Recently viewed movie thread - Rental Edition (3 Viewers)

[Ilov80s]

hat would be awesome. Not sure you saw my post in one of the threads about Pure Cinema Podcast? They are through the New Beverly Theater and some of the pods are about what's showing there, but a lot are talking about genres and listing movies they recommend. Most of the time they dig pretty deep and I have been introduced to several good movies I've never heard of before. The downside is, sometimes they are so off the beaten path that they aren't even available to stream, even as a rental. The reason I brought it up was episode # 9 from 2017 was Neo & Noir. They each picked 5 neo-noir movies and paired them with a classic noir. I only listened a little bit, and was probably going to listen tomorrow when I had a pen handy to write any that popped up. My blindspot is still huge with the genre, so I figured I am also all set with picking out a few more of the Color in Noir and Japanese Noir Collections on the Criterion Channel, and assumed they would also have a new one added at the beginning of the month. Wouldn't mind a couple from 2010 on as well to mix it up.

My initial pass through of noirs I have bought in the last 2 years that I would like to watch this month was 30. Not sure that will be feasible after doing 31 horror films this month and wanting to probably see some new releases. It’s going to be hard to narrow down exactly what I’ll watch.

I think I missed or forgot about the Pure Cinema pod post. I will totally check out the noir episode and I see their latest is with Edgar Wright about British horror. That sounds like a must listen.

 

[KarmaPolice]

hat would be awesome. Not sure you saw my post in one of the threads about Pure Cinema Podcast? They are through the New Beverly Theater and some of the pods are about what's showing there, but a lot are talking about genres and listing movies they recommend. Most of the time they dig pretty deep and I have been introduced to several good movies I've never heard of before. The downside is, sometimes they are so off the beaten path that they aren't even available to stream, even as a rental. The reason I brought it up was episode # 9 from 2017 was Neo & Noir. They each picked 5 neo-noir movies and paired them with a classic noir. I only listened a little bit, and was probably going to listen tomorrow when I had a pen handy to write any that popped up. My blindspot is still huge with the genre, so I figured I am also all set with picking out a few more of the Color in Noir and Japanese Noir Collections on the Criterion Channel, and assumed they would also have a new one added at the beginning of the month. Wouldn't mind a couple from 2010 on as well to mix it up.

My initial pass through of noirs I have bought in the last 2 years that I would like to watch this month was 30. Not sure that will be feasible after doing 31 horror films this month and wanting to probably see some new releases. It’s going to be hard to narrow down exactly what I’ll watch.

I think I missed or forgot about the Pure Cinema pod post. I will totally check out the noir episode and I see their latest is with Edgar Wright about British horror. That sounds like a must listen.

I don't think I can do that many noirs. A good 10-15 would be great for me. A little to do with my lack of knowledge, and a little to do with having slightly more variety of tones with 31 horror movies for a month. Like you said, I also would like to get back to a few "normal" movies, and Nov/Dec is when I also try to catch up on some movies that might be getting love for awards season.

I've listened to a few. I think I listened to a little of the one with Wright and if I am thinking right, they dug fairly deep, and it was quite a few titles I didn't recognize. I haven't listened to many because of how interesting I've found their suggestions and I've been trying to make sure I listen when I have time to either write stuff down or be able to add movies to the queue as I listen. I think I posted it, but the reason I found the pod was I searched on Spotify for PTA interviews, and their episode of his movies popped up. They went movie by movie, talked about them, then each suggested a pairing with each of PTA's movies. Looks like along with the genre ones, there are ones on Tarantino, Scorsese, Lynch, Carpenter, and a few others.

 

[Ilov80s]

I don't think I can do that many noirs. A good 10-15 would be great for me. A little to do with my lack of knowledge, and a little to do with having slightly more variety of tones with 31 horror movies for a month. Like you said, I also would like to get back to a few "normal" movies, and Nov/Dec is when I also try to catch up on some movies that might be getting love for awards season.

I've listened to a few. I think I listened to a little of the one with Wright and if I am thinking right, they dug fairly deep, and it was quite a few titles I didn't recognize. I haven't listened to many because of how interesting I've found their suggestions and I've been trying to make sure I listen when I have time to either write stuff down or be able to add movies to the queue as I listen. I think I posted it, but the reason I found the pod was I searched on Spotify for PTA interviews, and their episode of his movies popped up. They went movie by movie, talked about them, then each suggested a pairing with each of PTA's movies. Looks like along with the genre ones, there are ones on Tarantino, Scorsese, Lynch, Carpenter, and a few others.

Yeah I won't go that deep either. I will trim that list to probably 15-25 depending. A lot of them will be movies I'v seen 3+ times so if I am distracted here and there it's not a big deal. I could quote Double Indemnity line for line. Like @Bracie Smathers was saying, it they are first time viewings, you shouldn't cram too many in.

Super interesting about the pod. I have to check this out.

