Today’s movies are just crap, help me delve into some golden oldies.

z80CPU

Death becomes her

with Meryl Streep and Bruce Williis. Comedy Satire.

JeffreyEpspeen

The Pledge

A Reno, Nevada detective played by Jack Nicholson delays his retirement to chase a serial killer of blonde preteen girls. The killer turns into his white whale as he becomes consumed by a promise to the latest victim's mother to bring him to justice. On finally retiring to a rural Nevada setting, Nicholson takes over a gas station and moves into the lodgings behind it while developing a relationship with a troubled local woman and her young blonde child. Nicholson never believed the lead detective caught the real murderer - a mentally challenged Native American man, assumed to be the killer, was coached into a confession and was incarcerated when other similar murders were committed. Meanwhile Nicholson continues to follow leads and sees potential threats all around him.

Sean Penn is great at directing these kind of Americana movies with these kind of situations (The Indian Runner and The Crossing Guard are other good ones), and he assembled a great ensemble cast for this one filled with recognisable actors, highly memorable cameos (Mickey Rourke in a role that got his career back on track) and incredible performances; this is one of Nicholson's best roles IMO, a tour de force performance that has your eyes glued to the screen for the duration. 

It's not perfect. It's a bit meandering and rudderless for a solid chunk through the middle, it's heavy-handed and in need of a defter touch in others, and some of the story threads going through it do stretch belief at times, but I stayed away from my phone for the full two hours and my patience was rewarded with a rather brave and ballsy ending.

odyssey06

@JeffreyEpspeen Yeah the Pledge is a powerful watch.

I don't see your images coming through though?

Under Suspicion with Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman is in similar space, I have it on my watch list.

JeffreyEpspeen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121250148#Comment_121250148

Under Suspicion is really good. Was quite a pleasant surprise seeing as I never heard of it before watching it. Gene Hackman is always mesmerising to watch. On that note, No Way Out is another great movie where Hackman plays a baddie. Though the latter isn't on Prime or Netflix.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121250214#Comment_121250214

It was a while back when I watched No Way Out but thought it was a good thriller with a meaty role for Kevin Costner too. Loved the soundtrack.

It is a period piece now when you look back :(

Pikey

I know it's a horror but I loved "The Entity" scared the crap out of me when I was young. Watched it recently and still very good.

JeffreyEpspeen

Brazil (1985) by Terry Gilliam

A bit too esoteric for my liking, and at 143 minutes in length, it's overlong - I'd say 30 minutes of its running time could've been excised and the movie wouldn't suffer for it - but it's an interesting comment on overbearing bureaucracy and tyranny nonetheless.

Jonathan Pryce is terrific in the leading role and supported by a, largely, able cast, and the cinematography is nice to look at.

Robert De Niro had a (too) brief supporting role that seemed underwritten considering the character's importance to the main plot, which is odd considering the aforementioned bloated running time.

I was honestly bored stiff at times, but the ending stuck the landing and redeemed it a good bit in my eyes, tying in nicely to the main character's earlier dream sequences.

It's definitely a unique film thematically and I'd just about give it a recommendation. I have a feeling it would be better on a rewatch when I can understand it a bit better.

Man Vs ManUre

Everything Everywhere all at once, the big Oscar winner last year, is definitely a load of overrated ass turds. Made no sense from start to end, anything and everything possible in the story. More like Nothing, Nowhere not happening here.

rob316

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121230527#Comment_121230527

Face/Off and Broken Arrow, 2 absolute classics from the legendary John Woo. Travolta made a great villian.

Riddle101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121230527#Comment_121230527

I love Con Air, and Colm Meaney does a bang up job in that movie as well.

silliussoddius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121263542#Comment_121263542

I don't think Face Off aged well, even when watching it about ten years ago I thought that.

Mehaffey1

Looking forward to another viewing of Dead Man's Shoes tonight. An electrifying performance from Paddy Considine.

Hard to believe it will soon be 20 years old.

JeffreyEpspeen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121264032#Comment_121264032

What are you looking at?

silliussoddius

Recently I watched Tropic Thunder and Stir of Echoes.

I enjoyed Tropic Thunder more this time around, great cast and ruddy hilarious.

Stir of Echoes got overshadowed by The Sixth Sense but is a very good thriller (based on a book by Richard Matheson).

burtner

Any movie with Humphrey Bogart

and check Lana Turner in "imitation of Life" and "Madame X"

buried

"The Dead Zone" 1983

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj9M34DzAKo

"Come and See" 1985

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjIiApN6cfg

coogy

Never tire of watching these:

12 Angry Men

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Rain Man

Magnolia

nacho libre

Some of the standouts I have seen since my last post are:

Sunset Boulevard. How did Swanson not win an Oscar for her performance?

The Proposition

Betty Blue

Battle ground

The Best Days of Our Lives

Big Heat

Falling Down

Ipcress File

Bitter Moon

nacho libre

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121250148#Comment_121250148

The Pledge is definitely one of Nicholson's more underrated films. The final scene is one of the saddest endings to a film I've seen.

silliussoddius

I watched Hell or High Water last night. Definitely recommend it.

Count Dracula

You can do worse than getting your hands on the Oliver Stone directed Salvador starring James Woods. It is an intriguing analogy of the Salvadorian Civil War and subtly exposes the detrimental impact which US foreign policy had on that sad 12 year period in that beautiful countries existence. A harrowing story which will grip you from start to finish.

