Amph What was the last movie you saw? (Ver. 2)

Dune Parts 1 and 2

First, do I know the books? No. It's not a series that I've ever been drawn to. Denis Villeneuve, however, is a director whose SF work I've enjoyed. Arrival was a great little picture and Blade Runner 2049 was an intriguing piece. The other draw was the very smart casting.

One major success is it has the time to both set up and explain its world so it all makes sense. At the same time it uses all of that to convey what a galactic power struggle might look like, what the scale of resources being devoted to it might be.

That gives the story a rare level of grandeur. Much of that stems from the superb world and technology designs.

It's notable that Dune is, at least here, rarely, if ever, a soft power galaxy. It all operates through hard power and violence. The other side will not back down, unless forced to. This is not a good state of affairs for anyone.

The gradual inversion of the chosen saviour concept is well done. From Paul, pre-water of life, resisting the utiltaruan road that beckons to him, embracing it fully after drinking the water of life. To Chani's unease over a religion taking over her people and the changes she sees in Paul.

Talking of, you can have all the design and effects and cash in the world, but your film doesn't fly without actors. These films have a cast where it's easy to suspect that no one had to be won over before saying yes. And they all really make it fly.

The ending of Part Two feels rather inconclusive in some respects, but it also the end of the road for the story that the films are telling. That story never made any claims it'd be a complete history. Nonetheless, I suspect Part 3 will have to address it somehow.

Overall? Very ambitious film-making that I think succeeds in what it is going for. Feel-good SF? Well, it's not that, but it is perhaps simply more honest about its dysfunctional galaxy.

 

Rose Red (2002)

Entertaining Stephen King haunted house story featuring a team of unique characters with special abilities who are hired by an eccentric professor who desires to wake up the evil mansion that keeps growing of its own volition as the years pass.
Watched this movie when it first aired on tv and I've been a fan ever since. It is not of the same quality as The Shining, but I like the story and characters and there are a few thrilling scares.

 

Revenge of the Sith (2005)
I was in Iraq when it was first released, so this is my first time seeing it on the big screen. On the one hand, some of the panoramic shots looked better, esp the twin sunset, but on the other hand, the CGI looked awful. Yoda was especially bad, and not helped by his dialog turning into backwards self-parody. He wasn't nearly so gobbledy-gook in ESB. The rest of the dialog is stilted and the acting is mostly either wooden or over the top melodrama. Some of the action starts out good, but in a futile attempt to outdo previous films soon turns into unbelievable silliness. Obi-wan held the high ground at least twice before out of nowhere he suddenly claimed it was an unassailable advantage. It was good see Chewie again, and R2, and I suppose even 3P0, but it doesn't make any sense for any of them to be in the PT. IMO, the only thing that keeps this from being the worst SW movie is AotC. (TCW doesn't... doesn't count.)

 

Like this?

 

^ Yeah, the fight was pretty good up to that point. Then it started going off the rails.

And every fight with Sheev started bad and just got worse. Just totally unconvincing.

 

Nothing in Common. Before he was the king of dad movies, Tom Hanks spent the eighties doing comedy and being damn good at it. This early dramedy is one of his first ventures into more dramatic territory, and it’s pretty good.

Hanks plays an immature ad man who’s focused on getting Barry Corbin’s business. He ends up dating Corbin’s right-hand woman, Sela Ward, who also happens to be his daughter, while still carrying a torch for his high school ex, Bess Armstrong, with whom he’s still friends. But that’s not even the main thrust of the movie.

The slightly bigger thread is that Hanks’s mother, Eva Marie Saint, has left his father, Jackie Gleason. While she figures out life on her own and reveals that Gleason was a terrible husband, Gleason gets fired and is undergoing health problems. His parents both lean on him for emotional and practical support, burdening him but also forcing him to interact with them as an adult and see them more honestly.

As a film, it’s a good character piece, low-key and honest and compelling. Its characters are well drawn, and the actors are great. This is a very overlooked film that deserves some appreciation.

 

Revenge of the Sith 20th anniversary screening. I was saying to my cinema going buddy yesterday that I don't think I'd watched this film all the way through since it originally came out on DVD. We actually saw it together on release night, this time though he brought along his 21 year old son and this was his first time seeing his favourite SW film at the cinema. So we had a superfan in our midst who couldn't wait. But I still think there is a lot of bad stuff in this. Hayden is still poor, most of the scenes when the Emperor becomes the Emperor become ridiculous as hes cackling and overacting in the over the top make up. None more so than the Senate showdown with Yoda. Some of the effects in the Utapau battles took me out of the film a bit, the backgrounds and the motion of the troopers didn't look right, same with some of the stuff on Kashyyk too. I have to agree with @Sarge having the droids in there makes no sense and for me so does having Chewie involved too. I'd forgotten how little Padme was in it, yet she still manages to get in some terrible dialogue and also how quickly Grievous is killed, they get through to that part pretty quickly. The epic showdown at the end goes on too long and some of the choreography in there is just stupid, whilst it might try, it lacks the emotion of the Vader Luke showdown in Empire and falls short of having the emotional impact that it should have. Still another bug bear with me are the scenes with the Jedi offing droids left right and center, it looks unconvincing. But despite all my moans I have to say that I actually enjoyed rewatching it on the big screen with no distractions, it rattles by at a good pace.and by far the biggest highlight is Williams score, which is amazing.