 

[Ilov80s]

@KarmaPolice ok so based on what you are saying the pod sometimes turns into of a contest to see who likes the most obscure or surprising movies. What would your 5 recommendations be if you had to recommend movies that were pretty unknown? Genre, year, etc. doesn't matter. Just your 5 movie recs if you had to play that game of naming movies people here probably don't know about?

 

[KarmaPolice]

@KarmaPolice ok so based on what you are saying the pod sometimes turns into of a contest to see who likes the most obscure or surprising movies. What would your 5 recommendations be if you had to recommend movies that were pretty unknown? Genre, year, etc. doesn't matter. Just your 5 movie recs if you had to play that game of naming movies people here probably don't know about?

Oh man, that would be really hard around these parts, I think. Here are a few that popped into my head, but I have a feeling I'd have to think harder and go a tad deeper. I also stuck to ones that I saw were streaming in case they haven't seen any of these, and these are all newish and were probably on my countdowns too.

Martha Marcy May Marlene - (Hulu). The movie that made me aware of Elizabeth Olsen. Stupid title, which I think made people skip over it a bit.

A Tale of Two Sisters - (Kanopy, Shudder). Along with Audition, the movie that made me fall for foreign horror movies.

Blue Ruin - (Tubi, rental) What a revenge scenario would look like if average person tried.

Half Nelson - (Tubi, Kanopy, Starz) Ryan Gosling is all you need to know. This, Lars and the Real Girl, and The Believer were 3 I would suggest to people at the video store a bit.

The Hunt - (Prime, Tubi, Kanopy) not cheery subject matter, but this was my intro to Mads Mikkelson. The same director as Another Round.

 

[KarmaPolice]

How about you and others?

It's fitting you asked, as I was thinking about starting a separate thread where people post a few movies they think are underseen but are on a main streaming service.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Narrowed down my Noir list. Focused on ones currently streaming on my stuff, then supplemented a little with the library, and a couple that I have at home that I wanted to watch or revisit:

The Prowler, Ride the Pink Horse, Elevator to the Gallows, Lady From Shanghai, The Third Man, Double Indemnity, Pale Flower, High & Low, Sunset Blvd, D.O.A., The Long Goodbye, Night Moves, Red Rock West, Black Coal/Thin Ice, Thief, Dirty Pretty Things, Memories of Murder, Inherent Vice, The Man Who Wasn't There and Mulholland Drive.

Not sure I get to all those, just wanted more focus. I am sure Criterion Channel will also have something interesting check out as well.

 

[Bracie Smathers]

... 2017 had many fantastic movies but I could never get Call Me By Your Name out of my head. This year I’ve seen a lot of great movies but think I hadn’t found “the one” until now.

Finally caught this one. Gorgeous European location Italian villa with luscious apricot orchard fruit trees, everyone apparently an intelligentsia/academic/artistic polyglot, deep rooted supportive family, and the soundtrack is suprema.

But I had an issue with this film and many times have issues when straight actors 'attempt' to portray a same sex romance because I become too aware of the acting and unfortunately that aspect of the movie just didn't cut it for me. Outside of the lack of believable romantic chemistry between Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer the acting was fantastic.
Have to acknowledge the screen play as Michael Stuhlbarg's monologue as Mr. Perlman to his son Elio made the entire movie for me.
The screen writer did such a great job where the father was smart enough to understand everything that had taken place with the emotional intelligence to comprehend what his son is going through and came up with the perfect dialogue.
Really good stuff.
------------------------
Mr. Perlman: You two had a nice friendship.

Elio: Yeah...

Mr. Perlman: You're too smart not to know how rare, how special what you two had was.

Elio: Oliver was Oliver.

Mr. Perlman: Parce-que c'etait lui, parce-que c'etait moi.

Elio: Oliver may be very intelligent but...

Mr. Perlman: Oh no, no, no. He was more than intelligent. What you two had, had everything and nothing to do with intelligence. He was good. You were both lucky to have found each other, because you too are good.

Elio: I think he was better than me. I think he was better than me.

Mr. Perlman: I'm sure he'd say the same thing about you. Which flatters you both.

Mr. Perlman: We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster than we should that we go bankrupt by the age of thirty and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to make yourself feel nothing so as not to feel anything - what a waste!

Mr. Perlman: Have I spoken out of turn? Then I'll say one more thing. It'll clear the air. I may have come close, but I never had what you two have. Something always held me back or stood in the way. How you live your life is your business, just remember, our hearts and our bodies are given to us only once. And before you know it, your heart is worn out, and, as for your body, there comes a point when no one looks at it, much less wants to come near it. Right now, there's sorrow, pain. Don't kill it and with it the joy you've felt.

 

[KarmaPolice]

At 29 horror movies for the month. I might take a small break, as there were a couple I had thought about for my wife that would probably scare her, and I will probably get to a foreign movie or two.

Alligator was one of the movies last night, and was surprisingly fun and fairly well made for something in that subgenre.

 

[Eephus]

Alligator was one of the movies last night, and was surprisingly fun and fairly well made for something in that subgenre.

