What have you watched recently? 3D!

"The International" (2009) on Netflix.





Clive Owen stars in this action packed thriller about corrupt bankers, arms dealers and hit men. Can't say much more without giving away the plot but there's plenty of excitement and the movie never flags right to the end. I had watched it before but enjoyed a repeat viewing. 8/10

Thunder Road (2018) This came on my radar a few years back when I read about it and it was added to the "must watch" pile. Finally saw it and I was dutifully impressed.

A few years before this film Jim Cummings wrote, directed and starred in a short film with the same name and he took up the same duties for the feature length of which the first 10-15 minutes is that short film reshot for the big screen.

It's probably best to go in blind but that opening scene is one of the most funny/uncomfortable/cringey scenes I've ever seen. We're witnessing a man at the beginning of a breakdown and it's extremely funny/uncomfortable/cringey. If you decide to watch then afterwards the short film is available online for a comparison.

'Escape Room'

A number of incredibly irritating characters go to an implausible building that contains the most ridiculous "escape rooms" that you could think of, all in the pursuit of a $10,000 prize. Of course, failure to complete the puzzles in the rooms results in death.

A low budget B flick that takes more than a cue from 'Cube', but has little of its entertainment. It's not completely dreadful, although it has some truly awful, awful, dialogue and it's just too silly to be really enjoyable. It did, however, make a ton of money (relatively), bringing in nearly $200 million against a $9 million cost.

4/10

The Way Back

Ben Afleck plays a bereaved alcoholic who takes up the job of Basketball Coach for the struggling team of his old high school for which he was once the star player.


Good , think the mighty Ducks but a lot less Disney , more real and more adult themed.


8/10

'Dressed to Kill'

Brian De Palma's 1980 movie focuses on a killer who first stalks a sexually frustrated, 50 something, housewife (Angie Dickinson) and then a prostitute (Nancy Allen) in a pretty tepid and conventional, but highly regarded thriller.

I say "highly regarded", but I'm at a loss, somewhat, to see why really. It's a fairly straightforward yarn and only those with a barely functioning brain would miss the central "surprise" of the film's story. However, it does have a certain fascination to it and my attention was kept throughout. It's kind of like a lot of those 70's/80's Italian Giallo movies. There's a heightened sense to everything that's going on and it all feels very unreal, but they're just not that good in the end. Watchable, weird, but ultimately unsatisfying. But, this is a general thing for me where De Palma is concerned, who's a director I've never truly warmed to. Even with his films that I consider to be his best, like 'Casualties of War', 'The Untouchables' or 'Carlito's Way', there's always something that sticks in my craw. 'Scarface' is, probably, the only film of his that I can say is great and free of the worst of De Palma's inherent flaws as a film maker and I disliked that movie for a long time.

'Dressed to Kill', like so much of De Palma's output, demonstrates these flaws amply. Some of the film feels so amateurish, it's difficult to believe that it gets a pass from a lot of folk. However, at other times, it comes off as very accomplished, proving that De Palma can put out good work. The scene in the subway, where Nancy Allen's character is pursued by the killer, is very well staged and shot, even if it is sort of scuppered by the introduction of some ridiculous gang members. Likewise, the cat and mouse antics of Angie Dickinson's character and a stranger she's attracted to in the art gallery is very well done. Elsewhere, Keith Gordon's character has some interesting things to do. But, these scenes are all offset by a simple (even simplistic) story that's all but telegraphed to all the audience members that aren't asleep at the wheel and several sequences are rather laughable.

5/10




'The Hunt'

Lambasted by President Trump, who I reckon hadn't even seen it or knew what it was actually about, and given a rough ride by most critics, 'The Hunt' is neither awful, nor good and instead occupies that middle ground - that huge area of middle ground - which is average fare. It's a fairly mediocre "people being hunted" movie. A kind of subgenre of a subgenre. Although what that genre is exactly, I don't know. But there seems to be a number of those types of movies out there, from 1932's 'The Most Dangerous Game', to 'Battle Royale' to 'The Hunger Games'.

