Recently viewed movie thread - Rental Edition (25 Viewers)

[nightmare]

F1 is what IMAX was made for. Good movie. Did not feel as long as it was.
Great soundtrack. You get different viewpoints about what everyone is doing
to keep/protect their jobs and B Pitt comes along with a different strategy.

This is one of the elements that makes this more then just an "action" movie.

 

[Don Quixote]

Think F1 okay for a 9 year old? Some from the NASCAR thread may be aware of what I’ve posted about his affinity for auto racing. Rated PG-13 — from what I’ve read, profanity and some implied sex, but, if just implied, may be something that would go over his head. (I probably watched enough stuff with implied sex that went over my head when I was that age, and I turned out okay, I think.) But wanted to see.

 

[nightmare]

Think F1 okay for a 9 year old? Some from the NASCAR thread may be aware of what I’ve posted about his affinity for auto racing. Rated PG-13 — from what I’ve read, profanity and some implied sex, but, if just implied, may be something that would go over his head. (I probably watched enough stuff with implied sex that went over my head when I was that age, and I turned out okay, I think.) But wanted to see.

Yes, This is as much a drama movie as action so take that into account if they don't like movies of that type.
I'd say 50/50 mix action to drama.

 

[Ilov80s]

Think F1 okay for a 9 year old? Some from the NASCAR thread may be aware of what I’ve posted about his affinity for auto racing. Rated PG-13 — from what I’ve read, profanity and some implied sex, but, if just implied, may be something that would go over his head. (I probably watched enough stuff with implied sex that went over my head when I was that age, and I turned out okay, I think.) But wanted to see.

Yeah I don't see any issue for a 9 year old. It is very light on the romance. There is a scary crash as long as he is ok with that, he will be fine. It's a lot a lot of racing. If he likes car racing, he is almost sure to love it. And the plot is very easy to follow.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Yesterday we bailed after 20mins of Paul Blart and watched Toy Story 3 instead. Last week we watched Howl's Moving Castle. She seemed to like that one a lot and was interested in watching stuff about how they make those movies.

 

[Don Quixote]

Think F1 okay for a 9 year old? Some from the NASCAR thread may be aware of what I’ve posted about his affinity for auto racing. Rated PG-13 — from what I’ve read, profanity and some implied sex, but, if just implied, may be something that would go over his head. (I probably watched enough stuff with implied sex that went over my head when I was that age, and I turned out okay, I think.) But wanted to see.

Yeah I don't see any issue for a 9 year old. It is very light on the romance. There is a scary crash as long as he is ok with that, he will be fine. It's a lot a lot of racing. If he likes car racing, he is almost sure to love it. And the plot is very easy to follow.

Thanks to you and @nightmare. Yeah, I think he should be okay with a crash. He’s watched enough auto racing between both live and on YouTube to have seen enough of those crashes. He’s spent all afternoon watching NASCAR clips on YouTube while also playing a car racing game on his tablet. Will plan on giving it a shot.

 

[Ilov80s]

Think F1 okay for a 9 year old? Some from the NASCAR thread may be aware of what I’ve posted about his affinity for auto racing. Rated PG-13 — from what I’ve read, profanity and some implied sex, but, if just implied, may be something that would go over his head. (I probably watched enough stuff with implied sex that went over my head when I was that age, and I turned out okay, I think.) But wanted to see.

Yeah I don't see any issue for a 9 year old. It is very light on the romance. There is a scary crash as long as he is ok with that, he will be fine. It's a lot a lot of racing. If he likes car racing, he is almost sure to love it. And the plot is very easy to follow.

Thanks to you and @nightmare. Yeah, I think he should be okay with a crash. He’s watched enough auto racing between both live and on YouTube to have seen enough of those crashes. He’s spent all afternoon watching NASCAR clips on YouTube while also playing a car racing game on his tablet. Will plan on giving it a shot.

