bikecrate

Watched I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, which I think is a Netflix movie. A very slooooooooooooooooow moving ghost story. A little too slow for my taste. 4/10.

FiftySix

Because it had Humphrey Bogart in it, AND it was in original color, I watched The Barefoot Contessa on Roku last week.

I give it a 2 out of 10. The color location shots are the only saving grace for me, but that's not good enough to watch the entire movie.

If you like a movie being narrated instead of being performed, and a lame story line that only gets mildly interesting in the last 10 minutes of the flick, well I guess this movie would be for you.

I can imagine if I was a married man seeing this with my wife at the theater in 1954. I'd have been taking a long nap during the show.

bikecrate

Whoa boy. Watched Dead Alive (aka Braindead). This is one of the most messed up (in a good way) horror movies I've ever seen. I believe it was made in New Zealand during the 90's, but takes place in the late 50's (?). Basically, a zombie movie with slapstick humor and gore...lots of gore. Freud would have much to say about the last scenes. It would not be for everyone. I LOL many time while simultaneously wincing. 8/10.

himespau 

Who would have thought, after watching that, that the director would go on to do the Lord of the Rings trilogy as well as he did?

canklecat

You Were Never Really Here
Tough one to rate. I'll say 7/10.

It's in the vein of psychological thrillers like Taxi Driver, Repulsion (Roman Polanski film with Catherine Deneuve) and, perhaps, a little of Hamlet. But it doesn't quite succeed where those films did. I'm inclined to agree with the Uproxx review that it's mostly style over substance, and doesn't quite accomplish ... whatever its goal might have been.

The main character's apparent flashbacks to horrors of childhood and war eventually merge into daydreams/hallucinations, finally giving the impression that he might have imagined the entire thing. In the end I'm left wondering the same thing I always have about Hamlet: did they merely hallucinate or dream up that stuff and use it as an excuse to kill innocent people?

But that's the risk with every such film theme, including Identity (2003 with John Cusack, Rebecca De Mornay and others). If the director reveals late in the movie it was all a fantasy or hallucination, or uses too much misdirection to mask the true fiend, it seems too pat. With "You Were Never Really Here," the director leaves it all open to interpretation but it feels more like a cop-out than an interesting dilemma to chew on.

The mixed morality of the main character also makes it difficult to "like." On the one hand he seems somewhat virtuous for trying to rescue and avenge an exploited child. On the other hand, he recklessly endangers other innocent people, driving while impaired by drugs and hallucinations, losing his temper, exposing his family and allies to harm. If he'd minded his own business and left it to the authorities, things might have turned out worse for one person, while up to half a dozen others might not have been dragged down into his nightmare spiral.

It's a viscerally potent movie, not nearly as gory as claimed -- many killings occur off camera or at a distance, a neat trick by the director that probably kept production costs down while retaining a sense of horror. I'm surprised it fared so poorly at the box office, although it appears to be catching on as a cult classic. I suspect the Jeffery Epstein scandal, the faked Pizzagate non-scandal and other reports may generate some interest in the movie, at least as a proxy for fantasies about avenging abused kids.

Manovvar

Boys - very cool series

Manovvar

New Terminator - 2/10. The film is terrible. I watched it at home in my new comfy chair and instead of enjoying the movie, I fell asleep https://thebestreclinersreviews.com/best-simmons-recliners/. The feeling when the chair saved from boredom. I have no words. How many hopes were that this film will be successful, and then here is a disappointment.

KraneXL

Typical terrible shaky cam, fuzzy footage view of aliens, that come to earth and start shooting up the place. The acting is poor, the plot predictable and the footage is typical B budget movie.

This movie wasn't just boring, but painful to watch. I could have said a lot more -- like the mindless story that doesn't reveal much -- but it would have been all bad.

2/10

angine

Parasite 7/10

Korean dark comedy, drama with a bit of horror. One of the better films I've seen recently.

I-Like-To-Bike

Amazing Grace, live performance of Gospel by Aretha Franklin, Reverend James Cleveland, and the Southern California Community Choir, recorded over two nights in an LA church in 1972.

10/10. a powerful and emotional audio and visual experience, not to be missed by anyone who appreciates the Real Deal and the Queen of Soul!

canklecat

The Hole in the Ground -- 6/10

Promising start, akin to Turn of the Screw, The Other and similar explorations of Capgras Syndrome. Quickly devolves into tropes, cliches and improbable and unnecessary depictions of violence that undermine the psychological tension.

Best thing about it is Seana Kerslake, who makes the movie worth watching. She manages to rise about the hackneyed story. And the cinematography is good.

canklecat

High Life (2018) -- 7/10

This movie recommendation appeared on a top ten list of recent or obscure scifi, so I watched it without knowing anything about it other than that it featured Robert Pattinson (I knew of him but had never watched a Twilight movie).

My immediate impression was that it's a less compelling variation of Solaris. Only after watching the movie did I read some reviews, most of which said exactly the same thing. Stylish, detached, even sterile. And slow. If you enjoyed Solaris (I did) or Under the Skin (loved it) you might find High Life worth watching. But while I enjoy re-watching Solaris and Under the Skin, I don't feel any need to watch High Life again. The story really goes nowhere and takes its sweet time getting there. If it's a metaphor the intent is too obscure to appreciate.

ooga-booga

echo in the canyon musical documentary on the laurel canyon folk-rock scene in the 1965-1967 era.
jakob dylan may have been the perfect choice (given his lineage, accomplishments and appreciation) to pilot the project.
some intense, nostalgic interface especially with the mamas & papas segment (wth?!). a 9. movie could easily been
45 mins-1 hr longer. done right? coulda been a contender/10
https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2...r5bGuW1GbEr5bA
https://www.npr.org/2019/05/22/72579...f0Ylw9S9-9Azwc

ooga-booga

and...once upon a time in the west (1968) for giggles. i've rated this movie from 8.5-9.5 over the years..depending on my mood.
pretty damn solid. i'd rate it a 9 but with claudia cardinale in her best role..? I'll bump it up that half point to a 9.5.

Manovvar

FordvsFerrari. Ohh very good film!

colorider

Saw Crazy Rich Asians on Friday. 7.5/10 Entertaining film.

Knives Out on Saturday 8/10. Very good and entertaining. Great cast as well.

ooga-booga

classics nite:

ikiru 1952. a 9/9.5

pather panchali 1955. a 9.

ooga-booga

the wages of fear 1953. an 8.5.

diverge52rider

The Shawshank Redemption, (9.5/10) Still amazing after all these viewings (and wayyyy better than the novella). If I had to be picky, I did notice a few more "liberties" with the story to arrive at the conclusion but everything's just so satisfying you don't care.

caloso

Ford v Ferrari. 8/10. Very entertaining. A real movie movie.

caloso

Knives Out, 8.5/10. Excellent cast, excellent plot, a great take on the classic Christie tropes. (A heck of a lot better than Branagh's mess of the Orient Express last year)

tyrion

The Irishman - 8/10. You might think Scorsese/De Niro/Pesci gangster movies was a stale formula, but somehow it's not.

ooga-booga

and the pursuit of happiness 1986. an 8.

the fog of war 2003. a 9.

the battle of algiers 1966. a 9.5.