Big fan of this one. John Sayles' script hits all the familiar genre tropes but usually with a twist. Director Lewis Teague is a pro and Robert Forster is always great playing a reluctant world-weary hero.

RIP Henry Silva

 

[krista4]

Martha Marcy May Marlene - (Hulu). The movie that made me aware of Elizabeth Olsen. Stupid title, which I think made people skip over it a bit.


Half Nelson - (Tubi, Kanopy, Starz) Ryan Gosling is all you need to know. This, Lars and the Real Girl, and The Believer were 3 I would suggest to people at the video store a bit.

I second these two. Haven't seen the others and really need to watch The Hunt.

 

[krista4]

Elio: Yeah...

Mr. Perlman: You're too smart not to know how rare, how special what you two had was.

Elio: Oliver was Oliver.

Mr. Perlman: Parce-que c'etait lui, parce-que c'etait moi.

Elio: Oliver may be very intelligent but...

Mr. Perlman: Oh no, no, no. He was more than intelligent. What you two had, had everything and nothing to do with intelligence. He was good. You were both lucky to have found each other, because you too are good.

Elio: I think he was better than me. I think he was better than me.

Mr. Perlman: I'm sure he'd say the same thing about you. Which flatters you both.

Mr. Perlman: We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster than we should that we go bankrupt by the age of thirty and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to make yourself feel nothing so as not to feel anything - what a waste!

Mr. Perlman: Have I spoken out of turn? Then I'll say one more thing. It'll clear the air. I may have come close, but I never had what you two have. Something always held me back or stood in the way. How you live your life is your business, just remember, our hearts and our bodies are given to us only once. And before you know it, your heart is worn out, and, as for your body, there comes a point when no one looks at it, much less wants to come near it. Right now, there's sorrow, pain. Don't kill it and with it the joy you've felt.

I'm glad you posted this. It really was an incredible piece of writing. So perfect that even just reading it on the page makes me get teary.

I know what you're saying about having difficulty sometimes when straight actors play gay roles - I found Brokeback Mountain not very moving for that reason - but I didn't feel it here. Their chemistry was wholly believable to me in watching it. I do, however, have a rough time watching Armie Hammer now due to what's come out about him, so I'm not sure if I'd feel the same way if I watched it again today.

 

[Ilov80s]

How about you and others?

It's fitting you asked, as I was thinking about starting a separate thread where people post a few movies they think are underseen but are on a main streaming service.

Interesting idea. These aren't necessarily streaming so it's not as easy to see them.

1. The Mob ('51) A good companion to On the Waterfront, Broderick Crawford plays an undercover officer who is infiltrating the mob's control of the docks. Crackling dialogue and Crawford is a commanding presence and plenty of twists along the way.

2. Saladin ('63) An Egyptian epic with an all Arab cast, even Arabs playing the white crusaders. It's not David Lean but it is big and colorful as well as an interesting POV given the extremely Eurocentric history of period pieces, war movies, etc, that we are used to. This is on Netflix surprisingly.

3. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre ('67) This isn't a great movie, but it is great fun. It's Roger Corman with a really strong cast: Jason Robards. Ralph Meeker, George Segal, Bruce Dern and a brief appearance by Jack Nicholson. It is directed and edited like a re-enactment of the actual events but the actors are all playing it big. I love this dumb movie.

4. Underground ('96) I've mentioned this many time but it's one of my favorite recent discoveries and a favorite of my dad. Epic war comedy.

5. The Last Command ('28) Emil Jennings gives one of the best performances of the era, this is probably about the best silent films got before the adoption of sound

 

[Ilov80s]

Narrowed down my Noir list. Focused on ones currently streaming on my stuff, then supplemented a little with the library, and a couple that I have at home that I wanted to watch or revisit:

The Prowler, Ride the Pink Horse, Elevator to the Gallows, Lady From Shanghai, The Third Man, Double Indemnity, Pale Flower, High & Low, Sunset Blvd, D.O.A., The Long Goodbye, Night Moves, Red Rock West, Black Coal/Thin Ice, Thief, Dirty Pretty Things, Memories of Murder, Inherent Vice, The Man Who Wasn't There and Mulholland Drive.

Not sure I get to all those, just wanted more focus. I am sure Criterion Channel will also have something interesting check out as well.

Those are all good choices. I bolded the ones I haven't seen.

We have some overlap in our plans. I am going to only do movies that I have bought recently so there aren't any deep cuts. I had to make some tough choices but I broke it down into a few categories to sort them:

Femme Fatale: Double Indemnity, Elevator to the Gallows, Out of the Past, Pale Flower
The Other Women of Noir: Shadow of a Doubt, Key Largo, Sweet Smell of Success and Party Girl
Heist: The Asphalt Jungle, Riffifi, The Killing
Private Detectives: Murder My Sweet, Kiss Me Deadly, Night Moves
Cops: Detective Story, The Big Heat, Touch of Evil
Neo Noir: Le Samourai, The Long Goodbye, Deep Cover

 

[Bracie Smathers]

I know what you're saying about having difficulty sometimes when straight actors play gay roles - I found Brokeback Mountain not very moving for that reason - but I didn't feel it here. Their chemistry was wholly believable to me in watching it. I do, however, have a rough time watching Armie Hammer now due to what's come out about him, so I'm not sure if I'd feel the same way if I watched it again today.

