- Awards
- 21
That one really falls apart messily. Who knows what the studio did to it.
What was the last film you watched?
- Thread starter Mel O'Drama
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That one really falls apart messily. Who knows what the studio did to it.
- Awards
- 27
Would Dogfight be a better choice?
- Awards
- 21
They get the Kennedy assassination day-of-the-week wrong. So consider that. It one of River's few jerky roles, though, and he's convincing enough.
LITTLE NIKITA is very '80s, far-fetchedy, but really turns into a mess. At the time, trying to reclaim the Russia Enemy narrative seemed a throwback to the '50s/'60s but, today, it's all back.
- Awards
- 27
The Perfect Host (2010)
A quirky and over-the-top twisty thriller starring Helen Reddy in a supporting role. And I wondered why, why Helen Reddy?
And then I thought of her quirky-eerie hit song Angie Baby about the girl with imaginary friends or lovers, and the boy who invites himself sort of under false pretences and then disappears.
A quirky and over-the-top twisty thriller starring Helen Reddy in a supporting role. And I wondered why, why Helen Reddy?
And then I thought of her quirky-eerie hit song Angie Baby about the girl with imaginary friends or lovers, and the boy who invites himself sort of under false pretences and then disappears.
- Awards
- 27
Over Your Dead Body (2026)
I'm not going to mention any details because it's better to go in blind. Avoid trailers and reviews at all costs.
When it comes to comedy I'm kinda hard to please, not because I don't love comedy but because it's very hard to be consistently funny especially in a feature length movie. Furthermore, in this day and age it appears to be de rigueur to combine comedy with lots of self-awareness, winking at the camera, the characters becoming spectators of their own stories. They react as they would expect the audience to react.
Considering these hindrances I was very surprised to see how incredibly funny this movie was. I'm talking about laugh-out-loud moments. Many moments.
There are several things in it that look familiar but the comedy always stays in the reality of the story.
There's plenty of gore and violence but it neatly balances the schlock-for-laughs and genuine despair. Of course it's not a serious film but it takes itself seriously enough, and that makes all the difference.
The cast gives a committed performance and it was nice to see 1990s girl Juliette Lewis making yet another memorable appareance. She's still very funny.
Timothy Olyphant is the other familiar name and face although I hadn't seen him in many things. Deadwood, and maybe the odd episode of Justified.
Actor Jason Segel is new to me and I think Samara Weaving may have been the main draw for me to check out this film.
Oddly enough I had only previously seen her in Ready Or Not which I didn't like at all, but I remember instantly liking her. Not sure why, perhaps there's some subconscious overlapping with artists like Patsy Kensit and Kylie Minogue.
Regardless, she has a talent for comedy and also the voice to make the bitchiness effective. Not the girlie vocal fry stuff that you hear in so many modern movies.
OYDB is actually a remake of a Norwegian film called The Trip, and knowing how good the Scandinavians are at making brutally dark comedy I expect it to be better than this remake. But I haven't seen the original one yet therefore the comparison is irrelevant. For the time being anyway.
I'm not going to mention any details because it's better to go in blind. Avoid trailers and reviews at all costs.
When it comes to comedy I'm kinda hard to please, not because I don't love comedy but because it's very hard to be consistently funny especially in a feature length movie. Furthermore, in this day and age it appears to be de rigueur to combine comedy with lots of self-awareness, winking at the camera, the characters becoming spectators of their own stories. They react as they would expect the audience to react.
Considering these hindrances I was very surprised to see how incredibly funny this movie was. I'm talking about laugh-out-loud moments. Many moments.
There are several things in it that look familiar but the comedy always stays in the reality of the story.
There's plenty of gore and violence but it neatly balances the schlock-for-laughs and genuine despair. Of course it's not a serious film but it takes itself seriously enough, and that makes all the difference.
The cast gives a committed performance and it was nice to see 1990s girl Juliette Lewis making yet another memorable appareance. She's still very funny.
Timothy Olyphant is the other familiar name and face although I hadn't seen him in many things. Deadwood, and maybe the odd episode of Justified.
Actor Jason Segel is new to me and I think Samara Weaving may have been the main draw for me to check out this film.
Oddly enough I had only previously seen her in Ready Or Not which I didn't like at all, but I remember instantly liking her. Not sure why, perhaps there's some subconscious overlapping with artists like Patsy Kensit and Kylie Minogue.
Regardless, she has a talent for comedy and also the voice to make the bitchiness effective. Not the girlie vocal fry stuff that you hear in so many modern movies.
OYDB is actually a remake of a Norwegian film called The Trip, and knowing how good the Scandinavians are at making brutally dark comedy I expect it to be better than this remake. But I haven't seen the original one yet therefore the comparison is irrelevant. For the time being anyway.
- Awards
- 27
Tender Mercies (1983)
I will say that this film held my attention, and everything that happens on screen looks very well made including the music.
