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Yes! - and the same absolutely goes for The Lobster. It shows all the more in these strange worlds where there are no emotional filters and characters talk in such a frank manner. You can see it in a more subtle and natural way - I can't think of anyone aside from Farrell in that role, and I'd imagine The Killing of a Sacred Deer was written with him in mind.
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'Lone Star' (1996)
Really enjoyed John Sayles 'Lone Star'. A new sheriff (Chris Cooper) investigates a skeleton discovered on a nearby disused military range in Texas. He finds more than he bargains for!
It's like a neo-noir / crime / thriller with western tropes and mystery elements. I was annoyed with myself that I didn't see the very obvious twist coming near the end. Frances McDormand turns up late on and nearly steals the show in her 5 minutes of screen time. Sayles' plot has layers upon layers of secrets and stories.
There is some brilliantly executed camerawork in this film that sweep past the characters and fluidly enter a flashback scene with other characters. It's a trick that is used a few times and it's great every time.
7.8/10
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By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54045327
The Killing of a Sacred Deer - (2017)
I have further to dig! 2018 film The Favourite was my first Yorgos Lanthimos film, and it gave me little idea what was in store with the more freaky The Lobster (2015) and this film, the most horror oriented of his I've seen so far. There are four Greek films which precede these - which I look forward to seeing. Right from the start, it's obvious that this exists in a world not quite the same as ours. Characters all speak in precise ways, and in an unemotional manner - it makes for a very different experience, but doesn't have an obvious bearing on the story itself. In it heart surgeon Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell) has a strange kind of close relationship with the son of a former patient of his, Martin Lang (Barry Keoghan) - at first I thought they were lovers, but he introduces the boy to his family, consisting of wife Anna (Nicole Kidman), son Bob (Sunny Suljic) and daughter Kim (Raffey Cassidy). Martin looks to be after one of two things, for one reason, the result of which makes it the strange horror movie it turns out being. For all I know everyone who's reading this has seen it, but I don't want to give anything away. This demands to be seen blind. It had that part of my brain which kicks off a party in my mind when inspired with all the lights on and music blaring - in other words I was really engaged and excited from seeing such an original and enjoyable movie.
8/10
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The Razor's Edge - 5/10
I had this saved for over a year, and my internet/cable will be terminated any day, and cable is my only source of movies, so I did watch it. This could have been half as long. Very weird how the story was presented. Didn't even seem like it was edited. A lot of window dressing, with no meat. The protagonist would say he learned everything, and then tell his guru in India nothing. A lot of that. Almost 3 hours long. I'd recommend reading it on Wikipedia
I had this saved for over a year, and my internet/cable will be terminated any day, and cable is my only source of movies, so I did watch it. This could have been half as long. Very weird how the story was presented. Didn't even seem like it was edited. A lot of window dressing, with no meat. The protagonist would say he learned everything, and then tell his guru in India nothing. A lot of that. Almost 3 hours long. I'd recommend reading it on Wikipedia
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Not bad. Nothing special. Always good to see Ben Foster.
Strange excellent movie. Loved it.
Another strange excellent movie. Loved it.
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23. The Boogeyman (2023/Hulu)
This film is loosely based on a Stephen King short story about the eponymous monster who hides in closets and kills people. And like every other horror movie of the last several years, it's really about grief. It's decently-made, but doesn't do anything special. As a King fan, I didn't sense his influence whatsoever. AI could have written this script.
This film is loosely based on a Stephen King short story about the eponymous monster who hides in closets and kills people. And like every other horror movie of the last several years, it's really about grief. It's decently-made, but doesn't do anything special. As a King fan, I didn't sense his influence whatsoever. AI could have written this script.
SF = Z
The movie Bumblebee is still the best out of the lot.
[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it
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'Lone Star' (1996)
Really enjoyed John Sayles 'Lone Star'. A new sheriff (Chris Cooper) investigates a skeleton discovered on a nearby disused military range in Texas. He finds more than he bargains for!
It's like a neo-noir / crime / thriller with western tropes and mystery elements. I was annoyed with myself that I didn't see the very obvious twist coming near the end. Frances McDormand turns up late on and nearly steals the show in her 5 minutes of screen time. Sayles' plot has layers upon layers of secrets and stories.
There is some brilliantly executed camerawork in this film that sweep past the characters and fluidly enter a flashback scene with other characters. It's a trick that is used a few times and it's great every time.
7.8/10
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By IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3086442/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47698633
Goodnight Mommy - (2014)
This was not the 2022 remake with Naomi Watts in it, but the Austrian original - a horror movie that I didn't know about, but one which is a must get for me now. An Austrian mother (Susanne Wuest) comes home after having facial surgery, and has trouble dealing with her kids, Elias and Lukas (Elias and Lukas Schwarz) - two very active young boys that often bring animals home with them and collect various horrible bugs. To tell you the truth, all three act really strangely. Trouble arises, however, when Elias and Lukas start to doubt whether the woman who has returned is really their mother. There is a twist here which I immediately grasped (so easily I kind of questioned whether it wasn't meant to be) - but that doesn't have any bearing on whether Goodnight Mommy is enjoyable. It saturates itself in bizarreness, and then in it's last act normalizes but ratchets the psychological horror and discomfort up to a maximum. Overall, if you're looking for something a bit unsettling, you'll find Goodnight Mommy really satisfying.