Well yeah, the allegations against Hammer make it impossible to watch anything he has done without the baggage.
Per straight actors playing gay roles.
Sometime back in the 90s at work two new guys were hired at the same time, they were roommates and would carpool to work. One was gregarious and all of the ladies loved him, the other kept to himself. The gregarious one loved the attention. I noticed whenever an interested lady would idle-up to the gregarious one that the quite one seemed perturbed and got snippy to the point that many found him to be unpleasant. The unpleasant guy went into mother-grizzly mode whenever anyone approached or spoke to the gregarious one to the point it became exhausting to go near either of them, so I tried to avoid them.
Soon thereafter I got to work early in a poorly lit lot waiting for the doors to open with a thermos of hot coffee when I saw their car approach so I slid down so they wouldn't see me.
They looked around and felt safe enough to embrace and kiss, it wasn't acting. I can't explain how just seeing that completely changed my view of the unpleasant one because I understood their relationship. The gregarious guy was bi and loved the attention he got and the unpleasant one that everyone disliked was very insecure but seeing the hidden relationship showed a tenderness that I had never seen before. That stuck with me to the point I default to it whenever I see an 'attempt' of straight actors playing same sex relationships which seem awkward to the point of being ham-fisted.
Witnessing that was a privilege but it probably ruined my expectations of seeing a believable portrayal of two straight actors 'trying' to act out a believable same sex romance because I have never seen on film where I buy it. I default back to those guys.
To your point, Rodger Ebert said the 'best thing' about Call Me By Your Name was the on-screen chemistry which I disagree with so I'm sure it's just me.

 

[Don Quixote]

Watched the 4K UHD Criterion of Double Indemnity this past weekend. It has probably been 20 years since I watched it, but it was as great as I remember the movie being. Still need to explore the bonus features.

I’ve been working my way through the bonus features on the Criterion Double Indemnity discs. They are all great, including a couple featuring Eddie Muller. But the last disc has a three part documentary “Billy, How Did You Do It?”, which is a conversation between Billy Wilder and Volker Schlöndorff about his filmmaking techniques and choices he made in his films. I’ve never seen the doc before, but it is exceptional and worth the set alone. (Three hours of a conversation with Billy Wilder is one of those “yes, please, and I’ll take some more.”)

 

[Ilov80s]

More horror, working my way to 31.

14. It's Alive ('74) My second Larry Cohen film and I think I get his approach. Very low budget but it's commenting on larger societal issues. In this case, it's the wild criminal American youth in the form of a possessed demon baby murdering everyone it comes in contact with. If you can get past the low budget and silly premise, it's funny and entertaining. I love the dad's energy. His newborn baby is wanted by the police for like a dozen murders and he's just like "Kill the kid, I don't care." I went in with low expectations but this was a winner.

15. The Leopard Man ('43) The same director who made Cat People and a so similar feline title made me assume that this was going to have a similar plot but only involving a possessed romantic male. It's actually more of serial killer murder mystery story. Dennis O'Keefe is great in the lead- he is an actor with an incredible filmography. He is in 15-20 movies that hold up today- such a perfect 1940s look and feel to him.

16. Isle of the Dead ('45) Boris Karloff gives one of his strongest performances but the movie was a letdown for me. It felt slow even at 71 minutes. Premise is Karloff is a Greek General holding a group of people in quarantine from a plague. Worth a watch but not one I'll be looking to watch again.

17. Masque of the Red Death ('64) Sticking with the quarantine theme, this Edgar Allen Poe adaptation from Rodger Corman and Vincent Price was great. Good chance I actually rewatch this again this week. The production value from the sets to the costumes to the music was outstanding. Nicholas Roeg as cinematographer. Sets and costumes left over from Beckett. This is as close as Corman ever got to a lavish big budget production.

 

[Eephus]

17. Masque of the Red Death ('64) Sticking with the quarantine theme, this Edgar Allen Poe adaptation from Rodger Corman and Vincent Price was great. Good chance I actually rewatch this again this week. The production value from the sets to the costumes to the music was outstanding. Nicholas Roeg as cinematographer. Sets and costumes left over from Beckett. This is as close as Corman ever got to a lavish big budget production.

I watched this one during my current Horror mini-binge. Vincent Price is terrific in it. His character isn't particularly menacing but he's just so deliciously evil. He made me think of a a passage in the Roman Catholic baptism ceremony where the priest asks the participants to renounce the glamor of evil.

 

[KarmaPolice]

More horror, working my way to 31.

14. It's Alive ('74) My second Larry Cohen film and I think I get his approach. Very low budget but it's commenting on larger societal issues. In this case, it's the wild criminal American youth in the form of a possessed demon baby murdering everyone it comes in contact with. If you can get past the low budget and silly premise, it's funny and entertaining. I love the dad's energy. His newborn baby is wanted by the police for like a dozen murders and he's just like "Kill the kid, I don't care." I went in with low expectations but this was a winner.

