Theraflu

Monday at 11:30 AM

I was trying to figure out a cheap, decent way to go see Digger, but it just didn't fit into the schedule this weekend. Maybe on $5 Tuesday. But yeah, seems like it's going to lose like $150 million, which, jesus christ, you guys really ****ed that up.

Looks like you have a genre you've seen a lot more than me of: Historical movies with "King" in the title. I'll have to shore that up.

Sunday at 04:27 PM

I've been on a little Carpenter kick this year. In the Mouth of Madness and Prince of Darkness tickled my fancy.

There's a pretty cheap Hitchcock box set with like 20 movies I bought a while ago that I've really enjoyed. I was surprised how well The Birds held up.

September 28

Twitter has become a special level of cesspool, but Meta is chasing it happily into the pits of hell while the prediction markets gird the rails and the gen-AI companies, um, I've run out of bad metaphors, but it all sucks.

Saw Primetime last night. Really liked everything about it, except for the movie itself, that didn't seem to get any of its points across, so that's a weird one. Had a great time with the performances and the set dec and film stock switches and the comedy, but I thought the Predators doc from last year did a better job with its messaging. Still had a fun time, but had a lady next to my friend turn to her after the movie and say "Did you like that? That's the worst movie I've ever seen!" So if nothing else, it's divisive.

September 27

I think we're over 5 inches of rain since yesterday morning, so that's pretty fun.

September 9

I can't really reccomend the Resident Evils, but I've gotten more enjoyment out of them then Fast and Furious or Jurassic Park binges. Mostly. Watched the 4th one last night, from 2010, and it attempts to copy the Neo-dodging-bullets scene almost to a T, except it's 11 years newer and looks about 50 times worse.

Alien is pretty much a perfect movie, for me. Going to give the series a rewatch soon, hoping to watch at least the original with the 13-year old. Aliens didn't hit for me as hard as it does The Ringer boys, more of a shoot-em-up than a "being stalked by evil," but Cameron is having fun. Fincher does Alien 3, but loses control, and it's kind of a mess, but the "director's cut" or whatever, on the blu-ray, is a little more coherent. 4 is a mess. Prometheus is pretty good, with Ridley back at the helm and Fassbender being a pretty great android. Alien: Covenant is along the same lines. I have a soft spot for Romulus, despite some unnecessary AI chicanery reviving Ian Holm. It at least looks and feels very Alien, with plenty of gross deaths. I'd purchased a short book a few years ago that takes a scholarly religious look at the whole series, and while it's kinda nonsensical, it did revise how I watched and enjoyed the movies for the better.

F1 in IMAX was just a great time all around. Perfect summer blockbuster.

September 9

I haven't seen it since the theater, when I had a good time, and had just read the book. Bought the 4k a few months back and plan to watch it soon. Leo's maybe just too old for that role? I did love Bobby D's driving glasses rig.

Watched the first three Resident Evil movies over the weekend. While not good, Milla Jovavich is good enough, and the third one has a pretty solid Mad Max meets 28 Days style/plot that I liked. And they're all like 95 minutes.

September 7

Hope you went with the 3.5 hour extended cut to really get Ridley's full vision.

September 4

As for upcoming stuff, I'll go see Onslaught tonight. Looking forward to Resident Evil in a couple weeks. There's a whole bunch of prestige and foreign language festival films that'll come out by the end of the year, but I assume most of them won't be in your interest zone. I'll be taking the MCU-loving kids to the extended Avengers: Endgame rerelease, and then Doomsday and Dune 3 dropping the same day still doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

September 4

I logged 47 movies in August, possibly the most I've done. Some thoughts on a two-week stretch:

Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat: I'd started this like a year ago, and finally got around to finishing the back half of it. Useful history lesson and pretty interesting style to tell it in.

The Fast and the Furious - 25th anniversary in the theater with Jason. Still a film I enjoy, despite the rest of the franchise. Jason had a good time, but hasn't asked for any of the sequels yet. Maybe his taste is better than mine.