But I also think it's a bit too tender for its own good and maybe that prevents it from becoming the catharic experience it could have been.
Granted, there's something unabashedly romantic and bordering-on-kitsch about the Country & Western genre - in both fiction and music - therefore it's also very easy to overdo it, but the genre and setting for this story was a choice. And a difficult choice is no excuse to deliver less than the best.
The restraint tone of the film isn't the problem, actually, but it would have been nice if it had been balanced with something curious or complex or revelatory rather than the straightforwardness of the story and its characters that we got in Tender Mercies.
It's a lovely little film and I can't imagine anyone disliking it, but overall it left me wanting more. Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes it's not.
It's sort of like an interesting pilot movie that never materialised into a series that could have fleshed out the several supporting characters.
There's also an hour-long interview with the cast, writer and director (an Australian director, and Robert Duvall assumed he wouldn't "get it") - I guess it's from the late 90s or early 2000s.
A few years ago I posted a comment about actress Tess Harper "being one of those supporting actors who pops up in everything and yet no one seems to know her" but here in Tender Mercies she plays opposite Robert Duvall. Not only that, it was her theatrical feature debut.
She describes how much the film means to her (she gets a bit emotional) and this made me feel guilty for not loving the film as much as she does. I'm such a wimp.
Ah, letters in songs.
The letter to daddy, the letter sealed with a kiss, the letter saying "for the nine months I carried you, growing inside me. no charge", the letter returned to sender.
It's The Colbys in a nutshell.
I will say that this film held my attention, and everything that happens on screen looks very well made including the music.
But I also think it's a bit too tender for its own good and maybe that prevents it from becoming the catharic experience it could have been.
Granted, there's something unabashedly romantic and bordering-on-kitsch about the Country & Western genre - in both fiction and music - therefore it's also very easy to overdo it, but the genre and setting for this story was a choice. And a difficult choice is no excuse to deliver less than the best.
The restraint tone of the film isn't the problem, actually, but it would have been nice if it had been balanced with something curious or complex or revelatory rather than the straightforwardness of the story and its characters that we got in Tender Mercies.
It's a lovely little film and I can't imagine anyone disliking it, but overall it left me wanting more. Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes it's not.
It's sort of like an interesting pilot movie that never materialised into a series that could have fleshed out the several supporting characters.
There's also an hour-long interview with the cast, writer and director (an Australian director, and Robert Duvall assumed he wouldn't "get it") - I guess it's from the late 90s or early 2000s.
A few years ago I posted a comment about actress Tess Harper "being one of those supporting actors who pops up in everything and yet no one seems to know her" but here in Tender Mercies she plays opposite Robert Duvall. Not only that, it was her theatrical feature debut.
She describes how much the film means to her (she gets a bit emotional) and this made me feel guilty for not loving the film as much as she does. I'm such a wimp.
Ah, letters in songs.
The letter to daddy, the letter sealed with a kiss, the letter saying "for the nine months I carried you, growing inside me. no charge", the letter returned to sender.
It's The Colbys in a nutshell.
- Awards
- 18
Sorry to be boringly pedantic, but ... I don't think that was said in a letter. That particular mama preferred to do her guilt-tripping in person. This is the most letter-y song that springs to my mind:
News just in: I just googled the No Charge lyrics, and I must concede that the mama did write down the words on a piece of paper, but didn't need to post them as the poor kid was standing right in front of her, so presumably she just held the note up in front of his/her face before showing them her stretch marks and screaming, "YOU DID THIS TO ME!"
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- Awards
- 27
Hm. I thought I could get away with it, but in hindsight I should have included The Beatles song.
- Awards
- 20
Cats (2019)
This didn't turn out to be as bad as I had been led to believe; one does get used to the humans-in-cat-makeup device after a while. The alternative idea of making it as an animated film probably wouldn't have worked because I think a lot of the pathos of human expression would have been lost, but I wonder if simply filming a stage production might have been better than the sort of surreal hybrid we have here.
This didn't turn out to be as bad as I had been led to believe; one does get used to the humans-in-cat-makeup device after a while. The alternative idea of making it as an animated film probably wouldn't have worked because I think a lot of the pathos of human expression would have been lost, but I wonder if simply filming a stage production might have been better than the sort of surreal hybrid we have here.
- Awards
- 21
On the lighter side...
This morning, John Waters' SERIAL MOM (1993) popped up on my YT algorithm. So, not having watched the film in 30 years, I sat through it. I recalled it being kind of tiresome at the time, and I wouldn't say it's "aged well" necessarily, but I was able to get through it without too much of a problem.
For those who don't know, it's about an all-too-proper suburban mother (Kathleen Turner) who's still stuck more-or-less in the '50s, when she begins to taunt and murder her neighbors who displease her in any way. And the media turns her into a celebrity... The problem with the movie is that it's a one-joke concept; Waters can direct and cast pretty well, but it's just not funny enough to maintain its threadbare satirical plot for however long it runs.
