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One of the best films of all time for sure.Raging Bull - 9/10 - Scorsese, De Niro and Pesci make the best sports based film of all time, no more words needed.
One of the best films of all time for sure.Raging Bull - 9/10 - Scorsese, De Niro and Pesci make the best sports based film of all time, no more words needed.
Last few nights have been rewatch nights:
Tuesday: The Fast and the Furious (2001). Still my favourite of the bunch, it's a b-grade movie at best but it still holds a certain charm for me as I was very into the modified car scene right around the time this came out, and it's still fin to watch all these years later, despite the terrible acting: it's worrying when Vin Diesel is actually the best actor in it! (not true, Jordana Brewster actually is). Paul Walker... Wooden at best, the supporting cast had their charms but are nothing to write home about.
Wednesday: 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003). Not as good as the first, but still fun enough. Walker hadn't learned much more about acting by this point, but the supporting cast were getting better (Ludacris is probably the best in this, although Eva Medes and Cole Hauser do good jobs respectively).
Friday: Rambo (2008). Think I only ever saw this once, so figured it was overdue a rewatch. I forgot how graphic this one is: it's definitely the most grizzly of the bunch. Not the greatest story, but then have any of the Rambo films been that good, story wise (except maybe First Blood).
Saturday I'll finish up the Planet of the Apes (reboot) trilogy with War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), after having done the first two last weekend. Again, I forgot how good these are: really well scripted, acted and produced - the CGI is outstanding
Weird even from the original (Mr Heston with His Vest On) through to the remakes I've never liked Planet of the Apes, couldnt tell you why, liked plenty of Dystopian / cautionary sci fi in book and movie form but...something...about the Apes movies puts me off - says more about my tastes than the movies though!
Star Trek (1979)
I enjoyed the first reboot Star Trek film (the second was awful and the 3rd was meh) and like TNG but the original cast are my favourite. I hadn't seen this for a long time, unlike The Wrath of Khaaaaaaaann which I have seen numerous times and is just such a great movie. I remembered this as having some interesting visuals but not much happened...
This is a mixture of some very dated effects and some really nice sweeping visuals later in the movie. The 360 around the Enterprise is wonderful (if you are a fan, if not it possibly goes on a bit too long) and a lot of the film concentrates on concepts and character development rather than battles or action. The complete opposite of Into Darkness or Beyond. It is much better than those.
The story is quite interesting but it does take a long time to get there. 20 minutes or so could have been cut but if you like Trek, there is plenty to enjoy with Kirk, McCoy, Spock and Scotty doing their stuff. The new characters are good additions, the relationship and conflict between Kirk and Decker is fascinating and Ilia is an interesting addition.
A great example of slow paced 70s sci fi, this would have worked better as a spectacle watching it at the cinema back then (though some of the effects post Star Wars do not look good) but it still works today as long as you have patience and a level of investment in classic Trek.
It was the blu ray version in the 10 film boxset - i think it is the theatrical version. My son watched it with me and he thought it was ok
Wrath of Khaaaaaaaaan will be more his cup of tea - everyone likes that one!
Star Trek (1979)
I enjoyed the first reboot Star Trek film (the second was awful and the 3rd was meh) and like TNG but the original cast are my favourite. I hadn't seen this for a long time, unlike The Wrath of Khaaaaaaaann which I have seen numerous times and is just such a great movie. I remembered this as having some interesting visuals but not much happened...
This is a mixture of some very dated effects and some really nice sweeping visuals later in the movie. The 360 around the Enterprise is wonderful (if you are a fan, if not it possibly goes on a bit too long) and a lot of the film concentrates on concepts and character development rather than battles or action. The complete opposite of Into Darkness or Beyond. It is much better than those.
The story is quite interesting but it does take a long time to get there. 20 minutes or so could have been cut but if you like Trek, there is plenty to enjoy with Kirk, McCoy, Spock and Scotty doing their stuff. The new characters are good additions, the relationship and conflict between Kirk and Decker is fascinating and Ilia is an interesting addition.
A great example of slow paced 70s sci fi, this would have worked better as a spectacle watching it at the cinema back then (though some of the effects post Star Wars do not look good) but it still works today as long as you have patience and a level of investment in classic Trek.