Mo' Better Blues - Never seen, unintentionally pairing extremely well with Soundtrack, it's my latest Spike Lee purchase from Kino Lorber (Crooklyn and Clockers, which I watched early in the pandemic, are on the spiritual rewatch shelf). I only chose it because it's the earliest chronological Spike I have, but Denzel as a trumpeter in his own jazz band is a good time, women lacking agency aside. Great cast as well, with Spike, Wesley Snipes, Giancarlo Esposito, Turturro (and his brother) all pitching in. Oh, the Turturros are also stereotypical Jewish entertainment jackasses, which is another problematic aspect. I still had a very good time.

Jackie Brown - Been filling out the QT discs, had only seen this once. It's just pretty excellent all the way around. Robert Forster is wonderful with Pam Grier leading the way.

Tony - Pat and I had a good time. He was looking for a little more out of it, as it's pretty small and contained, but lots to like. Cessa is really good, Banderas is pretty perfect, I enjoyed the kitchen cast. Provincetown looks great; Pat kept thinking it might've been shot around Marshfield. Damn solid.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma - Prep paid off in a big way with Sleepaway Camp referenced verbally a couple times, and the general Friday the 13th vibe of the Miasma franchise. There's so much going on, both on the screen and under the surface. I was the only one laughing at all in my (dozen people) screening, but it's lighter than TV Glow, despite the bloodiness of the concept. Sexier than I expected as well. Definitely need another viewing or two to put some of the more chaotic and ethereal sections together, but I'll remember it for a while. Hannah also looks quite stunning near-nude, as well as covered in fake blood. Glad I made it a double feature.

The Round-Up: A random Kino purchase that had two movies by Miklos Jancso, a prominent Hungarian director, about a failed 1848 revolution and the prison camp that housed some of the revolutionaries. Generally stunning black & white landscapes, very patient circling cameras, and aside from one overly eccentric guy playing a rat in the camp who would have been murdered by the inmates extremely quick if he ever so brazenly tried to rat out his comrades, the acting and characters are pretty good. Really enjoyed it.

Caddyshack - Part of a 3-pack with Blazing Saddles and European Vacation, put this on in the middle of day when I wasn't being bothered, for some reason. It's still Caddyshack.

Joe Kidd - Part of a Clint mixpack, rated (1970's) PG. Pretty regular Eastwood vehicle tracking down an outlaw for some capitalists who are also evil. Duvall is here as the rich big boss, but he's not great. It's fine.

Friday the 13th Part 2 - Figured to get a little bit more out of my $4 purchase, and some people like this one the best in the series. Has a pretty amusing opening that sets it up (over like 7 minutes of recap montage) as continuing the journey of the final girl who escapes the first movie alive, only for her to be murdered at the end of the montage, and then we're right back to the other side of the camp with a new group of kids. It's okay. Not a ton of desire to fire up six more of these, but hey, they're short.

Sanjuro - The latter film in the Yojimbo/Sanjuro dual Criterion release, it's just generally terrific. Switching back and forth between Westerns and Samurai films has been fruitful. Toshiro Mifune is a little bit more wily and cartoony than some other roles, but where I was surprised how funny Yojimbo was, this continues in the same vein. Lots of different things are pleasing. Gotta get some more Kurosawa.

A League of Their Own - Threw it on Netflix out of respect to you, the ads were tough. There's a tone that rubs me the wrong way, and has for 30 years, so I guess I'll never get over it. The ladies do a great job playing the ole base-and-ball.

The Red and the White - The second Jansco movie in the set, this one about Russians and Hungarians fighting some communist war from 1919. Despite the title, this film is in black and white, and everyones dirty uniforms kinda look the same, and people are being murdered indiscriminately. Very anti-war by showing the ruthlessness and pointlessness of it all, groups from either side just showing up to kill each other in a few locations, no ground being gained, just elimination of the opposition. I don't think we actually get to any rape, but very close multiple times, with the air clouded with the lust of war and male egos, as they end up at a nurses station for a while. I didn't love it, but more from an enjoyment/confusion standpoint, as opposed to it probably being a terrificly on-the-nose depiction of exactly what he was going for.