It has that semi-glossy, clean look from the '80s and '90s which has middleclass people living in houses in idealized established neighborhoods which were far too expensive (even in the '90s) for real middleclass people to afford anymore (and are now high end). But post-Reagan Hollywood denial was throwing that at us all the time... A clip of Joan Crawford's STRAIT-JACKET pops up (and I kept thinking a scene from Barbara Bel Geddes' leg-of-lamb episode of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS should have, too)... Suzanne Somers is a good sport and has a cameo as a narcissistic (ahem!) version of herself who shows up in court in a fur and has been signed to play Turner's character in a cinema biopic. (And when the judge gushes, "I loved you in THREE'S COMPANY" he should have said "SHE'S THE SHERIFF" because it's more obscure and therefore funnier)... And Waters' buddy, Patty Hearst, has a small role as a juror who is beaten and killed in a phonebooth (i.e., a closet, where she was held for 6 months by the SLA). I mean, with friends like these...
Still: meh.
This morning, John Waters' SERIAL MOM (1993) popped up on my YT algorithm. So, not having watched the film in 30 years, I sat through it. I recalled it being kind of tiresome at the time, and I wouldn't say it's "aged well" necessarily, but I was able to get through it without too much of a problem.
For those who don't know, it's about an all-too-proper suburban mother (Kathleen Turner) who's still stuck more-or-less in the '50s, when she begins to taunt and murder her neighbors who displease her in any way. And the media turns her into a celebrity... The problem with the movie is that it's a one-joke concept; Waters can direct and cast pretty well, but it's just not funny enough to maintain its threadbare satirical plot for however long it runs.
It has that semi-glossy, clean look from the '80s and '90s which has middleclass people living in houses in idealized established neighborhoods which were far too expensive (even in the '90s) for real middleclass people to afford anymore (and are now high end). But post-Reagan Hollywood denial was throwing that at us all the time... A clip of Joan Crawford's STRAIT-JACKET pops up (and I kept thinking a scene from Barbara Bel Geddes' leg-of-lamb episode of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS should have, too)... Suzanne Somers is a good sport and has a cameo as a narcissistic (ahem!) version of herself who shows up in court in a fur and has been signed to play Turner's character in a cinema biopic. (And when the judge gushes, "I loved you in THREE'S COMPANY" he should have said "SHE'S THE SHERIFF" because it's more obscure and therefore funnier)... And Waters' buddy, Patty Hearst, has a small role as a juror who is beaten and killed in a phonebooth (i.e., a closet, where she was held for 6 months by the SLA). I mean, with friends like these...
Still: meh.
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- Awards
- 27
The Rapture (1991)
I had heard of this film a long time ago* but it never appeared on youtube or anything, so I decided enough is enough, buy the DVD and get it over with.
Apparently it has a certain reputation and now that I've seen it I think it qualifies as "cult".
It is obviously very low-budget but that didn't stop them from going all the way which, I guess, is admirable, but it also shows that the themes are a little bit too ambitious for such a small project.
Perhaps it would have helped if they had managed to make it look more atmospheric.
Story-wise it skips a lot of details and convincing character motivation - the protagonist starts reading the bible and in the next scene she's become a religious fanatic. I guess it was a real page-turner.
All things considered I find it pretty amazing that Mimi Rogers turned it into such strong performance, and as far as I know she's not really an A-lister (I only knew her from the soap series Paper Dolls).
The Rapture is not great but at least it delivers as a curiosity.
*I think it happened in the Songs That You Hate Top 10, and I had voted for the Rapture song by Blondie. It will never be a favourite of mine but perhaps it was kinda silly to call it one of the worst songs.
The Last Stop In Yuma County (2023)
Well, this was an unexpectedly awesome hidden gem.
Anything I could mention about the plot would be too much, and I hope it's not a spoiler when I say that it's one the better Coen films that the Coen brothers didn't make.
I had heard of this film a long time ago* but it never appeared on youtube or anything, so I decided enough is enough, buy the DVD and get it over with.
Apparently it has a certain reputation and now that I've seen it I think it qualifies as "cult".
It is obviously very low-budget but that didn't stop them from going all the way which, I guess, is admirable, but it also shows that the themes are a little bit too ambitious for such a small project.
Perhaps it would have helped if they had managed to make it look more atmospheric.
Story-wise it skips a lot of details and convincing character motivation - the protagonist starts reading the bible and in the next scene she's become a religious fanatic. I guess it was a real page-turner.
All things considered I find it pretty amazing that Mimi Rogers turned it into such strong performance, and as far as I know she's not really an A-lister (I only knew her from the soap series Paper Dolls).
The Rapture is not great but at least it delivers as a curiosity.