 

Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra (1938) – Lloyd French

The Blu Ray release of Jezebel, which I just reviewed, had an interesting special feature that I’ve seen a couple of times before. It was called something like A Night at the Movies and if you selected it, it would play a period newsreel, this musical short featuring Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra and a cartoon before then going directly into the movie. It’s obviously meant to mimic the experience of going to see a movie back in the olden days and it’s a cool idea.

This short features Dorsey and his band performing a few songs and, since the whole thing is less than ten minutes, they move at a pretty fast clip and keep the energy up. The singers are just okay, but the band itself is pretty good. There’s a really good drum solo by Ray McKinley. This isn’t great, but it’s pleasant enough at just nine minutes and change. 2 ½ stars.

tl;dr – at under ten minutes, this recording of Dorsey’s big band performing a few of their hit songs is pleasant enough without being particularly striking or memorable. 2 ½ stars.

 

Dream Warriors (1987)

One of the best threequels ever and one of the best horror sequels ever. Great cast and story.

 

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles are back to face a new threat to the world: Shadow the Hedgehog. I've been a fan of the Sonic character since the early 1990s when the original game was released on the SEGA Genesis, but to be honest I'd fallen out of the major storylines and games by the turn of the early 2000s. I really know nothing about Shadow the Hedgehog, that character was introduced well after I had stopped playing any new Sonic games for a long time. I'm not a huge fan of the blend of live action with these Sonic films, but it is what it is. I'd have much preferred what they did with the Super Mario Bros. movie and went full animation. Jim Carrey is.....Jim Carrey X2 (he plays Robotnik and he also plays Robotnik's grandfather). There's the typical high speed action and some gushy character storylines, but overall it's nothing to write home about. And I did stick around to watch the post-credits scene

Spoiler

where Amy Rose is introduced. From what I understand, she was a character in Sonic CD, but I'd never played through that game.

 

Wet Hot American Summer. Wet Hot American Summer is essentially driven by a sense of absurdist meta-humor, where the joke is the artificiality of moviemaking. Genre tropes, character types, and the sheer made-up fakeness of it all come in for some very funny mockery. But what really makes it work is how straight it plays its absurdity. A lot of movies in the last decade like to play up how ridiculous they’re being, or draw winking attention to the fact that they’re making meta-jokes. This movie plays it all deadpan, leaving it to the audience to pick up on the fact that it’s increasingly insane without needing to signpost it. There’s something about that that makes it extra hilarious. And the film really is funny, mocking movie conventions (and the immaturity of its camp staff) with vicious extremity and ingenuity. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Halloween 2018

Surprisingly good entry in the franchise that retcons everything after the original with which it shares several similarities.
It's a decent entry with some suspenseful scenes and a good cast, Michael is pretty scary here. I'd probably rank it 4th in the franchise after the original, II, and IV.

 

I'm not trying to seem like I hate 'Revenge of the Sith' but I'm glad people are having some of the same reservations about it. That lightsaber duel is a masterpiece of choreography but it is choreographed to the point where it seems like an elaborate dance instead of a fight where two people are trying to kill one another. Nothing comes close to 'Empire'. That was thrilling because it was a brutal fight that sometimes got sloppy. I'm sure this is going to be an atom bomb in some 'Star Wars' corners but the battle between Rey/Finn and Kylo Ren in 'The Force Awakens' is much more dramatic and interesting to me.

Also, is it just me or does 'Revenge of the Sith' fit right in with 'American 'Psycho', 'Fight Club', 'Joker' and the like in that it kind of is an incel epic that has a cautionary tale that flies over a lot of people's heads? Maybe, I'm reading too much into it but it's a movie about an entitled whiney guy who is radicalized by his issues with women to create a totalitarian right wing government in his image. I just don't buy into Anakin being this tragic hero anymore.

 

Asteroid City (2023)
It was pretty much what I was expecting, which was a good thing.

 

Monster Summer A group of kids believe that a witch is making kids disappear and taking the souls of others on their island. Of course no one believes them, but with the help of a retired police detective they band together to get to the bottom of the mystery, discovering that the monster is following a pattern going back years. Can they find them and stop them before it takes their lives or souls?

This is a bit of a throwback film, a kids horror mystery that I think is trying to tap into that 80's Monster Squad vibe. Taking it for what it is, (a kids film), its ok and a decent enough mystery that doesn't stray too far into horror territory and stays family friendly for the most part. As an adult I think it would have been better to push the boundaries a bit, but as it is its an interesting enough twist on the witch fairytale, but for the life of me I missed where the solution came from. I need to watch that bit again. Mel Gibson pops up as the retired detective, it was good to see him back I thought.