300 - A 3-pack with 300 part 2, and Troy (directors cut {like 185 minutes!}), but after re-liking Watchmen, figured I'd give ole Zack a little more rope on a movie I saw at the EB theater in 2006 with Dale and Janelle. This is about all the rope I'll be giving him. Looks awful (for a while, until your brain just finally gives in to the drab colors and inexplicably bright sun) and mostly seems to be a cosplay of a Lord of the Rings movie with none of the good LoTR parts. Lena Headey is solid in a pre-Cersei similar role. I did not have a good time.

Coyote vs Acme - With all the kids in the theater for a 10:50 am showing in Dedham. Darren and I are very pro, Jason was in a bad mood and unwilling in engage afterwards, though I saw him chuckling and smiling from time to time, and Edison isn't quite ready for courtroom dramas. I chortled often. It's maybe a little hollow on the "real people" side of things, but I didn't think anyone was bad. It's pretty scathing on WB, if you want to read it that way, which it seems hard not to, as it's also going after pretty much all large, evil corporations, but I'm glad we went to see it.

Species - Pretty messy, quality wise, I guess, but that's not why we're here. This could easily be an Alien spinoff or sidestory if they just slapped some Weyland-Yutani logos onto a few uniforms or buildings, and I appreciated it in that sense. If you spend any real time thinking about it, it doesn't make much sense, or deal with any of the major underlying questions. She, uh, does a good job, actually, and is fetching. Glad I watched it.

The Mask - With Jason and Darren, who chose it over Shin Godzilla, and mostly regretted the choice. I still found some laughs, and (compared to how I felt about Sandra Bullock's early role in Speed) I thought Cameron Diaz was quite good while also being extremely attractive. I suppose it was mostly the marketing that stuck with me, as the "Somebody stop me!" and "Ssssmokin" lines....just seemed kinda quiet and random and only uttered once or twice, as opposed to something that stuck with me for 30 years for being hilarious. We'll give some other Carrey's a chance, but I think he's on thin ice with the kids.

Gone Girl - A recent 4k purchase, something I hadn't logged, and it's kicking off a Fincher run in the lead-up to the Cliff Booth movie. Pretty great filmmaking, a thoughtful but not super easy to follow structure and plot, a great ending. Twisting and turning how you're feeling about any character in any moment. There's a lot here.

European Vacation - Eh.

Weapons - Still really like it!

La Chinoise - My only Godard purchase, and the first film I've seen from him. Feeling quite socialist and disillusioned with capitalism, this hit me pretty good. A group of five Marxist-Leninist Maoists communists who are looking to do some terrorism to bring about real change. Mostly reading Marx and Mao out loud to each other, shot in small rooms with still cameras, all the set colors very plain and delineated. I don't think its great, but I was up for most of the discussions, even if they're supposed to be dumb college kids who don't understand the world but want to make a difference in the name of Marxist communism. Could have been a bit radicalizing if I saw this around the age of the kids in the movie.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - The next Fincher 4k I bought, watched last night, and while it's hard to have a great time, it's easy to be impressed. Some real harrowing sexual assault and rape, but with one of the more satisfying revenge scenes I've seen in a while. Rooney Mara is excellent. Daniel Craig is good, fits in nicely with his Bond and Blanc characters. We end up in unexpected serial-killer land, which probably works better in the book, because the movie just doesn't have time to give it the space it really deserves. Pretty evil movie vibes overall, but there's a lot that'll stick with you. I've only read a bit of Nayman's Fincher book, but after I finish up my Saga reread, I'll try to knock out some of those essays.

August 3

Here's my last month of movies, sent to one of two friends who partially gives a shit. The watching-with names are my kids, generally. You don't get my expansive Odyssey thoughts that are another thousands words. I think only 3 of these were streaming, the rest either in theater or blu rays/4ks.

The Outlaw Josey Wales - 4.5* - Really good! I've been so pleasantly surprised at most of Clint's movies (8 in the last 18 months) Not much since the 90s, but they hit a sweet spot of Movies for me.

Catch Me if You Can - 4* - Runs a bit long and slogs a bit at points, but the first half is a cracker.