It's a brilliant film.Let The Right One In - 8/10 - A re-watch of this Swedish horror/drama and its just as good the second time around, a young boy who is bullied at school seeks solace when he meets the daughter of his new neighbour Eli, they strike up a friendship but its clear she isn't watch she seems, filmed with grim realism this is a slow burn treat.
A Cure For Wellness (2016)
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Had this one in my Netflix watchlist for ages, and finally watched it this weekend.
A young yuppie gets sent to a Spa in Switzerland on a urgent mission to bring the reluctant CEO back to New York in order to sign some papers and merge the company with another. When he arrives, he discovers loads of seemingly happy and contented clients, and finds it difficult to locate the CEO he's looking for initially. There's no phone signal up at the Spa, high up a mountain, so he asks the driver to take him back to town, but something happens which leaves him trapped at the Spa, and the longer he's there. the more grisly details of what's really going on come to light.
I loved this, it's part psychological thriller, part mystery, part gruesome horror. The main attraction for me was the cinematography, almost every shot was semi-inducing visual loveliness, from the gorgeous Swiss mountains, to the reflections in windows, lakes etc which featured throughout, to even the manky old toilets.
I've seen some criticisms that it's a 'dumbed down' thriller, the audience often can guess what's coming before it's revealed (that toilet again in particular) but this didn't bother me, meant I had less to explain to the wife
8.5/10.
'71 (2014) - Yann Demange
Apart from being palpably tense and horrifying, this does a powerful job of illustrating the complexity of the troubles in Belfast in the early 70s. Not just the two sides: Catholic/republican vs Prostestant/Loyalist; but the various paramilitaries on both sides, the RUC and its abrasive relationship with the British army, government agents, splinter groups, and the duplicitous rivalries, schisms and alliances between these groups that turned the region into a true s***storm. Into this hell we have Private Hook, a new Army recruit and Derby lad caught between enemy lines who is bewildered and terrified and has no idea what he's even doing there much less why everyone wants him dead. The film remains decidedly apolitical and the film plays out instead like a survival thriller, one with gangster film elements and maybe even a bit of horror. The Belfast streets are captured fantastically well (although filmed in Northern English cities) especially some of the night scenes and it really is a dread inducing ride that leaves you unsure who you are meant to trust in this tangled web. Hook's encounters with folks on all sides as well as some frightful bursts of violence are enough to make you feel shell-shocked (two moments in particular left me reeling). Although story is fictional, the portrayal of Belfast's troubles has been described as one of the most authentic yet. Performance from Jack O'Connell is spectacular (just saw him recently in Godless) and direction, cinematography and score are all top notch. What a terrific debut from Yann Demange, and don't know how I've missed this till now. 9/10.
Aint Them Bodies Saints (2013) - David Lowery
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Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara and director David Lowery team up for the first time (the second being his excellent A Ghost Story) in this indie Southern film noir; a genre that seems increasingly popular of late and rightly so. However while the story starts and end strong, the slow burn here tested my patience somewhat and the mid-film drag made a two hour film feel like a three hour one. Nothing wrong with any of the performances here (I especially liked Keith Carradine) but I was kinda bored. Definitely worth a look however if you are a Lowery fan and can handle the slow pace. 6/10
DreamKatcher (2020) - Kerry Harris
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Every cliche you can think of together with a slightly muddy plot makes this a bit of a dud. Feels very bargain basement; the performances, production values etc all feel very much on the level of a third or fourth sequel to some crappy franchise, and I feel bad for Radha Mitchell who (despite producing the film) can't seem to elevate her acting career beyond this kind of s***e. They even wheel out Lin Shaye to play her usual old horror lady role. To be fair there are some interesting ideas here but the execution sucks. 4/10
Re-watches:
A Most Violent Year 7.5/10, Crawl 8/10
Do it. I've only got 'standard' Netflix, so 1080p, but watching this on my AppleTV4K box the PQ was superb.Been on my list for years and never quite got round to it. Perhaps this next time I get Netflix!!
Do it. I've only got 'standard' Netflix, so 1080p, but watching this on my AppleTV4K box the PQ was superb.
I've got slight toothache today from clenching my teeth during one dental scene