15. The Leopard Man ('43) The same director who made Cat People and a so similar feline title made me assume that this was going to have a similar plot but only involving a possessed romantic male. It's actually more of serial killer murder mystery story. Dennis O'Keefe is great in the lead- he is an actor with an incredible filmography. He is in 15-20 movies that hold up today- such a perfect 1940s look and feel to him.

16. Isle of the Dead ('45) Boris Karloff gives one of his strongest performances but the movie was a letdown for me. It felt slow even at 71 minutes. Premise is Karloff is a Greek General holding a group of people in quarantine from a plague. Worth a watch but not one I'll be looking to watch again.

17. Masque of the Red Death ('64) Sticking with the quarantine theme, this Edgar Allen Poe adaptation from Rodger Corman and Vincent Price was great. Good chance I actually rewatch this again this week. The production value from the sets to the costumes to the music was outstanding. Nicholas Roeg as cinematographer. Sets and costumes left over from Beckett. This is as close as Corman ever got to a lavish big budget production.

I wasn't going to count them, but I will because I think The Sadness broke my brain, and I am ready to move on from horror movies and get to noir and other things. I watched a Tim Burton double feature last night into the morning with Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie. They both really hit the spot and I ended up loving them. I think I prefer Frankenweenie a bit more, as I really have been digging the B&Ws this month, and it was a take on a classic. Corpse Bride is on HBO and the other is on Disney+. That put me at 31. I will still probably watch one of my Halloween cores like Tucker and Dale in a week and maybe the one I found to scare my wife, but besides that I am done with horror for a bit.

Because a couple of his are on deck for November, I also listened to the PCP's 2 episodes about David Lynch and wrote down a few ideas. One of their pairings was Blue Velvet and The Prowler, so I think I will start there for some noir since they were both on my list of 20.

 

[Ilov80s]

Because a couple of his are on deck for November, I also listened to the PCP's 2 episodes about David Lynch and wrote down a few ideas. One of their pairings was Blue Velvet and The Prowler, so I think I will start there for some noir since they were both on my list of 20.

That is a good pairing. The not as safe as they appear streets of suburbia.

 

[Ilov80s]

17. Masque of the Red Death ('64) Sticking with the quarantine theme, this Edgar Allen Poe adaptation from Rodger Corman and Vincent Price was great. Good chance I actually rewatch this again this week. The production value from the sets to the costumes to the music was outstanding. Nicholas Roeg as cinematographer. Sets and costumes left over from Beckett. This is as close as Corman ever got to a lavish big budget production.

I watched this one during my current Horror mini-binge. Vincent Price is terrific in it. His character isn't particularly menacing but he's just so deliciously evil. He made me think of a a passage in the Roman Catholic baptism ceremony where the priest asks the participants to renounce the glamor of evil.

He is always so fun but that role just seemed absolutely perfect for him.

 

[Osaurus]

Big fan of Frankenweenie

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

3. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre ('67) This isn't a great movie, but it is great fun. It's Roger Corman with a really strong cast: Jason Robards. Ralph Meeker, George Segal, Bruce Dern and a brief appearance by Jack Nicholson. It is directed and edited like a re-enactment of the actual events but the actors are all playing it big. I love this dumb movie.

That's a good description.

Robards was fifteen years older than Capone was at the time of the events, and slimmer than Capone was at any point in his life. Yet, he fully and plausibly took over the role.

 

[Eephus]

3. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre ('67) This isn't a great movie, but it is great fun. It's Roger Corman with a really strong cast: Jason Robards. Ralph Meeker, George Segal, Bruce Dern and a brief appearance by Jack Nicholson. It is directed and edited like a re-enactment of the actual events but the actors are all playing it big. I love this dumb movie.

That's a good description.

Robards was fifteen years older than Capone was at the time of the events, and slimmer than Capone was at any point in his life. Yet, he fully and plausibly took over the role.

A lot of times narration is an inelegant substitute for exposition but in The St. Valentines Day Massacre it adds gravitas to what's essentially a B-movie.

 

[CGRdrJoe]

barbarian, damn that’s a crazy movie

 

[Ilov80s]

barbarian, damn that’s a crazy movie

Watched that Tuesday and yeah it was awesome. Highly recommend for those with HBO Max who like horror. It’s genuinely scary and has some crazy twists. Go in blind.