In a Lonely Place - 4.5* -One of my Criterion bookmarked picks for their sale, it's old Bogart being a real fun piece of shit Hollywood noir-style detective writer who may or may not be participating in some dastardly crimes. Had a blast.

The Princess Bride - 4.5* - Still a delight

Man in the Shadow - 3.5* - Orson Welles acting purchase from Kino Lorber where the lead actor is kind of a dud and the script isn't very polished, but it's only 80 minutes and is pretty woke for 1957.

Back to the Future - 4.5* - Also still a delight, and the kids had fun with it. Haven't gotten to the sequels yet, but they want to see them

Isle of Dogs - 4* - I've started this like four different times and never made it past 20 minutes, but I finally gave in and, with the familiarity of those abandoned watches, was able to settle in and appreciate the groove.

A Man Escaped - 5* - The second Criterion bookmark, and while it's a very patient 101 minutes, it's insanely effective. Slow-moving prison break film of a French resistance fighter attempting to escape a Nazi prison. Bare bones, methodic, and you're never sure how it's going to end. Excellent, and a wonderful confirmation of Future Buying Strategies when I see random Criterion stuff strongly recommended. Also, the film transfer looks and sounds amazing, where this would have been tough to really appreciate on a mediocre TCM cable watch.

Minions & Monsters- 3* - By far my favorite of a franchise I find little joy in that has quickly become Edison's favorite cinematic universe. The references are numerous and amusing.

The Invite - 4.5* - Still sitting at #2 on my 2026 list. A great crowd helped this along, not sure how a rewatch will endear itself to me, but I'm still surprised at the positive feelings I came out with. Need the I Want Your Sex companion piece to put together the whole 2026 Wilde experience.

Metropolis - 4.5* - 148 minutes of silent sci-fi is a daunting task, but the craft is out of this world, the amount of extras and the work they're doing feels similar to the slave labor they're representing. A Frankenstein/A.I. gone wrong story that still kinda hits 99 years later. Genuinely wowed by so many aspects. Fritz!

Event Horizon - 3.5* - The first of the Sam Neill catchups post-death (with In The Mouth of Madness a few months ago inadvertently kicking things off). He's very in his Jurassic Park "explain complex sci-fi nonsense to the rubes" phase that he's so good at. Lots of nonsense that Sunshine would go on to replicate, quite explicitly, at times, in its final act, but it makes more sense here, as far as opening portals to hell where the Devil may or not be waiting for you, go.

The French Dispatch - 4.5* - Grows on me every time I see it. Rewatching the Wes's, the casting starts sticking out in positive ways, and there's joy in finding how the few new people each time start to fit in. Timmy and Jeffrey Wright are the new guys here, I think. Looking forward to my Phoenician Scheme to see how this theory fits with Cera, who I certainly loved the first time. We've already been over my Lea Seydoux, uh, enjoyment.

Hanna - 3* - Watched with Jason, hadn't seen since it came out. Worked nicely as a still-young Saoirse follow-up to Atonement. Eric Bana's fight scenes, for someone who played the damn Hulk, are kinda embarrassing. Cate Blanchett is trying to do some accent work, sometimes, as a CIA lady, and I guess it's intentional, but it is WILDLY all over the place. The goofy stuff is kinda fun, but it's pretty uneven in the back half. Jason enjoyed it enough.

Oppenheimer - 4* - My lowest rating on my 5th time watching it. Also, my 4k disc skips in a couple places, to my enormous chagrin, which might affect the rating. The Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh scenes now provoke disgruntled laughter, which I don't think was ever part of the goal.

Cars - 3.5* - I have generally strict logging/rating requirements, but eventually I have to give in and log the kids movies I've seen parts of a million times. This rating mostly reflects the kids love of it, but there's some decent heart and good one-liners and the punny car-related names continue to amuse me, ie: Bob Costas as the racing announcer Bob Cutlass. Cars 2 is a Bond-ish style caper led by Mater, and I just don't need Larry the Cable Guy that often. Cars 3 is just the first-movie, but with Lightning as the veteran racer, although the beginning of it has Lightning crashing and almost "dying," in a bit that was pretty harrowing in the theater, for a Cars movie. This has been, hopefully, your only Cars update for a while.