If that is too much for any of you malculturallynourished millennials I suggest you have a look at the sublime SEXY BEAST starring Ray Winston and the A MAZE ZEEN Ben Kingsley portraying one of the most intriguing versions of a London Underworld enforcer you are likely to witness. The clincher is the Ian McShane cameo as a closet homosexual crime boss who isn't to be made a fool of, " Gentlemen.... You're all Chunts " has never been toasted more effortlessly. It is a great movie. Su phucking perb.

The original version of the Day of The Jackal starring Ed Fox and the peerless Michael Lonsdale is a must see.

The scariest horror I have seen is probably Rosemary's Baby, terrifying, I am a 6th century warlock and have only managed it a few times. NOPE , NOPE and more NOPE. The Others will have you jumping and screaming off your seat as well..... also .... Session 9 is well phucking creepy, you should struggle to get up the stairs without some sort of weapon in your hand after finishing that creeeeepfest.

I better go I can feel the dawn rising.... my chamber awaits, frying tonight.

ButtersSuki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293190#Comment_121293190

On Sexy Beast, I was reading at the start of the year that the main character in it is largely based on a British gangster who lived in Ireland for many years between the IFSC and a country manor in Meath. He walked among us!

Also in the same article it mentioned there’s a prequel to the movie tv series coming this year….although we’re almost in November and I’ve heard nothing about it 🤷‍♂️

Count Dracula

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293209#Comment_121293209

Plenty of English Gangsters happily retired and living over here, it makes sense if they like the lifestyle and don't want to be watching their backs too often.

Any miniseries will need to be well written and properly cast. I can't see Kingsley performing, not his style. I think Johnathon Glazer has a new movie out this year, called The Zone of Interest. Probably worth a look. Under the Skin was badly received by critics and audience, but I loved it. It was thought provoking and cleverly done, Glazer enjoys portraying the dilemmas of the mind. He is decent.

ButtersSuki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293190#Comment_121293190

Rewatched Sexy Beast last night after the rugby. Took me ages to find it only to then find I have 2 copies on Blu Ray, and more again on DVD 🙄. It's very good, but I was surprised to find it's just 90mins.....don't recall it being that short, but wow does it deliver in that time. The soundtrack/score is great - they brought in James Lavelle/UNKLE to do it so no surprises that it's good as Levelle was at the top of his game around this time. Kingsley is unreal in this, his portrayal of an absolute psycho is chilling: that he stretch to do this by contrast to his gentler roles is just astonishing. @Count Dracula - thanks for the nudge!

JeffreyEpspeen

Jerry Seinfeld: Comedian

Filmed shortly after the end of Seinfeld, the old master Seinfeld's return to the comedy circuit is contrasted with the rise of young up-and-comer Orny Adams. Seinfeld's self-doubt, characterised by a memorable scene where he stumbles and forgets his bit on stage, is gradually lifted as he starts developing his groove. It's interesting to hear his thoughts and follow his process, but the real star of the show is Orny Adams, remarkable in his David Brent-like unflappable self-assurance, lack of self-awareness, and complete inability to read a room. Character flaws summed up in a scene, where shortly after he is taken on as a client by Seinfeld's superagent George Shapiro, he calls fellow agent, and Shapiro's friend, Barry Katz a "cocksucker" for imparting friendly and helpful advice about his impatience re: career and financial opportunities. Katz contrasts Steven Wright's career to Orny Adams burgeoning career as a means of encouragement, mentioning Wright's academy award, to which Adams replies, "Where is Steven Wright now?" 20 years later people are probably asking the same thing about Adams after this intriguing example of self-sabotage.

After watching this, I can't help thinking that Seinfeld and his people purposely chose Adams to be in this documentary so he would look better by every metric in comparison. The film seems to be edited in a way that makes Adams look almost villainous; he is presented as impossible to identify with, whereas Seinfeld is zen-like and sage.

Only 80 minutes long. I think I watched it on Netflix. Either that or Amazon Prime. Good to watch, even if only in the background. Even if you're not into comedy, it's a great character piece and window into Freudian human behaviour

nacho libre

Paths of Glory. Class movie. Kirk Douglas was very good in this. I am going to watch Remains of the Day and Grapes of Wrath over the weekend.

neirbloom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121279404#Comment_121279404

In a Lonely Place and Angels with Dirty Faces with James Cagney are two absolute classic Bogart movies which no one ever talks about compared to his more well know movies. Very dark movies for the time as well.

eightieschewbaccy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121354534#Comment_121354534

In A Lonely Place is also a great book.

nacho libre

I am only up to page 7 on this thread. I think it will be this time next year before I get through all the recommendations. Angels with Dirty Faces is a really great movie. I love the ending to it. I'd never have seen it but for this thread. The same goes for Paths of Glory , The Cruel Sea, Grapes of Wrath , and Das Boot. All classics.

JeffreyEpspeen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121353096#Comment_121353096

You should watch the Tales from the Crypt episode "Yellow" that pays homage to that movie. Kirk Douglas stars in it with his son Eric Douglas. Dan Aykroyd and Lance Henriksen in it as well. One of the best produced episodes of that old HBO horror anthology.