I don’t know if he’s also into F1 but the movie was made with actual F1 teams, filmed at actual F1 races. Like with Maverick they had to invent new camera technology to film the racing. It’s pretty incredible

 

[Payne]

Think F1 okay for a 9 year old? Some from the NASCAR thread may be aware of what I’ve posted about his affinity for auto racing. Rated PG-13 — from what I’ve read, profanity and some implied sex, but, if just implied, may be something that would go over his head. (I probably watched enough stuff with implied sex that went over my head when I was that age, and I turned out okay, I think.) But wanted to see.

He will be fine. You'll probably find him laughing in a few spots.

There is a 5 second kiss scene. Nothing major at all.

 

[Payne]

F1: The Movie- it's not quite Top Gun Maverick or Ford vs Ferrari but if you liked those movies, I bet you will like this one. See it at the biggest and loudest theater you have. Don't complain to me about this movie if you wait until it comes out on streaming to see it.

Saw it last night with my two daughters (21 and 19).
The sound, "commentary" and soundtrack were stellar. Action was fantastic.
But no, this movie isn't nearly as good as Top Gun or Ford vs Ferrari (much better story).

 

[Payne]

F1: The Movie- it's not quite Top Gun Maverick or Ford vs Ferrari but if you liked those movies, I bet you will like this one. See it at the biggest and loudest theater you have. Don't complain to me about this movie if you wait until it comes out on streaming to see it.

Sounds like the perfect basement home cinema movie

Sure. If you have a monster screen with Dolby ATMOS at home. Otherwise, I would suggest you see it at the movies.

 

[beer 30]

With a hat tip to @KarmaPolice, I watched Cleaner. It was much better than I was expecting and while it definitely has Die Hard vibes, it is not a Die Hard knockoff. I enjoyed it and would recommend, solid action flick with some twists to keep it interesting.

Also started A Minecraft Movie for some unbeknownst reason. I don't like Jack Black, not a big fan of Jason Momoa outside of action movies so not really sure why I started it So far it has not disappointed in disappointing.

 

[Joe Schmo]

Death of a Unicorn: waste of time and a waste of someone's money for whoever financed this ball of "so what". By the end of the movie there is nothing but a 1hr48m hole in your life that you will never get back. And it's frustrating because the premise held promise and with Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega as leads while NoHo Hank and Tea Leoni back them up you figure you have all the comedic acting chops you need to pull this off. Instead, the movie just meanders through a predictable and irritating setup that lands you nowhere but does offer penance to a character who is an otherwise awful human being throughout the movie as a cheap means of pulling at heart strings because someone figured we needed a happy ending.

Would not recommend.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Hard to believe that Apollo 13 is 30 years old.

 

[BlackCrowes]

Hard to believe that Apollo 13 is 30 years old.

i vunder vere Gunter vent!

 

[Don Quixote]

My Mom Jayne is great. Documentary directed by Jayne Mansfield’s daughter, Mariska Hargitay (known for Law & Order: SVU). Presents a different side of Jayne Mansfield than I knew (and that Mariska knew, since Jayne died when Mariska was three years old). First half is some strong reclaiming of identity, but it really turns it on with a moving second half — by the end, I think someone must have started cutting some onions in my house.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

My Mom Jayne is great. Documentary directed by Jayne Mansfield’s daughter, Mariska Hargitay (known for Law & Order: SVU). Presents a different side of Jayne Mansfield than I knew (and that Mariska knew, since Jayne died when Mariska was three years old). First half is some strong reclaiming of identity, but it really turns it on with a moving second half — by the end, I think someone must have started cutting some onions in my house.

Is this streaming? If so, what service?

I caught a blip of this one TV the other day but wasn't paying enough attention to know how it's being rolled out.