*I think it happened in the Songs That You Hate Top 10, and I had voted for the Rapture song by Blondie. It will never be a favourite of mine but perhaps it was kinda silly to call it one of the worst songs.
The Last Stop In Yuma County (2023)
Well, this was an unexpectedly awesome hidden gem.
Anything I could mention about the plot would be too much, and I hope it's not a spoiler when I say that it's one the better Coen films that the Coen brothers didn't make.
- Awards
- 27
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Despite my successful rewatch of The Godfather (sorta kinda like "the first season") I was still reluctant to revisit the sequel.
Not only was it not the overrated slog I thought it was, but it was also an unstopwatchable cinematic feast. It almost looks as if it's taken ten years to make this film.
And, yes, the Vito origins flashbacks add a lot to the epicness of it all, and it was an excuse to cast Robert De Niro in the role of young Vito Corleone.
I still think it looks a little less "urgent" than the first film and also not completely necessary - the first film had a perfect ending - but the discussion about the what-ifs and what-ifn'ts seems irrelevant since the sequel was made. We must only deal with the reality.
If the first story was about the corruption of Micheal Corleone and his rise to Godfatherhood, the second story shows the consequences which are just as tragic and deadly as Vito's story, but it's also far less romantic. It's the difference between gaining power and fortune and protecting that power and fortune.
Also, the first film opens with a wedding party, the second one with a funeral procession. Which then becomes even bloodier.
For such a beautiful film it's actually rather bleak, and the ending made me think of a storyline in next generation DALLAS.
JR dead, Cliff in jail and everybody hates Bobby.
All these dynasty type of stories, the westerns, the mafia, the politicians, the corporate tycoons - it's all King's Drama that has existed since the first day people had powerful rulers.
The backstabbers, the paranoia, the daddy issues, the jealous brothers, the prosecutors, the insubordinate wives - it's all the same old stuff and we just can't get enough of it (if 26 or 27 years of soapchat/tellytalk is anything to go by).
Kay Corleone's reveal of the abortion even resulted in a pearl-clutching gasp on this particular side of the internet. We don't get to see much their married life or how she feels about anything therefore I had to take it at face value. But nevertheless, what a shocker.
I'm very glad I talked myself into this rewatch, it doesn't matter that the first Godfather film looks a litte bit more entertaining - and who knows, maybe I'll change my mind about that, too.
Roll on, season 3.
Despite my successful rewatch of The Godfather (sorta kinda like "the first season") I was still reluctant to revisit the sequel.
Not only was it not the overrated slog I thought it was, but it was also an unstopwatchable cinematic feast. It almost looks as if it's taken ten years to make this film.
And, yes, the Vito origins flashbacks add a lot to the epicness of it all, and it was an excuse to cast Robert De Niro in the role of young Vito Corleone.
I still think it looks a little less "urgent" than the first film and also not completely necessary - the first film had a perfect ending - but the discussion about the what-ifs and what-ifn'ts seems irrelevant since the sequel was made. We must only deal with the reality.
If the first story was about the corruption of Micheal Corleone and his rise to Godfatherhood, the second story shows the consequences which are just as tragic and deadly as Vito's story, but it's also far less romantic. It's the difference between gaining power and fortune and protecting that power and fortune.
Also, the first film opens with a wedding party, the second one with a funeral procession. Which then becomes even bloodier.
For such a beautiful film it's actually rather bleak, and the ending made me think of a storyline in next generation DALLAS.
JR dead, Cliff in jail and everybody hates Bobby.
"I'll do everything to protect my family!"
But where is your family now, Bobby?
All these dynasty type of stories, the westerns, the mafia, the politicians, the corporate tycoons - it's all King's Drama that has existed since the first day people had powerful rulers.
The backstabbers, the paranoia, the daddy issues, the jealous brothers, the prosecutors, the insubordinate wives - it's all the same old stuff and we just can't get enough of it (if 26 or 27 years of soapchat/tellytalk is anything to go by).
Kay Corleone's reveal of the abortion even resulted in a pearl-clutching gasp on this particular side of the internet. We don't get to see much their married life or how she feels about anything therefore I had to take it at face value. But nevertheless, what a shocker.
I'm very glad I talked myself into this rewatch, it doesn't matter that the first Godfather film looks a litte bit more entertaining - and who knows, maybe I'll change my mind about that, too.
Roll on, season 3.
- Awards
- 27
The Godfather Part III Coda: The Death Of Michael Corleone (1990 2020)
The last instalment puts the opera in soap opera, an endless assassination scene that looks like a season finale episode in "which important character is going to die?"
To become an ex-Godfather proves to be equally, if not more, challenging for Michael Corleone, but despite the spoilery re-title he doesn't actually die on screen.
Similar to the previous films there's a lot of typical mafia tit for tat and they do it with smiles and gifts and false promises.
All that decorum and pomposity masquerading the hatred and blood lust is part of the appeal of the Italian gangster genre.
