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Woody Allen recommended The Catcher in the Rye in Books (curated)
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Dig (2021) in Movies
Feb 6, 2021 (Updated Feb 6, 2021)
True-life Anglo-Saxon chronicle is brought to the screen as another wartime hats-and-fags tale of class and repression. Posh woman hires blunt-but-brilliant working-class bloke to examine her mounds (don't snipe, the film does the same gag, more or less); what ensues reminded me, for a while at least, of a big-budget version of Ted and Ralph with Carey Mulligan playing Charlie Higson's part.
Really a film of two halves: the first part, which is very quiet and still and all about figures in a landscape with Vaughan Williams-esque music playing, I found was much engaging than the second, which is not particularly focused and turns into a bit of a soap opera (there's a forbidden romance, terminal illness, political squabbling over who gets to run the dig and keep the treasure, etc, etc). Decent performances from a strong cast and it looks good in a fairly cinematic way, but by the end it seemed to me that archaeology in general and Sutton Hoo in particular had rather been forgotten about, which seemed like a shame.
Really a film of two halves: the first part, which is very quiet and still and all about figures in a landscape with Vaughan Williams-esque music playing, I found was much engaging than the second, which is not particularly focused and turns into a bit of a soap opera (there's a forbidden romance, terminal illness, political squabbling over who gets to run the dig and keep the treasure, etc, etc). Decent performances from a strong cast and it looks good in a fairly cinematic way, but by the end it seemed to me that archaeology in general and Sutton Hoo in particular had rather been forgotten about, which seemed like a shame.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) in Movies
Mar 15, 2021
Ignore the fact that Michael Myers' mask looks a bit silly in this one and there's a lot to love.
It's back-to-basics approach of Myers stalking his way though Haddonfield is a welcome one after the hospital setting of II, and the bonkers acid trip of III.
Danielle Harris displays a damn fine performance as lead kid character Jamie Lloyd, and Donald Pleasance returns again as Loomis (apparently not dead after the almost certainly fatal explosion he was right next to at the end of II), acting suitably crazy as is to be expected by now.
There are some great shots on display, once again, courtesy of the simple, striking, and terrifying look of Michael Myers (from far away this time though, seriously, the mask looks really silly close up) and the general production values are pretty decent.
It's of course not a patch on the original, but as far as sequels go, Halloween 4 is one of the better ones. Also, one character gets impaled with a shotgun, which is just ridiculous and fantastic at the same time.
It's back-to-basics approach of Myers stalking his way though Haddonfield is a welcome one after the hospital setting of II, and the bonkers acid trip of III.
Danielle Harris displays a damn fine performance as lead kid character Jamie Lloyd, and Donald Pleasance returns again as Loomis (apparently not dead after the almost certainly fatal explosion he was right next to at the end of II), acting suitably crazy as is to be expected by now.
There are some great shots on display, once again, courtesy of the simple, striking, and terrifying look of Michael Myers (from far away this time though, seriously, the mask looks really silly close up) and the general production values are pretty decent.
It's of course not a patch on the original, but as far as sequels go, Halloween 4 is one of the better ones. Also, one character gets impaled with a shotgun, which is just ridiculous and fantastic at the same time.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Pineapple Express (2008) in Movies
Mar 18, 2021
The ultimate stoner movie - rivaled only by 𝘛𝘦𝘥 and 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘥 & 𝘒𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘳 𝘌𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘎𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘰 𝘉𝘢𝘺. Just so precisely captures that essence of getting high with your buddies, and then ingeniously represents it through these literal Chaotic Good, Chaotic Neutral, and Chaotic Evil trio of leads - played to (unsurprising) perfection by Franco, Rogen, and McBride respectively. The comedic value earned in each scene by transitioning from shooting the shit about nonsensical high musings abruptly into blunt violence cannot be understated - those fights are so side-splitting. And I'll be damned but the action... actually looks like action! Further proof that these are at their best when made by people who regularly get blazed as hell. Two hours straight of hilarious Rogen and co. histrionics, general destruction and chaos which routinely draw blood, and it ends with a 15 minute long shootout + fistfight combo in a pot farm. Just spectacular, as funny during its low-key moments as it is when it goes off the rails. Naturally, Amber Heard is the only major weak point.
Benny Sadfie recommended Milestones (1975) in Movies (curated)
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Nurse Betty (2000) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020
As bleak, jaundiced, and jet-black of a comedy as we've gotten in quite some time - this would make a perfect double feature with 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 or any of LaBute's other riveting provocations. But unlike even those others, this somehow manages to also have some sort of a happy ending? This really is fantastic; a well-rounded, bizarre, humorous (if not always consistently hilarious), completely solitary curio and a cleaner/better example of a woman flourishing in the knocking down of the toxic men in her life than 𝘔𝘪𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳. Not to mention it has a surprisingly positive view of women in general without resorting to that insulting, disingenuous T-shirt-ready brand of corporate faux-feminism that stagnates the pond in many of today's films of the sort. Cast is insanely good, legit one of Freeman's best performances and Kinnear isn't too far behind. LaBute really was something, God could you imagine if comedies could still get screenplays like this, sell big, and be in awards contention?
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Ghost Rider (2007) in Movies
Jun 28, 2019 (Updated Jun 28, 2019)
Just...so bad
Ghost Rider was one of the many terrible Marvel adaptions that were unleashed upon us before Marvel Studios started the MCU, and for me, this is easily one of the worst.