 

[Don Quixote]

My Mom Jayne is great. Documentary directed by Jayne Mansfield’s daughter, Mariska Hargitay (known for Law & Order: SVU). Presents a different side of Jayne Mansfield than I knew (and that Mariska knew, since Jayne died when Mariska was three years old). First half is some strong reclaiming of identity, but it really turns it on with a moving second half — by the end, I think someone must have started cutting some onions in my house.

Is this streaming? If so, what service?

I caught a blip of this one TV the other day but wasn't paying enough attention to know how it's being rolled out.

On MAX.

 

[Eephus]

Liked but didn't love The Phoenician Scheme. There's still Wes Anderson's style and deadpan humor but It seemed lighter on story than usual for a director who's often characters over plot to begin with.

 

[Ilov80s]

Continuing my 21st Century Film Fest...

Collateral (2004): Yo, homie this Michael Mann thriller holds up 100%. There isn't a moment of fat on this. Fox is great but Tom Cruise steals the show here playing very much against type as the gray haired hitman villain. I love Heat but this might be the best work of Mann's career.

Spotlight (2015): If you've seen my thread, you know that I think the Oscars got Best Picture wrong every year and so I don't think Spotlight was the best movie of 2015 but it's win was no travesty. So much of the magic that Alan Pakula captured for All the President's Men is present here. If for some reason you missed this when it came out, go back and give it a chance. Strong script, great cast and a story that deserved to be told the right way.

Green Book (2018): There is truly no way to wrap your head around how this won best picture. No matter how much you think my whole "the academy got it wrong every year" is just schtick, I am sure we can all agree the 2019 Oscars whiffed so bad choosing Green Book. This was my first time watching it and did I hate it? No, it's built to be so perfectly likable. The two leads telling this true story are charismatic and sweet. It's got a great message. It just feels like a Best Picture nominee from 1988. The fact this is what's being held as poignant and ground breaking and significant in 2019 is just lunacy. But I would still recommend people see it. It is entertaining.

25th Hour (2002): This was another first time watch for me and I did not care for it. Why was so much of the movie about trying to hook up with high school girls? Why was Tony Siragusa given so much dialogue? What was the point of it all? A real POS doesn't want to go to jail and one last ****ty night before he gets locked up. It was badly dated just reeking of early 2000s in the worst way. This was a big disappointment.

 

[Eephus]

25th Hour (2002): This was another first time watch for me and I did not care for it. Why was so much of the movie about trying to hook up with high school girls? Why was Tony Siragusa given so much dialogue? What was the point of it all? A real POS doesn't want to go to jail and one last ****ty night before he gets locked up. It was badly dated just reeking of early 2000s in the worst way. This was a big disappointment.

It's a film that's very much of a time and place.

 

[BLOCKED_PUNT]

So the other night I really messed up and watched a movie called Outpost. Had a 5.8 which is just below my normal cutoff of 6.0 and it had some positive reviews but guys it was bad.

I also watched Cats Eye, a 3 part horror movie with loosely interconnected featuretes. It was ok, my favorite one was the first one. (was this a made for tv movie?)

I very much liked Vesper though despite the less than stellar ratings (59% RT, 6.0 IMDB)

Defiantly skip the first one. Cats Eye wasn't a horrible watch but I don't think it's a must watch either (and it's 80's so many of you likely have seen it). I think Vesper is worth a watch though. Maybe it got a little long in the tooth and the ending is kinda eh (but I get what they were trying to do.) Still, I felt like it was a pretty good sci-fi film.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Collateral (2004): Yo, homie this Michael Mann thriller holds up 100%. There isn't a moment of fat on this. Fox is great but Tom Cruise steals the show here playing very much against type as the gray haired hitman villain. I love Heat but this might be the best work of Mann's career.

I think it is. I rewatched this a month or two ago and it still rips.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

My Mom Jayne is great. Documentary directed by Jayne Mansfield’s daughter, Mariska Hargitay (known for Law & Order: SVU). Presents a different side of Jayne Mansfield than I knew (and that Mariska knew, since Jayne died when Mariska was three years old). First half is some strong reclaiming of identity, but it really turns it on with a moving second half — by the end, I think someone must have started cutting some onions in my house.

