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Sheridan (209 KP) rated The Highwaymen (2019) in Movies
Apr 24, 2019
Excellent acting (1 more)
Period cars and outfits (love it ?)
A Different Side to Bonnie and Clyde
I really enjoyed this. It was complex and interesting, and the characterisations were fantastic. I will admit it was a little slow to start and there were parts I thought needed more explaination (but then it happens a little later and it fleshes the characters out more). I often find the story of Bonnie and Clyde to be romanticised (which to an extent I suppose it's true) but those versions never really show how truly violent and senseless their crime spree was. This however, shows how callous and truly intelligent they were as a team, it's refreshing to see that, because it truly was the truth of the situation. I've always been a fan of Woody (Zombieland is still one of my favourite movies) and this movie shows a different side of his abilities as an actor so that was pretty cool. Overall, it's a thoughtful and interesting film I enjoyed immensely.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Biggles (1986) in Movies
Mar 28, 2018 (Updated Mar 28, 2018)
Biggles Cocks It Up
Startlingly incompetent big-screen version of the classic boy's-adventure hero. New York yuppie discovers he is 'time twin' of First World War fighter ace, is plucked back through time to help him destroy a German secret weapon. Don't worry, it doesn't make any more sense in the actual movie.
Potentially charming adventure movie is utterly torpedoed by fatal uncertainty of tone; what started off as a 'straight' period movie is reduced to gibberish by the addition of witless time-travel plotline, which drags crass 80s 'comedy' bits in with it. The fact it largely seems to be the work of people who've never actually seen a film before, let alone worked on one, is the just the coup de grace. Even Peter Cushing's usual near-supernatural ability to lift a dubious script mostly fails him; no wonder this was his final (non-CGI) big-screen appearance. Soundtrack contains Queen bassist John Deacon's only recordings away from the band; this is almost certainly not a good enough reason to watch the damn thing.
Potentially charming adventure movie is utterly torpedoed by fatal uncertainty of tone; what started off as a 'straight' period movie is reduced to gibberish by the addition of witless time-travel plotline, which drags crass 80s 'comedy' bits in with it. The fact it largely seems to be the work of people who've never actually seen a film before, let alone worked on one, is the just the coup de grace. Even Peter Cushing's usual near-supernatural ability to lift a dubious script mostly fails him; no wonder this was his final (non-CGI) big-screen appearance. Soundtrack contains Queen bassist John Deacon's only recordings away from the band; this is almost certainly not a good enough reason to watch the damn thing.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) in Movies
Feb 13, 2018
Superior first-wave Star Wars cash-in from Roger Corman, recycling the plot of The Magnificent Seven (et al); writer John Sayles shows he knows his stuff by including all the requisite space battles and funny aliens, but also references to Kurosawa, whose films originally inspired George Lucas.
Peaceful alien yokels known as the Akira (told you so) are menaced by galactic despot on a tight timetable; farm boy is dispatched to recruit space mercenaries to help fend him off when he comes back. Ropy model-work courtesy of a young James Cameron is the film's biggest weakness (the best special effect is probably Sybil Danning's costume); rousing score from a young James Horner is a major plus. Robert Vaughn's performance here is just as good as the one in The Magnificent One - makes sense, as it's essentially the same one. Film has a lovely adventurous tone about it, isn't afraid to treat the audience with intelligence; much better than many other more prestigious sci-fi films of this period.
Peaceful alien yokels known as the Akira (told you so) are menaced by galactic despot on a tight timetable; farm boy is dispatched to recruit space mercenaries to help fend him off when he comes back. Ropy model-work courtesy of a young James Cameron is the film's biggest weakness (the best special effect is probably Sybil Danning's costume); rousing score from a young James Horner is a major plus. Robert Vaughn's performance here is just as good as the one in The Magnificent One - makes sense, as it's essentially the same one. Film has a lovely adventurous tone about it, isn't afraid to treat the audience with intelligence; much better than many other more prestigious sci-fi films of this period.
David McK (3547 KP) rated Live and Let Die (James Bond, #2) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
"When you were young, and your heart was an open book,
You used to say live and let live
(you know you did you know you die you know you did)
But in this ever changing world in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry ...
Live and let die ..."
(cue guitar riff)
With that out of the way - Paul McCartney and Wings, later covered by Guns 'N Roses - Live and Let Die is the second James Bond book by Ian Fleming, but the eighth film in the series, and the first to star Roger Moore in the lead role.
And reading it with contemporary eyes, boy has it aged. Quite different than the movie - although the key elements (vodoo, Baron Samedi, Solitaire, American southwest setting) are intact, it can also be quite uncomfortable reading this with modern sensibilities, particularly in how Flemings (and Bond) treats the female characters, and in how the Harlem culture and denizens are portrayed.
Allowances must be made, I suppose, for the time period in which it was written ...
You used to say live and let live
(you know you did you know you die you know you did)
But in this ever changing world in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry ...
Live and let die ..."
(cue guitar riff)
With that out of the way - Paul McCartney and Wings, later covered by Guns 'N Roses - Live and Let Die is the second James Bond book by Ian Fleming, but the eighth film in the series, and the first to star Roger Moore in the lead role.
And reading it with contemporary eyes, boy has it aged. Quite different than the movie - although the key elements (vodoo, Baron Samedi, Solitaire, American southwest setting) are intact, it can also be quite uncomfortable reading this with modern sensibilities, particularly in how Flemings (and Bond) treats the female characters, and in how the Harlem culture and denizens are portrayed.
Allowances must be made, I suppose, for the time period in which it was written ...
SS
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Mick Hucknall recommended The Millennium Collection: The Best of Bobby "Blue" Bland by 20th Century Masters in Music (curated)
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Luce (2019) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020 (Updated Nov 20, 2020)
Incendiary, confrontational filmmaking that doesn't pull a single punch but also has the foresight to not offer a single easy answer to its repertoire of timely themes and obscured ideologies. All that and it also manages to be one hell of a pulse-pounding thriller that almost solely consists of sprawling, uncomfortable dialogue exchanges fired one right after the other with minimal diversions. Feels like a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment. Every character is definable and every performance therein is fearless - that's all to say that this is undoubtedly the freshest take on small-minded suburbia we've had in seemingly forever; if ever there were a film for this current volatile period in American history where countless amounts of its long-standing racial injustices are being very justifiably put into question - this would be one them. On a personal preference, this also just happens to be just how I like my dramas: talky, deeply character-driven, morally ambiguous, gradually explosive, and very glossy aesthetic-wise. One of the best movies I've ever seen.