7.5/10
By May be found at the following website: IMDb, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14244462
Point Break - (1991)
An action film with a philosophy - and a classic. I'd never enjoyed Point Break as much as I did watching it yesterday - I think probably because it was the first time I gave it my full attention and respect. Patrick Swayze's Bodhi is a very unique villain - Zen, contemplative and a daredevil, his life of crime is a philosophy unto itself. We see FBI Agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) get pulled into the vortex this philosophy represents - a surfing lifestyle that expands his mind and knocks his whole worldview off-balance. As an added bonus for me, the film also features Lori Petty and Gary Busey - two favourites (with an extra John C. McGinley helping of crazy.) This is the epitome of the action genre, and is flawless in giving us a strangely authentic masculine vibe. I can't fault it - from a cultural standpoint, or all-round watchability. It's a smart action movie, without any less adrenaline fueled mayhem to show for it. It's the vibe, the beats and the thrill - and that attitude.
8/10
By Internet Movie Poster Awards., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7408622
Stalag 17 - (1953)
Great performances all-round, but I just wish I found the comedy in Stalag 17 a little more funny - and comedy plays an integral part of the movie.
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loved the video games series, loved matthew lillard on this film im glad his back he was my favorite on scream 1 and scooby doo films and other films, he did amazing job, loved josh hutchson from hunger games film series. loved the storyline and its pretty good horror film i really enjoyed it
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Five Nights at Freddy's (2023): My kids are more familiar with the games than I am, but I've heard of it. I felt it started off a bit slow, but soon picked up and engaged me in the story. Josh Hutcherson played the tortured soul looking for redemption by working as the security guard. Matthew Lillard made the most of his screen time and Vanessa Lail was great as the cop who befriends Hutcherson, but kudos go out to Kevin Foster, Jess Weiss, and Jade Kindar-Martin, who were the suit actors behind Freddy, Chica, and Bonnie respectively. They brought out the scares as was Foxy, who was puppeteered by Russ Walko with Roger Joseph Manning Jr. voicing him. Plus love the soundtrack.
Umpteenth Re-watch...It's been at least 15 years since I've re-watched this movie and was just as entertained by it as I was the first time I saw it as a kid. I fell madly in love with Hayley Mills, absolutely enchanting in a dual role playing identical twins who were separated as babies when their parents (Brian Keith, Maureen O'Hara) divorced, who meet at summer camp as teenagers. Once they realize what happened to them, they plot to reunite their parents, but there's a fly in this cinematic ointment in the form of a bitchy golddigger named Vicky Robinson (Joanna Barnes) who wants to sink her teeth into Dad. There's a few things I noticed this time around that I had to comment about. It does take a bit too long for the twins to figure out who they are. Mills proves to be a skilled actress and every moment she shares the screen with Joanna Barnes is golden. I also love the transformation that O'Hara's character goes through once she arrives in California. I cannot believe that I left Barnes' performance off my favorite villains list because she is absolute perfection as the nasty Vicky and the unexpected chemistry between Keith and O'Hara is magical. I was shocked when I noticed this time that the running time was 2 hours and 9 minutes, which blew me away because I have NEVER felt this film's length, ever, Entertaining from start to finish. The movie was remade about 35 years later with Lindsey Lohan playing the twins, but I have never had any desire to watch it because I just can't tarnish this movie in my cinematic memory chest.
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Glad I read your commentary. I had the film on my list, but I think I'll remove it. I like some of Bill Burr's stuff, but the movie sounds like a miss.
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Four Sherlock Holmes films all featuring Basil Rathbone as the titular detective and all directed by Roy William Neill. These were packaged together on Prime but Rathbone did play Holmes in 10 other movies.
80/100
The Woman in Green (1945) - Several murders occur in London with the victims all young women with their index finger missing. Holmes is called in by Scotland Yard and is at first baffled. But when widower Sir George Fenwick is manipulated into thinking he commited one of the murders Holmes once again suspects Moriarity's involvement.
80/100
Terror by Night (1946) - Lady Margaret Carstairs is the owner of the Star of Rhodesia diamond and is transporting it by train to Scotland. Holmes and Watson are hired by her son Roland to guard both her and the priceless diamond. Also on the train is Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard and Watson's friend Major Duncan-Bleek. After Roland is murdered and the diamond stolen Holmes comes to believe that notorious jewel thief Colonel Sebastian Moran is onboard the train.
80/100
Dressed to Kill (1946) - This is the last of the fourteen films featuring Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson. John Davidson is serving time in Dartmoor prison. He was responsible for the theft of Bank of England currency printing plates which he stashed in an undisclosed location. Davidson has figured out an ingenious way of smuggling out the location in the form of three wooden music boxes. They are auctioned off to three different people and his murderous confederates waste no time in moving to acquire them. Like Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon, this storyline also involves Holmes innate talent for puzzle solving.