This is so good. Well done by Mariska. Never realized how much she truly resembles her mother.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Vesper

Arthouse is arthouse even if it's sci-fi. If Lars von Trier and David Cronenberg wrote a one page treatment for a movie that Terence Malik would direct over a weekend, this would be the result

I didn't enjoy Vesper.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Continuing my 21st Century Film Fest...

Collateral (2004): Yo, homie this Michael Mann thriller holds up 100%. There isn't a moment of fat on this. Fox is great but Tom Cruise steals the show here playing very much against type as the gray haired hitman villain. I love Heat but this might be the best work of Mann's career.

Spotlight (2015): If you've seen my thread, you know that I think the Oscars got Best Picture wrong every year and so I don't think Spotlight was the best movie of 2015 but it's win was no travesty. So much of the magic that Alan Pakula captured for All the President's Men is present here. If for some reason you missed this when it came out, go back and give it a chance. Strong script, great cast and a story that deserved to be told the right way.

Green Book (2018): There is truly no way to wrap your head around how this won best picture. No matter how much you think my whole "the academy got it wrong every year" is just schtick, I am sure we can all agree the 2019 Oscars whiffed so bad choosing Green Book. This was my first time watching it and did I hate it? No, it's built to be so perfectly likable. The two leads telling this true story are charismatic and sweet. It's got a great message. It just feels like a Best Picture nominee from 1988. The fact this is what's being held as poignant and ground breaking and significant in 2019 is just lunacy. But I would still recommend people see it. It is entertaining.

25th Hour (2002): This was another first time watch for me and I did not care for it. Why was so much of the movie about trying to hook up with high school girls? Why was Tony Siragusa given so much dialogue? What was the point of it all? A real POS doesn't want to go to jail and one last ****ty night before he gets locked up. It was badly dated just reeking of early 2000s in the worst way. This was a big disappointment.

I still struggle a little with the Fox vs Cruise of the ending, but it's so damn cool.

I jumped from finishing up a silly theme last week with Drive and Collateral to this week being single word title movies. I also watched Tar the other night, and last night was Anchorman and Waiting... I have plenty of options for the week from Goon to Capote to Severance to Once to Machete.

 

[identikit]

Continuing my 21st Century Film Fest...

Collateral (2004): Yo, homie this Michael Mann thriller holds up 100%. There isn't a moment of fat on this. Fox is great but Tom Cruise steals the show here playing very much against type as the gray haired hitman villain. I love Heat but this might be the best work of Mann's career.

Spotlight (2015): If you've seen my thread, you know that I think the Oscars got Best Picture wrong every year and so I don't think Spotlight was the best movie of 2015 but it's win was no travesty. So much of the magic that Alan Pakula captured for All the President's Men is present here. If for some reason you missed this when it came out, go back and give it a chance. Strong script, great cast and a story that deserved to be told the right way.

Green Book (2018): There is truly no way to wrap your head around how this won best picture. No matter how much you think my whole "the academy got it wrong every year" is just schtick, I am sure we can all agree the 2019 Oscars whiffed so bad choosing Green Book. This was my first time watching it and did I hate it? No, it's built to be so perfectly likable. The two leads telling this true story are charismatic and sweet. It's got a great message. It just feels like a Best Picture nominee from 1988. The fact this is what's being held as poignant and ground breaking and significant in 2019 is just lunacy. But I would still recommend people see it. It is entertaining.

25th Hour (2002): This was another first time watch for me and I did not care for it. Why was so much of the movie about trying to hook up with high school girls? Why was Tony Siragusa given so much dialogue? What was the point of it all? A real POS doesn't want to go to jail and one last ****ty night before he gets locked up. It was badly dated just reeking of early 2000s in the worst way. This was a big disappointment.