It reminds of the early years of Falcon Crest in which the Channings and Giobertis kept up appearances even though they were all aware of the war that was going on.
"After all, we're family" as Angela Channing would say it.
It started out very simple for Vito Corleone and other Godfathers like him. You help me with this and I'll remember that. I always remember my friends.
But when the stakes are getting higher and the circle of friends becomes bigger and more intricate then someday, someone, is going to be overlooked.
And it only takes one insulted, vengeful person to make that house of cards collapse.
I must say that I didn't understand all the details in the story. The introduction of Sonny Corleone's illegitimate son Vincent and his feud with gangster Joey Saza is rowdy and messy and Michael keeps asking "what does all this have to do with me?" which is exactly the question I was asking myself.
Joey Saza seems to have a big chip on his shoulder and later he declares war on the Corleones and I have no idea where it comes from.
I also wasn't sure if the big Immobilaire Deal was a good or bad thing for Michael.
But when the spectacle happens it's very spectacular - I played the film as loud as possible.
Speaking of sound, the English subtitles are oddly absent in the parts with Italian language therefore I had to use the Dutch subtitles to understand what they were saying. Initially I thought the viewer wasn't supposed to know therefore I wasn't even sure what the Dutch subtitles would reveal. But it was important enough.
Part III looks as beautiful as the previous parts - well, almost - but I had to learn from wiki that this part of the story takes place in 1979, and not 1989 or 1990.
There is nothing about the hair or clothes or environment that looks remotely 1970s. Men like Andy Garcia (who plays the retconned long lost half-nephew!) did not exist in the 1970s.
But anyway, I had a great time watching it and I think it really helped that Diane Keaton got a little bit more screen time.
The last instalment puts the opera in soap opera, an endless assassination scene that looks like a season finale episode in "which important character is going to die?"
To become an ex-Godfather proves to be equally, if not more, challenging for Michael Corleone, but despite the spoilery re-title he doesn't actually die on screen.
Similar to the previous films there's a lot of typical mafia tit for tat and they do it with smiles and gifts and false promises.
All that decorum and pomposity masquerading the hatred and blood lust is part of the appeal of the Italian gangster genre.
It reminds of the early years of Falcon Crest in which the Channings and Giobertis kept up appearances even though they were all aware of the war that was going on.
"After all, we're family" as Angela Channing would say it.
It started out very simple for Vito Corleone and other Godfathers like him. You help me with this and I'll remember that. I always remember my friends.
But when the stakes are getting higher and the circle of friends becomes bigger and more intricate then someday, someone, is going to be overlooked.
And it only takes one insulted, vengeful person to make that house of cards collapse.
I must say that I didn't understand all the details in the story. The introduction of Sonny Corleone's illegitimate son Vincent and his feud with gangster Joey Saza is rowdy and messy and Michael keeps asking "what does all this have to do with me?" which is exactly the question I was asking myself.
Joey Saza seems to have a big chip on his shoulder and later he declares war on the Corleones and I have no idea where it comes from.
I also wasn't sure if the big Immobilaire Deal was a good or bad thing for Michael.
But when the spectacle happens it's very spectacular - I played the film as loud as possible.
Speaking of sound, the English subtitles are oddly absent in the parts with Italian language therefore I had to use the Dutch subtitles to understand what they were saying. Initially I thought the viewer wasn't supposed to know therefore I wasn't even sure what the Dutch subtitles would reveal. But it was important enough.
Part III looks as beautiful as the previous parts - well, almost - but I had to learn from wiki that this part of the story takes place in 1979, and not 1989 or 1990.
There is nothing about the hair or clothes or environment that looks remotely 1970s. Men like Andy Garcia (who plays the retconned long lost half-nephew!) did not exist in the 1970s.
But anyway, I had a great time watching it and I think it really helped that Diane Keaton got a little bit more screen time.
- Awards
- 27
Has anyone seen the super-hyped Project Hail Mary ?
I watched that today, it's sort of like E.T. meets Armageddon, a buddy comedy in space with wow! spectacular effects.
European super-star Sandra Hüller performs a karaoke version of the Harry Styles smash hit - talk about leaving no stones unturned.
Ryan Gosling is good, 10 years ago the main character would have been played by Jake Gyllenhaal but he's currently going through a Steven Seagal-esque phase in his career.
I don't think I would have been worse off if I hadn't watch PHM but it certainly has its moments. "Amaze amaze amaze" is the meme of 2026, or so it seems.
I watched that today, it's sort of like E.T. meets Armageddon, a buddy comedy in space with wow! spectacular effects.
European super-star Sandra Hüller performs a karaoke version of the Harry Styles smash hit - talk about leaving no stones unturned.
Ryan Gosling is good, 10 years ago the main character would have been played by Jake Gyllenhaal but he's currently going through a Steven Seagal-esque phase in his career.