 

[Osaurus]

Finally got around to watching Top Gun: Maverick. Honestly I expected a lot less from this movie than what I got out of it. Definitely took me back to when I was a kid when the original was released. I suppose that was the idea. The Top Gun soundtrack was one of the first tapes I ever owned and played it to death. I was not disappointed at all by this film. 4/5

 

[Ilov80s]

Finally got around to watching Top Gun: Maverick. Honestly I expected a lot less from this movie than what got out of it. Definitely took me back to when I was a kid when the original was released. I suppose that was the idea. The Top Gun soundtrack was one of the first tapes I ever owned and played it to death. I was not disappointed at all by this film. 4/5

A Top Gun sequel shouldn't have been that good. Even more so being was 30 years later.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Finally got around to watching Top Gun: Maverick. Honestly I expected a lot less from this movie than what got out of it. Definitely took me back to when I was a kid when the original was released. I suppose that was the idea. The Top Gun soundtrack was one of the first tapes I ever owned and played it to death. I was not disappointed at all by this film. 4/5

A Top Gun sequel shouldn't have been that good. Even more so being was 30 years later.

I wish I would have seen this on the big screen.

 

[Ilov80s]

I wish I would have seen this on the big screen.

Yeah saw it at the imax twice. Was incredible.

 

[Ilov80s]

Shocktober...

18. The Haunted Palace ('63) More Corman+Price. We also get Elisha Cook Jr and Lon Chaney Jr. Very solid 60s era horror and I read while it was a loose Poe adaptation, it was also the first film to incorporate lore from Lovecraft.

19. Die, Monster, Die! ('65) So that led me to a Lovecraft adaptation, Boris Karloff is great as a wheelchair bound mad scientist but the movie can't compare to The Haunted Palace.

20. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein ('94) I know this move was eviscerated at release but I think it's pretty good with one exception and that exception is a fatal flaw. DeNiro is totally wrong for the role and it ruins the movie.

21. Cat's Eye ('85 ) Was hitting some of the biggest authors of horror so I went with this Stephen King anthology. It felt like it belonged on TV.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

barbarian, damn that’s a crazy movie

Watched that Tuesday and yeah it was awesome. Highly recommend for those with HBO Max who like horror. It’s genuinely scary and has some crazy twists. Go in blind.

Watched last night really enjoyed it.

 

[Ilov80s]

Shocktober...I am behind on posting though maybe little point. Not much action here and KP is banned for a bit.

22. Dead and Buried ('81) An Invasion of the Body Snatchers like reaction to the brewing Reagan era 80s. Real good flick. A kingdom by and for the nearly dead, paranoid and envious of a life that never was, never could be, shall never be, no matter how they pose our corpses.

23. Barbarian ('22) Absolute must see on HBO Max right now. Don't even read anything about it, just know it's scary and enjoy the ride.

24.Vampyr ('32) The middle features too much reading and too much exposition but the beginning and end are some of the finest visual film making you will ever see.

25. Sweeney Todd: The Barber of Fleet Street ('07) Shout out to Wikkid, he referenced this musical quite bit. I could do without Depp but HBC, SBC and Alan Rickman are great. Fun tunes as well.

I will post my last 6 later just to say I completed it.

 

[Eephus]

I guess I'll borrow @Ilov80s format for my Halloween Horror mini-binge. I'm at 13 and plan to knock off one more tonight so here's the first half.

The Fog (1980 - J. Carpenter) Weak followup to Halloween was worse than I remembered. The story was more stupid than suspenseful and was beyond saving by Jamie Lee Curtis and Adrienne Barbeau. The title character was unconvincing.

The Masque of the Red Death (1964 - R. Corman) Vincent Price was fabulously evil. I normally don't associate Corman and AIP with classy productions but this one was beautifully shot without a lot of exploitation.

Hocus Pocus 2 (2022 - A. Fletcher) The original was a holiday favorite when the kids were growing up so the sequel was a must watch. I'm not gonna lie, it wasn't great but the script was very tidy and the SFX were better than the first one. I could have done without the musical numbers.

Drag Me To Hell (2009 - S. Raimi) Not as gruesome as I expected from the title and trailer. Clever script that bordered on comedy at times. An enjoyable watch although I was rooting for Justin Long to be dragged to Hell.

Angel Heart (1987 - A. Parker) A neo-Noir that took a dark turn in its third act. I don't know if Mickey Rourke's acting was great or terrible but had a presence on screen. His character was so dumb that everybody in the audience saw the turn a half hour before he did.

Anguish (1987 - B. Luna) One of my favorites from 80s grindhouse days. Its structure of a movie within a movie within a movie is very gimmicky but some of the imagery in the middle movie has stuck in my head for decades. When the credits roll, the camera slowly zooms out to reveal yet another audience watching a movie but that's just a flex.

The Body Snatcher (1945 - R. Wise) In spite of its title, this one was more of a morality play than Horror. While I found it dated and melodramatic much of the time, the movie was saved by some gorgeously lit scenes of darkness in pre-Victorian London.

 

[CGRdrJoe]

Finally got around to watching Top Gun: Maverick. Honestly I expected a lot less from this movie than what got out of it. Definitely took me back to when I was a kid when the original was released. I suppose that was the idea. The Top Gun soundtrack was one of the first tapes I ever owned and played it to death. I was not disappointed at all by this film. 4/5

A Top Gun sequel shouldn't have been that good. Even more so being was 30 years later.

username checks out

 

[Eephus]

Remaining Horror mini-binge writeups

The Demon Seed (1977 - D. Cammell) - Kind of a combination of 2001 and Rosemary's Baby crossed with the classic woman-trapped-in-house with a killer. In this case, the killer happened to be a massive 70s era mainframe computer. The villain's ability to control an early smart home is a cautionary tale for today. Julie Christie as the woman in peril added a bit of class to the whole affair.