I still struggle a little with the Fox vs Cruise of the ending, but it's so damn cool.

I jumped from finishing up a silly theme last week with Drive and Collateral to this week being single word title movies. I also watched Tar the other night, and last night was Anchorman and Waiting... I have plenty of options for the week from Goon to Capote to Severance to Once to Machete.

Only flaw for me, really

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Caught these the last 3 days

Braid - 2 girls almost get busted in a drug deal and go seek out their childhood friend for help. Hijinks ensue
Not bad not great some definite WTF scenes

Circle - a bunch of strangers stand in a Circle and keep dying and then start arguing about who should live. Lots of not so thinly veiled political commentary
Meh

Riff Raff - Bill Murray and Ed Harris are rival gangsters or hit men or something I don’t know I had a hard time following it
Jennifer Coolidge (somehow not annoying) and Bill Pullmans kid also star. Oh and Gabrielle Union
Probably wasn’t worth the $5.99 rental

 

[Joe Schmo]

The Monkey: To start with it's leaps and bounds better than that Unicorn garbage I watched the other night and while that is a low bar it made a difference. It's a Stephen King story which I was unfamiliar with and overall it was a good watch. Some minor tension and some laughs and chuckles appropriately placed, easy pace and the director didn't try to do too much with the material. If you're looking for an easy watch while darning socks, surfing or knitting you could worse.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

The Monkey: To start with it's leaps and bounds better than that Unicorn garbage I watched the other night and while that is a low bar it made a difference. It's a Stephen King story which I was unfamiliar with and overall it was a good watch. Some minor tension and some laughs and chuckles appropriately placed, easy pace and the director didn't try to do too much with the material. If you're looking for an easy watch while darning socks, surfing or knitting you could worse.

It feels more and more like this is the bar that's set for new release movies.

 

[El Floppo]

Long plane ride... Watched: Civil War, Flipside (doc) and rewatched Juno.

Had wrongly expected Civil War to be more political (why I avoided it originally). Decent, I guess.

Flipside was kinda sorta interesting study on midlife self-evaluation... at least kinda sorta eventually maybe getting there. Kind of.

Juno held up.

Oh... Also rewarchd Scott Pilgrim which was still awesome.

 

[krista4]

Flipside was kinda sorta interesting study on midlife self-evaluation... at least kinda sorta eventually maybe getting there. Kind of.

I watched this on a plane recently, too. I liked but didn't totally love it. There was a period in the middle where I got a little bored, but the parts with the jazz photographer and with David Milch made it worthwhile on their own, IMO.

Another I watched on a flight last week was Sing Sing. Now this one gets my highest recommendation. I can't even tell you if the story itself is any good (though I think it was?), because the acting was so phenomenal I couldn't focus on anything else. One of the best ensemble casts...ever? Many of them non-professional actors. And Colman Domingo in the lead is as good as anyone has acted in years, in any context. Holy crap.

 

[whoknew]

Has anyone seen a movie with Dbox? I'm thinking about going to see F1 with it. Is it worth the extra money?

 

[Ilov80s]

Has anyone seen a movie with Dbox? I'm thinking about going to see F1 with it. Is it worth the extra money?

I haven’t, sounds interesting and like F1 would be the perfect movie to try it with.

 

[KarmaPolice]

This morning I watched Extract and a little of Borat. Extract isn't the greatest movie, but I still had some good laughs and like his other movies Judge has great eye and ear for specific types of people in the workplace. I work with more people like the ones who populate this movie vs. the ones who are in Office Space. So many great actors and side characters in this one too.