I don't think I would have been worse off if I hadn't watch PHM but it certainly has its moments. "Amaze amaze amaze" is the meme of 2026, or so it seems.
- Awards
- 27
Impromptu (1991)
I don't think I was looking for yet another British costume drama from the 1980s or 1990s, but the cast seemed impressive enough to give it a try - and they did not disappoint.
Even though it's sort of a romcom version of the Merchant-Ivory catalogue I still found it funnier than I expected it to be, but also sweet and convincingly dramatic when it mattered.
To me, the highlight of the film was Emma Thompson in the role of the culture-hungry Duchess, a terrific comedic performance.
Judy Davis is the total Girlboss long before that became a problematic character in fiction, and Hugh Grant's coiffure has never looked better.
Bernadette Peters complements the goings-on with her trademark cackle.
One of the things that fascinated me was that Chopin was trying to create the perfect spontaneity in one of his works. It seems rather paradoxical to me although I'm sure he pulled it off, eventually.
I don't think I was looking for yet another British costume drama from the 1980s or 1990s, but the cast seemed impressive enough to give it a try - and they did not disappoint.
Even though it's sort of a romcom version of the Merchant-Ivory catalogue I still found it funnier than I expected it to be, but also sweet and convincingly dramatic when it mattered.
To me, the highlight of the film was Emma Thompson in the role of the culture-hungry Duchess, a terrific comedic performance.
Judy Davis is the total Girlboss long before that became a problematic character in fiction, and Hugh Grant's coiffure has never looked better.
Bernadette Peters complements the goings-on with her trademark cackle.
One of the things that fascinated me was that Chopin was trying to create the perfect spontaneity in one of his works. It seems rather paradoxical to me although I'm sure he pulled it off, eventually.
- Awards
- 20
A Man and a Woman (1966) in French with English subtitles
All I knew about this film was the theme music which was a big radio hit at the time - instrumentals being quite popular then.
Plotwise there's not much too it. A man and a woman meet and fall in love against a backdrop of motor racing, among other things.
Stylistically it's interesting; lots of quick cuts and extreme closeups and other visual trickery. And for reasons I couldn't make out it switches back and forth from colour to black and white - not really black and white; sometimes sepia, sometimes cobalt. But there was no consistency to it it; sometimes the flashbacks were in monochrome, but sometimes the present was in monochrome and the flashbacks were in colour.
I found it all rather distracting, although I was still invested enough to care about whether or not they ended up together.
All I knew about this film was the theme music which was a big radio hit at the time - instrumentals being quite popular then.
Plotwise there's not much too it. A man and a woman meet and fall in love against a backdrop of motor racing, among other things.
Stylistically it's interesting; lots of quick cuts and extreme closeups and other visual trickery. And for reasons I couldn't make out it switches back and forth from colour to black and white - not really black and white; sometimes sepia, sometimes cobalt. But there was no consistency to it it; sometimes the flashbacks were in monochrome, but sometimes the present was in monochrome and the flashbacks were in colour.
I found it all rather distracting, although I was still invested enough to care about whether or not they ended up together.
- Awards
- 27
The Big Country (1958)
A terrific Hatfields and McCoys style drama, and Gregory Peck proves once again to be one of the most charismatic actors of his generation. There were many powerhouse actors but I think the humour in films works very well for Gregory. He looks smarter than Cary Grant, but not as shrewd as Robert Mitchum.
There are several future soap references in TBC: Charlton Heston as Ray Krebbs when he was still on good terms with JR, Charles Bickford and Caroll Baker as Titus Semple and Constance Weldon who plan to mould Gregory Peck into the man they want him to be, and Chuck Connors as good-for-nothing son Lenny Hollister who's going to be pushed around and sacrificed by his feuding father played by Chuck Connors himself in The Yellow Rose.
Yankee James McKay enters the macho world of the Wild West, ruled by emotions and impulses. He's also a proud man but he likes to keep his pride to himself, and I'm not sure if I had seen a character like this before. Well at least it looked semi-novel to me.
The climax is a little bit too neat and I wish Charlton Heston's character had played a bigger part in it. He looks better as a cowboy than as a Jewish Prince.
During one night, James McKay visits a half-naked Steve Leech for an all-out fistfight that goes on forever. It's almost as if they're chained to each other, like The Defiant Ones.
It looks funny, and there's also a funny scene involving a Disney horse with an attitude. Gregory Peck's laughter looks ad lib rather than staged, but maybe it was staged and it just looked very spontaneous. It's fine with me either way.
I've always avoided this film because I thought it was going to be one of those epic, pompous, self-congratulatory things, but it's very entertaining and I hardly noticed its lengthy running time.
It was not quite the same experience when I watched GIANT (1956)
It feels too long and it looks too short. A few crackling scenes (especially the ones with James Dean in it) scattered over a nearly three and half hours story that mostly stays on the surface of things. Had it been tighter, and focused on the drama of the three leads, it may have been a lot better.