Blade (1998 - S. Norrington)
Blade II (2002 - G. del Toro)
Blade: Trinity (2004 - D. Goyer) - A horror comic book series with loads of action. They were all entertaining in their own way but the first was probably the best. I liked how it portrayed the vampires like a typical movie criminal operation. The sequel benefited greatly from del Toro's usual visual flair. Number two was definitely the scariest but its storyline was the weakest of the three. The third one played things more for laughs downplaying the horror elements in favor of a more modern superhero movie tone. Wesley Snipes' character evolved from stoicism to wisecracks over the course of the trilogy while Kris Kristofferson's stayed more or less the same in spite of dying once or twice.

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948 - C. Barton) - Universal brought out all their horror properties in this one. Abbott & Costello have never been my favorites; their timing is impeccable but man it takes forever sometimes to set up their gags. A lot of scares in horror movies rely on the element of surprise. This movie required the audience to be let in this so they could watch Lou Costello get shocked by the monsters. For such a tame picture, I was surprised by how brutally they dispatched of the monsters in the end.

Nosferatu: The Vampyre (1979 - W. Herzog) - An interesting take on horror from one of the great humanist directors. The plague rats scurrying around the dying city was the most disturbing image of the entire month's viewing. It was shot much like a silent movie without much dialogue but sounds like footsteps and door creaks were critical to the movie working as well as it did.

The Mummy (1959 - T. Fisher) - A rather dull Hammer production hampered by a boring dim witted monster and a couple of momentum killing flashback sequences. It did have some interesting (especially for 1959) discussion about the British imperialist theft of antiquities.

 

[Ilov80s]

@Eephus nice list there, Angel Heart is a an awesome blend of noir and horror. Also sounds like I should check out Demon Seed. Sounds interesting and worst case scenario, I get to watch Julie Christie movie.

 

[Eephus]

Also sounds like I should check out Demon Seed. Sounds interesting and worst case scenario, I get to watch Julie Christie movie.

The Demon Seed is move sci-fi than horror. Christie plays the wife of the main scientist character; she isn't given a lot to do except act terrified. I don't think this film will be mentioned in her lifetime achievement award.

 

[Ilov80s]

The End of Shocktober

26. Them! ('54) Labeled as one of the classic 50s sci-fi/horror films, it has the Cold War nuclear paranoia symbolized through an attack of giant killer ants. Edmund Gwenn aka Santa from Miracle on 34th Street is great and does a lot of the heavy lifting here but ultimately, I didn't get the hype for this one.

27. Alligator ('80) I see KP enjoyed this one as well. It has a surprisingly good cast including Robert Forster and Michael V Gazzo (who didn't seem to switch up his acting style from Godfather 2 at all). It's a detective horror film and it has humor, personality and plenty of social critique. Strange combo of elements for a movie about a giant killer alligator living in the sewers but this truly works.

28. Alligator 2: The Mutation ('91) This is not as good as the original. This is actually not good at all. As a matter of fact, it's one of the worst movies I have seen in a long time. That is if you treat it as something serious. If you approach this with a MST3K mindset, you will bust a gut laughing at this.

29. The Omen II ('78) I appreciate the effort replacing Peck with Holden but the movie itself feels just a faded copy of the original.

30. Planet of the Vampires ('65) My first Mario Brava film. The production design is first rate. The lighting of the alien planet is so cool. I see shades of The Thing and Alien here. Pulpy and pretty is how I would describe this.

31. Eye of the Devil ('66) One of the strongest movies of my October. David Niven and Deborah Kerr are excellent in the leads and help create the perfect gothic feel. Sharon Tate is astoundingly beautiful and creepy. Young Donald Pleasence is super weird giving Uncle Fester vibes. Gorgeously filmed, impressive locations. This is a really top notch horror film, true A list. Just don't expect scary, it's more eerie gothic vibes about a French Nobleman hiding a dark family secret.

Well that is a wrap. About 2/3 new watches.Plenty of mindless trash but I do enjoy getting into the season for October. Now it will likely be a long while before I watch another horror movie.

 

[Eephus]

31. Eye of the Devil ('66) One of the strongest movies of my October. David Niven and Deborah Kerr are excellent in the leads and help create the perfect gothic feel. Sharon Tate is astoundingly beautiful and creepy. Young Donald Pleasence is quite creepy. Gorgeously filmed, impressive locations. This is a really top notch horror film, true A list. Just don't expect scary, it's more eerie gothic vibes about a French Nobleman hiding a dark family secret.

I've been curious about this one for a long time. MGM did a short publicity featurette "All Eyes on Sharon Tate" shot in conjunction with the movie. It seemed to be in heavy rotation on TCM to fill gaps in their late night programming.