Boyz in the Hood - 4.5* - Part of the John Singleton Criterion trilogy of South Central LA goings on that Sean shouted on during the last physical media pod. I'd never seen it, and was pretty impressed by a 24-year old director getting all these performances from young actors and rappers. It's one of those that feels over the top, but you look back at the history of the area and the rap/gang battles, and it's pretty moving. Cuba isn't quite comfortable yet as the lead, but it doesn't pull many punches. Really good.

The Odyssey - 4* - Feel like we might've tackled this one.

The Racket - 3.5* - Random Mitchum noir I found on HBO Max. He's the straight-cop in a world of bought out policemen and elected officials, but he doesn't get an appearance until 20 or so minutes in. Everything non-Mitchum isn't great, and it even takes him some time to settle in, but he delivers the goods on the back half. A soft recommend for the Mitchum Men out there.

The Odyssey - 4.5* - This again!?!

Blue Heron - 3.5* -Much heralded by critics this year, it didn't fully click with me. An abrupt turn halfway through is mildly audacious, and took me...until after the movie to really get it. Pretty interesting slice of life without much apparent aim in the first half that reveals itself as we go on. Supposedly a great rumination on memories, how they're formed, how they manifest as we age, and how we reckon with them, but I didn't get most of that on first watch. Second time through could prove illuminating.

Poetic Justice - 3.5* - #2 in the Singleton trilogy, with Tupac and Janet Jackson, who are excellent. The movie is wobblier than Boyz, the story outside of the budding romance is thin. Startling to realize my love for Janelle Monae is actually just her doing Janet Jackson in this. If Tupac hadn't been so committed to That Life, seems like he really could've had an enduring acting career, but he also wouldn't have been Tupac, so what can you do? Haven't watched the final movie in the set yet, but the influence of these on hip hop culture is immense.

Possession - 5* - First purchase from Australian company Umbrella, and more Sam Neill catchup. Hell of a god damn film. Gorgeously shot. Unnerving and personal and greatly exceeding simple horror tropes. A married couple with a son breaking down both individually and together. There's a LONG take of Isabelle Adjani being, well, possessed, in a subway, that's one the most intense solo performances I've seen, to the point where you pray that she only had to do it once. Color me impressed.

The Matrix - 4* - Watched with Jason. The rare case of something groundbreaking that I was there for, but time has still dulled it a bit. Jason seemed a little bored, I think, but it's certainly good homework. Maybe I've seen it too many times, even though the number isn't THAT high.

Asteroid City - 4.5* - The underlying, difficult-to-ascertain-at-first heart grows on me every time, from Schwarzman and his kids, with Tom Hanks as the disapproving-but-understanding grandfather really works. I'm still unpacking and discovering the meta play-inside-a-show of it all, but there's a lot there too. And the science fair aspect keeps the teens active and interesting and growing themselves. Kind of a masterpiece.

Syriana - 3.5* - EXTREMELY adult in the "boring and confusing CIA/government ops about oil" way that is incredibly hard to parse if you aren't an old person subjected to the never-ending ruin of current humanity because of oil. But since that's now my demographic, I found it still applicable and evil and disappointing in all the ways I think it was meant to be. Clooney doing very little of his usual shtick, much more a broken, out of touch agent with nothing to show for his service whose being scapegoated and discarded because, well, it's convenient. And also his fault. BUT HE WAS RIGHT!

Following - 3* - Chris Nolan's first, bought in the waning days of the Criterion sale. Black and white with no-name actors, all the rumblings about his this has all of his future hallmarks is pretty spot on. It takes a while to get going for a 69 minute movie, but he shifts gears towards the back-half and pulls a lot of it together for a decently satisfying conclusion. Not bad at all.

Hot Saturday - 3* - Maybe a generous rating for this pre-code film, mostly for Cary Grant's first leading role, where he's a little rough around the acting edges and looks like a young man who hasn't grown into himself yet, despite the handsomeness and charm he's always possessed. The pre-code elements are all about Nancy Carroll (pretty good!) being rumored to be sleeping with Cary, with a banger ending where she says to her fiance who dumped her: "It wasn't true yesterday, but today it is" as they ride off into the sunset.

