutes of your time. I hope it wins tonight! 10/10
Independence Day- 7/10 I'd seen bits and pieces before but this was my first time watching the whole thing. Very corny but very entertaining. Jeff Goldblum was great as usual. Will Smith was annoying as usual. Lots of explosions and lots of melodrama. Easy to see why it was such a huge hit. Gonna watch the sequel next.
The Astronauts wife. 1999 Johnny Depp Charlize Theron 5/10. She has husband problems like in the Devils advocate
Nah. Gonna watch it, just out of curiosity. I wanna see how it differs from the first one, even if it's (undoubtedly) worse. I'm not expecting much. I watch bad movies all the time. If it's REALLY boring I might switch it off (and read its plot on Wikipedia just to learn what happens), but if it's just bad I'll watch it. (Yes, I'm a huge MST3K fan.)
I watched two last night: Village of the Damned (1960) - 6.5/10 Stars. I had never seen it before and I was immediately struck by how much influence this film must have had on George Romero. Not only that, but this lean film, clocking in at 1hr 17min, must have had an affect on Rod Serling, as well, as an exercise in trimming the fat to provide a concise narrative. This is a really good film. Plus, George Sanders was a god of acting. I don't think he ever gave a poor performance. Seven Samurai (1954) - I had never seen this one either. You know, so many classics, so little time. So, I asked Mary Jane if she wanted to watch it with me, and since she never disagrees, it was a lock. Wow, what a film! All of the hubbub is well deserved. The directing was amazing, the cinematography a masterwork, the setting and story was superb. My only niggles is that the acting could be hot 'n' cold, depending on the performer, but mostly it was on-point. I try to put myself in the time period in which the film was made, so it's not like I didn't catch the homage to Japanese stage traditions. The film was both modern and timeless. Oh, and I should probably mention the worst bald wigs I've ever seen in my life. At first, it was super distracting, but then I quit looking, so it all evened out. I bet we'll end up seeing the 2017 4K restoration sooner, rather than later. It seems to me that it would probably come out in the UK from BFI, first. This would be an instant buy for me. 9.2/10
I thought you meant Aidan Quinn for a moment, and I was thinking that he and Stowe would be right up there with Andi McDowell as some of the dullest actors in Hollywood. I guess some could say the same for Costner, but I adore the guy. Eh what are ya gonna do?
Everly- 8/10 Salma Hayek vs. assassins sent to kill (or torture) her. I thought this was gonna be a generic shoot-'em-up but it didn't take long to realize this was something much more unique, twisted, violent, and gruesome. The whole film takes place in an apartment building, almost entirely in just a couple of rooms, so it's kind of like a filmed play. Plenty of (very) dark humor, but unfortunately, a bit of sappiness too. Recommended if you like Hayek and/or graphic violence.
Saving Private Ryan Not nearly as powerful on repeated viewings. I do like the "Am I a good man?" postscript, though I seem to be in the minority on that one. Speilberg was very much inspired by Richard Attenborough for this and Schindler's List. Though Attenborough had to build a field of 16,000 white crosses for his more metaphysical final shot of Oh, What A Lovely War. 6/10
Rebound the legend of earl the goat manigault 1996. I've been looking for this movie for awhile. 9/10 Found it on you tube Reminds me of the Connie Hawkins book foul . HBO made some good films Rasputin Citizen X
Independence Day: Resurgence- 7/10 Same formula as the first one and plenty of copycat scenes and characters, but with a bit more humor and a bit less sappiness. Not enough Jeff Goldblum, even though he had a pretty prominent role. Cool special effects. Best thing about this sequel is that Will Smith is nowhere to be seen.
The Asphalt Jungle (1950) - Turner Classic Movies 9/10 Classic film noir directed by John Huston about a jewel heist. Short but memorable early appearance by Marilyn Monroe.
The Whale; 6/10. It had its moments, Fraser's deservedly Oscar-winning performance chief among them, but other parts were too Hollywood for me.
Yes !! Watched it two nights ago..... was completely underwhelmed - 2 hours I'll never get back.... I've heard better dialogue and more believable acting watching General Hospital.... Yeah Fraser was ok, but I prefer him in The Mummy.... 4/10
Watched Forbidden Planet and The Time Machine - those classics. They seemed corny to me now, though I really liked the curved titles and 'electric tonalities' on Forbidden Planet. Some of the settings in The Time Machine reminded me of Logan's Run, which made me wonder, if that is ever going to be remade?
Best In Show A rewatch. Now I think Spinal Tap is the best comedy ever made. This isn't on that level but it's still brilliant and I found myself laughing out loud often. The improvising is just spot on and the characters are great. Sometimes the jokes don't land for me in Guest films but they all do here. There is no way they could make this film today for some obvious reasons, which is really quite sad. 9/10