ETA: looks like it's on TCM until 11/29. I'm glad it's not just streaming for a week because I'm burned out on horror

 

[Osaurus]

A Thousand Little Cuts

Had no idea what this was about going into it, but damn, it’s intense. The mind is a fascinating and scary thing. 4/5

WTF drinks wine before going out running?

 

[CGRdrJoe]

not a rental but the banshees of inisherin is a 100% must see. the cinematography was out of this world, the script is an A plus, i just saw it 3 hours ago and i’m already to go see it again tomorrow to figure out what i missed. Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell are ****ing amazing in this, I don’t remember the last time i laughed this much watching a movie that’s not a comedy

 

[falguy]

not a rental but the banshees of inisherin is a 100% must see. the cinematography was out of this world, the script is an A plus, i just saw it 3 hours ago and i’m already to go see it again tomorrow to figure out what i missed. Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell are ****ing amazing in this, I don’t remember the last time i laughed this much watching a movie that’s not a comedy

I'm looking forward to this more than any movie I can remember.
Gleeson, Farrell back together with the director from In Bruges and I am sold! Cannot wait!

 

[Bracie Smathers]

Was really looking forward to the Netflix version of

All Quiet on the Western Front​

I have to admit I was disappointed as it did not follow Erich Maria Remarque's story. All Quiet on the Western front is my all-time 2nd favorite book. I felt huge missing pieces of the story and did not think the new additions added anything of interest to a two-and-a-half-hour-long film.
The film features excellent cinephotographic shots but for fans of the original story or other adaptations which follow the book and look more like the trenches of WWI. The Netflix version felt to claustrophobic without the breadth and scope and feel of the original story.
It's not bad but it's not good and is long and is not worth a second watch IMHO.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

Where The Crawdads Sing
I had enjoyed the book and the film did a nice job of capturing many of the scenes and the loneliness of the main character. I recommend reading the book before seeing the film (usually I recommend the opposite) as it fills in some of the parts missing in the film, especially the ending.

Bullet Train
This was a lot of mindless fun. I liked a lot of the characters and it had plenty of humor. Pitt was good although his psychoanalysis talk got a little tedious by the end.

 

[whoknew]

Vengeance - Highly recommend this. Excellent story that is funny and sweet and sad. And some great acting performances. Really enjoyed this movie a lot.

 

[Ilov80s]

Saw The Banshees of Inisherin. One of the funniest and most depressing movies I’ve seen in awhile. My wife absolutely hated it, ruined her night. Just way too dark for her. Myself and the other 2 we saw it with loved it. We were all going to get a drink and watch the Michigan game after but my wife just wanted to come home after the movie- not in the mood for being out and around people. She’s in the bathroom doing some kind spa thing I assume trying to wash away the bad vibes. Never seen her to affected by a movie. So I didn’t like that turn of events.

 

[Eephus]

Was really looking forward to the Netflix version of

All Quiet on the Western Front​

I have to admit I was disappointed as it did not follow Erich Maria Remarque's story. All Quiet on the Western front is my all-time 2nd favorite book. I felt huge missing pieces of the story and did not think the new additions added anything of interest to a two-and-a-half-hour-long film.
The film features excellent cinephotographic shots but for fans of the original story or other adaptations which follow the book and look more like the trenches of WWI. The Netflix version felt to claustrophobic without the breadth and scope and feel of the original story.
It's not bad but it's not good and is long and is not worth a second watch IMHO.

I had similar feelings on this one. While I appreciated the technical filmmaking and thought it had moments of power and beauty, the film felt bloated at and two and a half hours. The entire subplot of the signing of the armistice belonged in another movie.

I'm usually not religious about staying true to the source material; books and movies are different beasts and tough choices must be made when adapting to the screen. But All Quiet is one of the best known books of the 20th century. The filmmakers kept the title, the names of the characters and a handful of incidents. I guess it took place during the same war as well.

I thought the German actor playing Paul resembled George MacKay from 1917 or maybe faces reacting to the horrors of the war just look like that.

 

[Eephus]

Confess, Fletch was pretty mediocre. It was a mystery and a comedy with an art robbery and a murder, neither of which made much sense. This flimsy setup was motivation to get Jon Hamm as Fletch to interact with a bunch of eccentric supporting characters for 100 minutes. I usually like this sort of laid back crime comedies but this one didn't do it for me.

It's possible that I just didn't understand the character of Fletch so I'm watching the 80s one with Chevy Chase.

 

[belljr]

Confess, Fletch was pretty mediocre. It was a mystery and a comedy with an art robbery and a murder, neither of which made much sense. This flimsy setup was motivation to get Jon Hamm as Fletch to interact with a bunch of eccentric supporting characters for 100 minutes. I usually like this sort of laid back crime comedies but this one didn't do it for me.

It's possible that I just didn't understand the character of Fletch so I'm watching the 80s one with Chevy Chase.

Agree, didn't hate it but it was meh