The story of the Benedict children is so-so although Dennis Hopper plays it very well.
I love Liz Taylor but I think she fared better in her post-peak-Hollywood career when she was allowed to unleash her inner-bitch.
Here, in Giant, it looks too restrained and pseudo-provocative, like a Scarlett O'Hara.
When Benedict (Rock Hudson) wants some privacy to discuss business with the other men she refuses to leave, even though there's nothing in the scene that indicates that she's truly interested. She wants to be there just because she doesn't want to be excluded.
But is it really so hard to give your spouse a bit of space and quality time with other people? I hated that scene, it was making conflict for the heck of it, to show Leslie's feistiness when the character and moment didn't call for it.
If BIG COUNTRY was a bit leftist ("trashy families matter, too"), GIANT cranks it up a few notches, at the expense of the better oil drama that almost happens in the background.
Also, Benedict's sister Luz shouldn't have died because of an off-screen horse accident. That shoulda been a shouting match at the top the stairs, followed by an attempt to slap her pretty sister-in-law but then Luz missteps and tumbles down the stairs, screaming.
Anyway, this was all rather disappointing but at least I can check the box of "watched Giant".
A terrific Hatfields and McCoys style drama, and Gregory Peck proves once again to be one of the most charismatic actors of his generation. There were many powerhouse actors but I think the humour in films works very well for Gregory. He looks smarter than Cary Grant, but not as shrewd as Robert Mitchum.
There are several future soap references in TBC: Charlton Heston as Ray Krebbs when he was still on good terms with JR, Charles Bickford and Caroll Baker as Titus Semple and Constance Weldon who plan to mould Gregory Peck into the man they want him to be, and Chuck Connors as good-for-nothing son Lenny Hollister who's going to be pushed around and sacrificed by his feuding father played by Chuck Connors himself in The Yellow Rose.
Yankee James McKay enters the macho world of the Wild West, ruled by emotions and impulses. He's also a proud man but he likes to keep his pride to himself, and I'm not sure if I had seen a character like this before. Well at least it looked semi-novel to me.
The climax is a little bit too neat and I wish Charlton Heston's character had played a bigger part in it. He looks better as a cowboy than as a Jewish Prince.
During one night, James McKay visits a half-naked Steve Leech for an all-out fistfight that goes on forever. It's almost as if they're chained to each other, like The Defiant Ones.
It looks funny, and there's also a funny scene involving a Disney horse with an attitude. Gregory Peck's laughter looks ad lib rather than staged, but maybe it was staged and it just looked very spontaneous. It's fine with me either way.
I've always avoided this film because I thought it was going to be one of those epic, pompous, self-congratulatory things, but it's very entertaining and I hardly noticed its lengthy running time.
It was not quite the same experience when I watched GIANT (1956)
It feels too long and it looks too short. A few crackling scenes (especially the ones with James Dean in it) scattered over a nearly three and half hours story that mostly stays on the surface of things. Had it been tighter, and focused on the drama of the three leads, it may have been a lot better.
The story of the Benedict children is so-so although Dennis Hopper plays it very well.
I love Liz Taylor but I think she fared better in her post-peak-Hollywood career when she was allowed to unleash her inner-bitch.
Here, in Giant, it looks too restrained and pseudo-provocative, like a Scarlett O'Hara.
When Benedict (Rock Hudson) wants some privacy to discuss business with the other men she refuses to leave, even though there's nothing in the scene that indicates that she's truly interested. She wants to be there just because she doesn't want to be excluded.
But is it really so hard to give your spouse a bit of space and quality time with other people? I hated that scene, it was making conflict for the heck of it, to show Leslie's feistiness when the character and moment didn't call for it.
If BIG COUNTRY was a bit leftist ("trashy families matter, too"), GIANT cranks it up a few notches, at the expense of the better oil drama that almost happens in the background.
Also, Benedict's sister Luz shouldn't have died because of an off-screen horse accident. That shoulda been a shouting match at the top the stairs, followed by an attempt to slap her pretty sister-in-law but then Luz missteps and tumbles down the stairs, screaming.
Anyway, this was all rather disappointing but at least I can check the box of "watched Giant".
- Awards
- 27
Obsession (2026)
The internet loves this film so....I took the bait.
I must say, if this is what constitutes a "Masterpiece!" or "a film that redefines the art of cinema!" then we're setting the bar pretty low.
The story isn't even plain-ordinary good, let alone orginal, but it's still possible to bring that to life in a fascinating and/or entertaining way.
After only 20 minutes I had to rewind a few scenes because I was continuously zoning out, and the reason is very simple: OBSESSION is from the Modern School Of Realistic Acting. Mark Kermode calls it mumblecore but not in the context of this film (he loves it).