 

I haven't seen this movie, but I suppose I should, given that it was shot in the area of my Ancestral Home in PA.

 

This the one with the puppet tendons death scene?

 

Matewan (1987)
Years ago, I mentioned to my former boss that I grew up in Scranton, PA and that my grandfather was a coal miner so he highly recommended that I should watch this movie. His other selling point was that James Earl Jones was in it.

After years of waiting for it to be available on streaming to no avail, I realized that I could borrow movies from my local library. I got the Criterion DVD version which was released in 2019.

Plot wise - the movie is based on a true story of the events of Matewan, West Viriginia in the 1920s where the town was essentially owned and run by the coal company. Due to the harsh conditions, the workers decided to strike and form a union. The coal company hired foreigners and African Americans to work as scabs. Joe Kenehan, played by Chris Cooper (his first film), enters to help support the workers and form their union along with the foreigners and African Americans. He wants to do it without violence. As you can surmise, this does not go well and there is a lot of in-fighting and turmoil. On top of that, the coal company sends violent people to break up the union. The big build up is this western style shootout on the main street of town.

Is this movie worth your time? It's hard to say. It's definitely dated and you can tell there was a very small budget. The main story is a little slow, but there is an interesting mini arc in the middle of the movie regarding Joe and a local woman working with a spy for the coal company. James Earl Jones has a few lines, but he kills it. The best thing about this movie is the acting. The child acting is a little much, but you have to give them props for holding their own. There are a lot of familiar faces like the Warden from Shawshank (Bob Gunton), the woman from Dances with Wolves (Mary McDonnell), and the weird teacher from Happy Gilmore (Josh Mostel). Also if you're a fan of Newsies, Kevin Tighe plays an antagonists in both this movie and that one. He definitely has a face of a villain. And last, but not least was a young David Strathairn who's been in a whole bunch of stuff like A League of Their Own.

Overall, there's a powerful story here, with a few gut punches, but this movie didn't knock it out of the park for me. I can see why it critically acclaimed and part of the Criterion collection, but I felt it could have used a little bit more to keep me engaged in the middle to last act. It's funny though as I find myself typing this review and rethinking on it, I wouldn't mind watching it again.

 

My Dad's family was from the Scranton area, and one of my great-grandfathers was a miner both here and in Wales. And I'm glad you've found some of the resources available from your local public library.

 

In my view, it’s easily the worst of the prequels.

 

The very same! That scene was the one that most memorably scared me when I was a kid. I love stop motion Freddy!

 

No, I won't go that far. 'Attack of the Clones' was an absolute chore the last time I watched it. It kind of made me laugh in that it is in the tradition of a lackluster film Christopher Lee had to prop up.

And I think all the Prequels are infinitely better than 'Solo'. I will not watch that one ever again.

 

The American Friend. Wim Wenders tackle’s Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley with some unusual casting, but he makes it work. Yes, that’s Dennis Hopper in a cowboy hat as Ripley (and yes, those are great directors Nicholas Ray and Sam Fuller in small parts).

Hopper is running an art scam when he’s offended by terminally ill framer Bruno Ganz. So when an associate approaches him about carrying out a gangland hit, Hopper instead pushes him to hire Ganz, staging a whole con to convince Ganz his death is imminent and he needs to take the payday for his family. But Hopper ends up feeling friendly toward Ganz, and gets drawn into helping him when the plan gets out of control.

It’s a strange movie with an odd plot, highly reliant on atmosphere, but it works. Wenders ensures it looks good, and the performances are interesting, taking the characters in engaging directions.

 

I'll add on I saw ROTS's re-release last night. Was like I remembered.

 

Clue Murder mystery based on the classic board game Cluedo. A group of guests arrive at a creepy old mansion, and are all given pseudonyms by the butler (Col Mustard, Miss White etc) as they arrive so that no one knows their real names. Each are also given the weapons of the board game, candlestick, rope etc But when the host and other random people start being murdered they have to find the culprit and the motive behind it.

This has a great cast... Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry, Christoper Lloyd, Madeline Kahn, Colleen Camp amongst others. I love old dark house mysteries, but this falls so flat its untrue. This would be a better suited in a theatre as a farcical comedy play. Its also so contrived to get elements of the board game in there, like the names and the weapons, but really they're not of much consequence to the story. The story really isn't that engaging either, aside from the host the victims arrive who aren't a main character and get killed. Theres no peril in it really. This film is also famous for showing with different endings during its cinema run, none of which I felt really work. The version I watched had all 3 of them presented to the viewer as alternatives.

I think I would have preferred to see this type of film being more serious, Cat and the Canary style, its got all the elements there, old mansion, hidden passageways, stereotypical guests, mysterious host. But if you want to see a comedy based less serious old dark house murder mystery, then I'd be putting on Murder by Death or What A Carve Up before this, which do it much better than Clue.