 

[belljr]

Extract is underrated imo

 

[KarmaPolice]

Extract is underrated imo

I have huge list of movies from this time period that I remember the cover of, remember liking it enough to recommend to customers, but in 2025 remember very little about. Agree that most would get put on an "underrated" list because I don't see them mentioned much. These are the types of movies I love to revisit to see if they are as good as I remembered. Others I had just from my single word title theme were: Pollock, Serendipity, Monster, Primer, Syriana, Brick, Apocalypto, Once, Beerfest, Waitress, Teeth, Redbelt, Splinter, TransSiberian, Hunger, Bronson, Fanboys, Orphan, Mother (not that one), Moon, Cyruss, Hanna, Warior, Goon, Bellflower, Shame, Sinister, Dredd, Mud, Amour, Locke, Prisoners, Nebraska, Stoker, Foxcatcher, Chef, Calvary, Tangerine, and Raw.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Extract is underrated imo

I have huge list of movies from this time period that I remember the cover of, remember liking it enough to recommend to customers, but in 2025 remember very little about. Agree that most would get put on an "underrated" list because I don't see them mentioned much. These are the types of movies I love to revisit to see if they are as good as I remembered. Others I had just from my single word title theme were: Pollock, Serendipity, Monster, Primer, Syriana, Brick, Apocalypto, Once, Beerfest, Waitress, Teeth, Redbelt, Splinter, TransSiberian, Hunger, Bronson, Fanboys, Orphan, Mother (not that one), Moon, Cyruss, Hanna, Warior, Goon, Bellflower, Shame, Sinister, Dredd, Mud, Amour, Locke, Prisoners, Nebraska, Stoker, Foxcatcher, Chef, Calvary, Tangerine, and Raw.

Love serendipity

 

[BlackCrowes]

All in on Hail Mary, although I’m setting expectations low

 

[BLOCKED_PUNT]

Extract is underrated imo

I have huge list of movies from this time period that I remember the cover of, remember liking it enough to recommend to customers, but in 2025 remember very little about. Agree that most would get put on an "underrated" list because I don't see them mentioned much. These are the types of movies I love to revisit to see if they are as good as I remembered. Others I had just from my single word title theme were: Pollock, Serendipity, Monster, Primer, Syriana, Brick, Apocalypto, Once, Beerfest, Waitress, Teeth, Redbelt, Splinter, TransSiberian, Hunger, Bronson, Fanboys, Orphan, Mother (not that one), Moon, Cyruss, Hanna, Warior, Goon, Bellflower, Shame, Sinister, Dredd, Mud, Amour, Locke, Prisoners, Nebraska, Stoker, Foxcatcher, Chef, Calvary, Tangerine, and Raw.

I was just wondering who on this site really likes movies with one name in the title.

of those I remember liking Serendipity, Apocalypto, Goon, Dredd and Mud. Teenage/young adult BP liked Beerfest but might not like it as much now

didn't care for Cyrus much

Don't think I've seen the others though right after reading this post I was scrolling on Tubi and saw Chef in the leaving soon section so I'll check it out.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Men (directed by Alex Garland)
That was…interesting

 

[Eephus]

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie finally appeared on Max after a convoluted real-life backstory involving Warner Brothers' attempts to bury the film for a tax writeoff. I wished it was a more clear cut case of art triumphing over commerce but the movie isn't that good.

The plot is similar to Space Jam with Daffy and Porky (with Petunia) fighting aliens who inhabit the bodies of earthlings. There's not enough story to keep things interesting for 90 minutes. They keep the gags coming but most of them fall flat. The 2D animation isn't anything special either.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I watched the trailer for The Running Man. Oh boy, do I have mixed feelings....

 

[Andy Dufresne]

I watched the trailer for The Running Man. Oh boy, do I have mixed feelings....

Me too. It's a mix of revulsion and avoidance.

That movie is going to win ALL the Razzies.

 

[Joey Wright]

If anyone is around tonight at 8 PM/ET and wanting to test their Jurassic Park knowledge, we are having Trivia on the Footballguys LIVE! Channel!

LINK HERE!

 

[Joey Wright]

I watched the trailer for The Running Man. Oh boy, do I have mixed feelings....