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - 5* - Loved it. Ellen Burstyn giving a performance that's close to Gena Rowlands' in Woman Under the Influence, unstable not so much because of mental instability, but as a result of life as a woman. I'd suggest you borrow it from whatever very smart person added it to the library collection. Every man is a piece of shit on some level (highly unrealistic, for sure!) , but I really liked Kris Kristofferson and what he does. You should watch it.

X2 - 4* - Watched with the kids after they watched the first movie, as some MCU prep for mutants joining the universe. I'm probably closer to a 3.5*, but found it hard to ignore how effectively (if somewhat obviously) it handles how the world sees "others" and all the other stuff you've heard about what the X-Men meant to a generation or two of young outcasts.

Yojimbo - 4.5* - Part of Eastwood's catalog is just remaking Kurosawa films, so I'd watched Fistful of Dollars last year, which was sued for being a remake without permission. Maybe doesn't hit all of the highs, but it's remarkably funny, and subtitled Japanese from the early 60s can be a tough task in making me laugh, but it succeeded easily. There's also a giant thug for one of the clans, reminiscent of Andre the Giant in size-relation, especially for an Asian production, and it's hard to take your eyes off him when he shows up, even though he doesn't get a ton to do. I found it a little more cynical than I think is intended, once everyone and everything starts getting destroyed as a result of Toshiro Mifune's tactics, but that might just be me being a softie.

Speed -4* - As fun as it needs to be. I don't really like Sandra Bullock very much in it, even if she and Keanu have a good rapport. Weak dialogue delivered mediocrely. Doesn't really detract from the main thrust of the movie. I thought everything they make Jeff Daniels go through was pretty amusing.

Spider-Man: No Way Home - 4* - Hard to believe this still works as well as it does, considering how much nonsense is involved. Dafoe and Molina are so good - I think that's the obvious lack of most MCU movies over the last six years or whatever. They're mostly just evil totems looking to do whatever, where the Raimi guys were really looking to **** shit up and really decimate Spidey. And then being able to connect the three Spider-men in multiple ways to make it heartfelt - a damn good effort. Ned is kind of a weak point, and there's a LOT of CGI nonsense, but killing off Marisa Tomei takes some balls, even if they shoehorn her into one scene (repeated/extended in different ways) in the new one.

Stop Making Sense - 5* - Just the best.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day - 3.5* - Jason gives it an 8, Darren only a 6, as it gets more emotional and young man-ish than an 8 year-old cares about. I had a pretty good time. It's too long with all the Jean Grey stuff, but it isn't necessarily bad. Just feels like a lot to work in.

Pulse - 4* - The other part of my Umbrella order, with the slip cover calling it one of the scariest movies of whatever time period. It is certainly extremely haunting and unnerving from the jump. Characters get....well, maybe killed, maybe not, but removed for sure, with alarming regularity, and the general thesis of the internet increasing isolation is pretty much spot on for 25 years ago, so it all does tie together. Another that might improve on a rewatch when I'm not trying to figure out who, if anyone, the main character(s) are, and just appreciate the purpose of the whole production. I didn't find it SCARY scary, more off-putting with lots of unease, especially in the first half, but some of it died down as the mystery grew to maybe too much of an impact of the movie's world that it doesn't quite make any sense. Pretty great ending. This Kurosawa finds tons of wonderful ways to shoot enclosed spaces with dark corners and doors where it feels like anything can come out of them. I think his new movie is a Samurai-noir that might be extremely up my alley. With that (The Samurai and the Prisoner) and Hamiguchi's new flick All of a Sudden (that Grierson had atop his Cannes list, and my #1 of 2023 Evil Does Not Exist) I'm hoping for some newly loved Japanese cinema later in the year.

July 18

"Why didn't they get a real cyclops?" is what you sound like.

I'm taking the 13 year-old to Providence tomorrow to watch the World Cup final at Dave & Buster's, then trot across the hall for a 6 pm screening in 70mm IMAX, like a normal person.