80/100
These, like most of the Universal Pictures Holmes and Watson entries, are lean and concise exercises in detective work. I've seen numerous actors take on the role (Peter Cushing, Nicol Williamson, Nicholas Rowe, Robert Downey Jr., Ian McKellen and Benedict Cumberbatch) but it's Rathbone I immediately picture when anyone mentions Sherlock Holmes.
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942) - In this one Holmes spirits a scientist out of Switzerland one step ahead of the Gestapo. Dr. Franz Tobel has invented a new bombsight that could change the course of the war and there are numerous parties interested in acquiring it. This includes Holmes' Machiavellian nemesis Professor James Moriarty.
80/100
The Woman in Green (1945) - Several murders occur in London with the victims all young women with their index finger missing. Holmes is called in by Scotland Yard and is at first baffled. But when widower Sir George Fenwick is manipulated into thinking he commited one of the murders Holmes once again suspects Moriarity's involvement.
80/100
Terror by Night (1946) - Lady Margaret Carstairs is the owner of the Star of Rhodesia diamond and is transporting it by train to Scotland. Holmes and Watson are hired by her son Roland to guard both her and the priceless diamond. Also on the train is Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard and Watson's friend Major Duncan-Bleek. After Roland is murdered and the diamond stolen Holmes comes to believe that notorious jewel thief Colonel Sebastian Moran is onboard the train.
80/100
Dressed to Kill (1946) - This is the last of the fourteen films featuring Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson. John Davidson is serving time in Dartmoor prison. He was responsible for the theft of Bank of England currency printing plates which he stashed in an undisclosed location. Davidson has figured out an ingenious way of smuggling out the location in the form of three wooden music boxes. They are auctioned off to three different people and his murderous confederates waste no time in moving to acquire them. Like Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon, this storyline also involves Holmes innate talent for puzzle solving.
80/100
These, like most of the Universal Pictures Holmes and Watson entries, are lean and concise exercises in detective work. I've seen numerous actors take on the role (Peter Cushing, Nicol Williamson, Nicholas Rowe, Robert Downey Jr., Ian McKellen and Benedict Cumberbatch) but it's Rathbone I immediately picture when anyone mentions Sherlock Holmes.
By May be found at the following website: http://www.moviepostershop.com/stric...er-1992/EE1418, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46327964
Strictly Ballroom - (1992)
Okay, this is certainly going to be the biggest surprise a first-time watch will give me this year. I mostly hate Baz Luhrmann's work. I'd seen every other film of his, and I don't like any of them aside from Moulin Rouge!, which has it's good points (and not so good points.) Strictly Ballroom was his breakthrough debut here in Australia, but I was never really interested in seeing it, simply because I didn't want to watch a film about dancing, and also because it turned 1977 John Paul Young song "Love is in the Air" into a hit again. Not a bad song at all, but hits can become tiresome, and this song definitely did. I always thought, since I never liked any of Luhrmann's films, I wouldn't like this - but it was on my list, and I had the time yesterday, so I put it on - expecting to hate it. I loved it! This is a funny, funny film - and the colourful, frenetic tone doesn't get pushed over the brink and become intolerable, instead hitting just the right balance between fun and frenzy. Wonderfully silly, it pits ballroom dancer Scott Hastings (Paul Mercurio) against his ridiculously high-strung mother and the dancing establishment when he wants to perform dance moves outside of the generally accepted guidelines. With him, after he loses the respect of everyone, is amateur Fran (Tara Morice) - and the two face an impossible battle against the rest of the community. The film knows it isn't original, and there's always a knowing wink inscribed between the lines of this farce. I never knew Luhrmann could be this funny, and without as much clout he's restricted to a degree that makes his outlandish impulses more tempered. Great soundtrack, and great comic performances from the likes of Pat Thomson and Barry Otto as Scott's parents.
8/10
Seeing this over and over again became tiring in late '92/early '93.
By Warner Bros. Pictures - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1342149.../?ref_=tt_ov_i, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71539915
The Lost King - (2022)
The discovery of Richard III's remains in 2012 was one of the news highlights of the time for me - I love a solved mystery, and the fact that such an important archaeological find lay under the surface of some random carpark is a dizzying thought. At the time I was well aware of Philippa Langley's role in the discovery, so her seeming anonymity as she's pushed aside by ravenous academics in the film doesn't ring true - but this is a good film regardless. You can thank Sally Hawkins for bringing a little authentic vibe to her Philippa - finally finding some meaning in her life when she becomes intrigued upon seeing Shakespeare's Richard III. It's a really satisfying watch - no means a classic, but it pretty much incapsulated what I wanted it to be, giving me a window to the search and building to the exciting discovery with perfect timing - all the while not forgetting to stay emotionally linked to Philippa. Stephen Frears and Coogan are indebted to their actress/costar.
7/10
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