At least half of the spoken sentences in the script of this film are incomplete, and I don't mean "interrupted by the dialogue of another actor", no, it just starts and then stops midway.
There's also a lot stutter, does that make it more relatable these days? And more importantly, should it?
Sorry, but I find this kind of barbarically underdeveloped dialogue insufferable, especially when it's done intentionally.
Visually it's a mind-numbing pap of yellow and beige and darkness, sometimes a character is only a black silhouette but that's not really how shadows work in a relatively bright setting.
After one hour or so I felt it was time for a generous quality nap, and when I woke up I thought, sh*t, I have to watch the rest of that film. But I did it.
Every now and then the film comes to life when the performances are hammy and loud (especially loud) enhanced by a plethora of f-bombs.
The reviews also promised me lots of painfully awkward scenes - which may have been the main draw for me - but since I didn't believe in these undercooked characters, let alone the lifeless supporting characters, it comes across as histrionics rather than delightfully toe-curling awkwardness.
I think OBSESSION is a film that has a vague idea of what it wants to achieve but doesn't make any effort to set things up properly.
There's a little bit of Stepford Wives in it, and two scenes based on The Exorcist. There's also the classic dilemma of being loved in an unnatural way, similar to the human/robot love stories, but that only happens when too much has already spiralled out of control therefore that dilemma doesn't feel genuine.
The only moment that I really liked is when the male character goes back to the shop to buy another One Wish Willow and then it kinda looks as if that part of the story had never happened - "what is a One Wish Willow?" - but it was a joke because they were displayed in another part of the shop.
But it's also got breaking-the-fourth-wall humour when a character becomes aware of the film score, à la The Naked Gun.
There are several deep analyses videos on youtube ("it's darker then you think!") even though the film literally explains and over-explains what's wrong with this-or-that situation.
Every now and then the victim becomes aware of her predicament, which actually betrays the power of the wish-plot, and then the problem isn't her dangerous love but the fact that the wish has taken away her agency, like a Fatal Attraction MeToo'd for the modern ages. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, but it's just one of several things that's been randomly thrown into the mix and it fails to have a significant impact.
Being so obviously disenchanted with this film I didn't think the ending could disappoint, but it did.
The internet loves this film so....I took the bait.
I must say, if this is what constitutes a "Masterpiece!" or "a film that redefines the art of cinema!" then we're setting the bar pretty low.
The story isn't even plain-ordinary good, let alone orginal, but it's still possible to bring that to life in a fascinating and/or entertaining way.
After only 20 minutes I had to rewind a few scenes because I was continuously zoning out, and the reason is very simple: OBSESSION is from the Modern School Of Realistic Acting. Mark Kermode calls it mumblecore but not in the context of this film (he loves it).
At least half of the spoken sentences in the script of this film are incomplete, and I don't mean "interrupted by the dialogue of another actor", no, it just starts and then stops midway.
There's also a lot stutter, does that make it more relatable these days? And more importantly, should it?
Sorry, but I find this kind of barbarically underdeveloped dialogue insufferable, especially when it's done intentionally.
Visually it's a mind-numbing pap of yellow and beige and darkness, sometimes a character is only a black silhouette but that's not really how shadows work in a relatively bright setting.
After one hour or so I felt it was time for a generous quality nap, and when I woke up I thought, sh*t, I have to watch the rest of that film. But I did it.
Every now and then the film comes to life when the performances are hammy and loud (especially loud) enhanced by a plethora of f-bombs.
The reviews also promised me lots of painfully awkward scenes - which may have been the main draw for me - but since I didn't believe in these undercooked characters, let alone the lifeless supporting characters, it comes across as histrionics rather than delightfully toe-curling awkwardness.
I think OBSESSION is a film that has a vague idea of what it wants to achieve but doesn't make any effort to set things up properly.
There's a little bit of Stepford Wives in it, and two scenes based on The Exorcist. There's also the classic dilemma of being loved in an unnatural way, similar to the human/robot love stories, but that only happens when too much has already spiralled out of control therefore that dilemma doesn't feel genuine.
The only moment that I really liked is when the male character goes back to the shop to buy another One Wish Willow and then it kinda looks as if that part of the story had never happened - "what is a One Wish Willow?" - but it was a joke because they were displayed in another part of the shop.
But it's also got breaking-the-fourth-wall humour when a character becomes aware of the film score, à la The Naked Gun.
There are several deep analyses videos on youtube ("it's darker then you think!") even though the film literally explains and over-explains what's wrong with this-or-that situation.
Every now and then the victim becomes aware of her predicament, which actually betrays the power of the wish-plot, and then the problem isn't her dangerous love but the fact that the wish has taken away her agency, like a Fatal Attraction MeToo'd for the modern ages. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, but it's just one of several things that's been randomly thrown into the mix and it fails to have a significant impact.
Being so obviously disenchanted with this film I didn't think the ending could disappoint, but it did.