After a brief setup, 'The Hunt' drops us into the action and we follow a number of people - the "deplorables" - who wake up, gagged, in a field. Pretty soon, it becomes evident that they are the quarry of some people who don;t wish them well. A crate in the middle of the field they wake up in provides them with weapons to use as a defence. But, it's clear that they are at an extreme disadvantage. Inevitably, one character steps up to the challenge and decides to confront their tormentors.

If you've seen any of this type of film before you'll know where it's going after 15 minutes, and while that in itself is ok, it's the heavy handed political satire that lets the film down. Simply put, it's just too on the nose to be likeable and if it was only handled a little smarter or in a more subtle way, the film would have been a more successful result.

To its credit, there is some enjoyable darkly comic moments sprinkled here and there and a couple of nice unexpected turns. But, it never rises above it's "OK" status.

5/10



'The Invisible Man'

A 2020 update of the classic H.G. Wells story that's been put on the screen (large and small) in nearly every decade since the Claude Rains Universal classic from 1933. The basic story of invisibility remains the same here, but everything else has been changed and in some ways for the better too. The focus of this particular iteration is not really on the invisible man, but on a different character. Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) is the girlfriend of a talented optics engineer, Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) who treats her abusively and from whom she wishes to escape from. She does so one night and subsequently finds out that her Adrian has committed suicide as a result of her exit. However, strange things start to occur and she becomes convinced that her beaux might not be so dead after all.

'The Invisible Man' in its 2020 form is very much a departure from its former incarnations. But, it's a smart update that has its own reasons for existing and isn't just another remake that only stands on the shoulder of a former giant like so many remakes and reboots do. There's enough here that makes it its own story and in that respect there's a lot to recommend it. It's also helped too by a great starring performance by Elisabeth Moss, whose physical expressions are a definite boon to the production over all. But, while she is sympathetic as a put upon unfortunate, she doesn't drown in a pool of her own victimhood, but instead becomes a heroine worth getting behind as she takes it upon herself to tackle the situation that presents itself to her.

As a fan of the 1933 film, which is the best movie adaptation of Well's story, I was a bit hesitant about this modern update. But, after a while, it won me over. It's not perfect by any means and it's probably a tad over long, but it's still a decent film in its own right. However, whether it revives the flatlined Universal "Dark Universe" attempt at a franchise remains to be seen.


7/10

Bored with Netflix for the time being, last night I returned to my favourite hunting ground - YouTube.

"The Only Way" (1970)



A wartime movie about Danish Jews being spirited out of Denmark to Sweden as the Nazi round-up began. It's quite slow moving yet very watchable - helped by the screen presence of the gorgeous, 19-year-old Jane Seymour in her first credited part. Worth a look if you're feeling jaded with all the latest drug/crime movies on Netflix. 7/10

Watched "collateral" , which is didnt think much of. Bit of silliness towards the end and the from the moment the film started you just knew who the last target was gonna be. 6/10

Also "JoJo rabbit" which I enjoyed. Brilliantly acted by the young leads. The gut punching scene (no spoilers) really got me too. 7.5/10

For the times we are in, decided to watch Contagion.

If there are any family members who are really scared about the coronavirus, don't let them watch this.

Interesting how close it mimicked the current crisis, complete with nonsense on the internet that millions believed.

@ irish aris,seeing your from greece you might be interested in a greek movie called the last note (2017) very good and poignent movie about 200 greeks selected from the prison camps to be executed for a reprisal on an attack on a german unit by the greek resistence in greece during ww2

This evening I finally got around to something I've been meaning to do for years: watch Pulp Fiction in chronological sequence. It really puts a whole different spin on things, in particular with the character of Vincent Vega (John Travolta). (Spoilers ahead.)

In chronological sequence, you get a better chance to see how he changes over the three days over which the film is set. To cut a long story short: after the crazy events of the first day, after which Jules (Samuel L Jackson) has had enough, it's not too surprising that Vega wants some drugs the next day, to take the edge off before he takes his boss' wife out to dinner, but he's sloppy and nearly causes her to die. By the third day, when he's staking out Butch's apartment with Marcellus, he's a physical and nervous wreck and makes a fatal mistake when Marcellus is out getting coffee.