There's just nothing to really get excited about here - the cast is pretty dodgy (I appreciate Nicholas Cages general existence, but he's such a bad fit for Johnny Blaze), Eva Mendes is pretty forgettable, and Wes Bentley plays a hugely generic villain - a far cry from the demonic Blackheart from the comics.
It's quite obvious that any meaningful script or basic plot were put second behind attempts at flashy shots.
The CGI has aged pretty badly as well, with Ghost Rider himself looking like something from a PS3 era cutscenes, rather than a big budget superhero film.
I can't wait for a proper Ghost Rider adaption to happen within the MCU in the future (Agents of Shield made a pretty good start) but unfortunately, Johnny Blaze was one of the many Marvel characters that got a piss poor movie around this time.
There's just nothing to really get excited about here - the cast is pretty dodgy (I appreciate Nicholas Cages general existence, but he's such a bad fit for Johnny Blaze), Eva Mendes is pretty forgettable, and Wes Bentley plays a hugely generic villain - a far cry from the demonic Blackheart from the comics.
It's quite obvious that any meaningful script or basic plot were put second behind attempts at flashy shots.
The CGI has aged pretty badly as well, with Ghost Rider himself looking like something from a PS3 era cutscenes, rather than a big budget superhero film.
I can't wait for a proper Ghost Rider adaption to happen within the MCU in the future (Agents of Shield made a pretty good start) but unfortunately, Johnny Blaze was one of the many Marvel characters that got a piss poor movie around this time.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Predator 2 (1990) in Movies
Sep 29, 2019 (Updated Sep 29, 2019)
One of the most aggressively 'ok' films ever
Predator 2 isn't awful. It's gets a bad wrap, and I think that stems from just how good the first film is.
Let's look at the positives - Director Stephen Hopkins tried something new with a simple change of scenery, from a thick jungle to a dystopian Los Angeles. I have nothing but respect for not straight up ripping off the first movie, unlike Predators...
Another positive - I find it almost impossible to dislike Danny Glover. His character is nowhere near as iconic as as Arnie's Dutch, but he's still pretty likable.
The titular Predator looks pretty badass as always, and the use of practical effects throughout are pretty good.
The digital effects dotted about here and there have aged terribly, and the general plot is largely forgettable for the most part. Quite simply, it's an inferior movie to it's predecessor, but it's an entertaining enough slice of 90s Sci-fi and still worth a watch, even if it's just to hear Danny Glover call the Predator a 'pussy face'.
Let's look at the positives - Director Stephen Hopkins tried something new with a simple change of scenery, from a thick jungle to a dystopian Los Angeles. I have nothing but respect for not straight up ripping off the first movie, unlike Predators...
Another positive - I find it almost impossible to dislike Danny Glover. His character is nowhere near as iconic as as Arnie's Dutch, but he's still pretty likable.
The titular Predator looks pretty badass as always, and the use of practical effects throughout are pretty good.
The digital effects dotted about here and there have aged terribly, and the general plot is largely forgettable for the most part. Quite simply, it's an inferior movie to it's predecessor, but it's an entertaining enough slice of 90s Sci-fi and still worth a watch, even if it's just to hear Danny Glover call the Predator a 'pussy face'.
Jordan Binkerd (567 KP) rated The Scorpion King 2: Rise Of A Warrior (2008) in Movies
Sep 5, 2019 (Updated Sep 5, 2019)
Michael Copon almost sells being a young Rock. (3 more)
Karen David does her job well: look good while kicking ass.
Fight scenes are well executed
Sets and locations are pretty
The Minotaur and giant scorpion sequences look like crap. (2 more)
Did we need this? I feel like we didn't need this....
No Rock
Unnecessary and derivative, but not bad for direct-to-video.
Was this necessary? Did we really need to examine the Scorpion King's childhood and early adulthood? The film raises more questions than it resolves, in that now they have a thriving kingdom to dispose of somehow before the events of the original film. That said, the film is decently fun to watch. The performances aren't any worse than you'd expect from a movie like this, even better in some cases. Michael Copon was even trying to infuse the character with some of The Rock's mannerisms, unless that was unintentional. The fights are fun to watch, which is mostly the point here. The scenery, locations, and general production design is on point. Bottom line: it's not great, but it's better than I feared.
John Wyndham's final novel revisits a number of his themes and has the odd good passage, but you can tell the author has struggled with it. A group of idealists looking to create a perfect society discover they have made a bad choice of site: the location in question, a remote Pacific island, is already overrun by vast swarms of social spiders - possibly the result of nuclear testing in the region (or, failing that, a curse from the original islanders, displaced by the colonial powers).
Sounds like it has promise, but it takes a very long time to properly get going (the spiders don't appear until the second half of the book) and it's a bit unclear what points Wyndham is trying to make. Some of the divergences from the classic Wyndham formula are a little curious; the protagonist is older, and the general tone more fatalistic than in his better-known books. Fairly readable, but it lacks the big ideas and memorable imagery of his best novels.
Sounds like it has promise, but it takes a very long time to properly get going (the spiders don't appear until the second half of the book) and it's a bit unclear what points Wyndham is trying to make. Some of the divergences from the classic Wyndham formula are a little curious; the protagonist is older, and the general tone more fatalistic than in his better-known books. Fairly readable, but it lacks the big ideas and memorable imagery of his best novels.