June 25

Spot on, Fritzy, though I haven't seen it since it came out. Give the other Sean Baker movies a shot as well. They all have similar stuff going on, though they're usually a lot more sex-worker involved.

June 16

The Bone Temple is my #1 movie of the year so far, out of 25 movies seen. The Number of the Beast needle drop in the theater was god damn electric. Rewatched it at home thought it held up nicely. Hopefully they get to do the next one, with Cillian and Boyle and Garland all back, but the box office on it was pretty disappointing.

June 13

I liked Disclosure Day quite a bit, but it's going to be divisive. A truly, incredibly earnest film with no cynicism, but that worked for me in the grand scheme, even if logically I had my share of questions. Really liked Emily Blunt, but somehow she's the only character with any depth. I really liked the ending. But again, it's pretty sappy from a very warm-hearted old man. Three big set pieces, I think, and they're all good-to-great, with some elements I've not seen before.

June 11

I love Melancholia. Top notch topless Kirsten Dunst and a giant meteor to destroy humanity. What else could you ask for?

Seeeing Disclosure Day tomorrow.

May 28

Watched Chinatown a couple months ago, for the first time in maybe twenty years, and thought it was just fantastic. I didn't get/care about the political tomfoolery back then, but as a municipal employee, it really hit the spot.

Old movies are good.

May 26

You sure? I kinda liked it, but it's extremely all over the place. Jessie also literally screams, "ME TOO, ME TOO" at one point.

May 19

It's generic crimelord stuff, I suppose, but it hit just right back in my early 20s. And Lucy Liu is goddamned adorable as hell.

May 18

I like Looper.

But I'm the world's biggest Lucky Number Slevin fan, re: Bruce Willis, so I'd have to cape for that first.

April 23

Just a hard "NO" on 8 Mission Impossible movies???

March 24

I read one review that said it was his brother that was murdered, I assume based on the final "You know my name" line.

Carrie is on Prime. I accidentally started a 2003 remake I didn't know existed, although it only took about five minutes to be pretty sure it wasn't a Brian de Palma film.

Another older actor I've come to love over the last couple years is Robert Mitchum. Seen about 25 of his films. He has a few westerns, but really can just do it all. First one I saw was Night of the Hunter, a fever dream fairy tale, that I loved.

March 23

You seen the Man with No Name trilogy? Good stuff, especially The Good the Bad and the Ugly. Hadn't known that Ecstacy of Gold is originally for it, and was pretty blown away by that scene. Looked up Morricone after and saw he has 444 credited scores, which seems like a lot!

I had a bunch of Clint blu-rays I haven't gotten to, so I threw on High Plains Drifter last night. Not my favorite Clint western, but quite dark in tone, which is a welcome difference to most of them. Really loved the last act, starting with painting the town red. Will be a good rewatch knowing that he's just messing with them and playing them for suckers. Mordecai the clear MVP.

Threw on the original Carrie after that, which I'd never seen. It sure does open with a high school girls locker room fantasy-turned-nightmare, and all the actors are 23 or whatever, but that's a lot of supposed high-school girl nudity that feels pretty weird today.

March 19

Phantom Thread is one of his funnier movies, once you realize what the joke is. DDL's name is ****ing Reynolds Woodcock.

And it's got an absolute hammer of an ending.

March 5

Staying up too late most every night, getting squiffy too often, just like to throw on 45 minutes here and there, rock out a little before bed time.

Dune improved a lot for me the second time through, once I wasn't trying to figure out what was happening. I'd taken my son to an IMAX re-release before part 2 for my second viewing and was pretty hooked. Part 2, in the theater, features a sandworm riding scene that just blew me away. Also some of the loudest movies I've seen, with, uh, Tron: Ares also up there (which isn't very good, but has provided a nice entryway for the 9 year-old to get into Nine Inch Nails, as my kids love the soundtrack).

But Dune is up there with LOTR, now, for me. Took the kids to the extended Two Towers a couple months ago, and they made it through all 3 hours and 45 minutes.