I trust Edgar Wright. I too am a fan of the original... but us Wright boys need to support each other. Hah.

 

[Eephus]

F1: The Movie was a very entertaining package. I'm a lifelong auto racing fan who's seen just about every racing movie and this was definitely better than most. The action scenes were sensational and the storylines of the characters were believable in the context of a world where an old Brad Pitt gets called in mid-season to drive a Formula 1 car.

Nine year old me would have loved it.

 

[Eephus]

Movies I watched in July

The Satan Bug (1965 - J. Sturges)
Andrew Marr’s The Making of Modern Britain - series (2009 - multiple)
Four’s A Crowd (1938 - M. Curtiz)
Mountainhouse (2025 - J. Armstrong)
The Lost King (2022 - S. Frears)
American Fiction (2023 - C. Jefferson)
The Telephone (1988 - R. Torn)
Becoming Led Zeppelin (2025 - B. MacMahon)
Touchez pas au grisbi (1954 - J. Becker)
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) (2025 - A. Thompson)
Cromwell (1970 - K. Hughes)
Young and Innocent (1937 - A. Hitchcock)
Hitchcock (2012 - S. Gervasi)
Gospel According to Al Green (1985 - R. Mugge)
Wicked Little Letters (2024 - T. Sharrock)
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994 - J. Coen & E. Coen)
Captain America: Brave New World (2025 - J. Onah)
The Great Silence (1968 - S. Corbucci)
Escape to Victory (1981 - J. Huston)
Gideon’s Day aka Gideon of Scotland Yard (1959 - J. Ford)
Deep Cover (2025 - T. Kingsley)
Vanya on 42nd Street (1994 - L. Malle)
Our Betters (1933 - G. Cukor)
Cheaper Than Cheep (2025 - A. Zappa)
Fury (2014 - D. Ayer)
The Phoenician Scheme (2025 - W. Anderson)
Buffet Froid (1979 - B. Blier)

27 movies (actually 26 + a random history series) is close to my monthly record. Not sure what got into me but I went ham. I've already talked about Mountainhouse (meh), Becoming Led Zeppelin (loved), The Telephone (awful), Captain America: Brave New World (uninspired), Deep Cover (surprisingly good) and The Phoenician Scheme (just OK).

The Satan Bug is a silly 60s thriller about a doomsday virus stolen from a desert lab. It wasn't great but how can you not like a movie featuring Ed Asner, Simon Oakland and Frank Sutton? Four's a Crowd is a screwball comedy from the late 30s with Errol Flynn doing his best Cary Grant impression and Rosalind Russell playing basically the same character that she did in His Girl Friday. Pretty amusing but a tier or two removed from the classics of the genre.

The Lost King was a followup to my Richard III project from last month. It's a pleasant little comedy based on the true story of an Englishwoman who discovered the king's remains in Leicester early this century. Cromwell was another movie to accompany a book I'd been reading. Very traditional old school epic with Richard Harris devouring the scenery as the Lord Protector. Good battle scenes but kind of dull because Puritans aren't that interesting.

I watched three other music documentaries after the Zeppelin one. In Sly Lives, ?uestlove took a traditional approach with a lot of talking heads talking about Sly Stone. It suffered from limited footage of the subject himself but I liked how they broke down some of his music. Gospel According to Al Green is an odd low budget picture about the singer after his religious conversion. It cuts between Green performing at an Air Force base, him preaching at his church in Memphis and an eccentric interview. Green's an interesting cat, that's for sure and I'm glad that the movie exists. Cheaper than Cheep was Frank Zappa's shelved TV special from 1974. Incredible music but basically a concert film. I'm glad it exists too.

Two of my favorites of the month were Touchez pas au grisbi and American Fiction. The former is a superior French noir gangster film with a tres cool Jean Gabin trying to move the loot after an off-screen robbery. Long stretches of effortless style occasionally interrupted by action. I don't know how I'd missed American Fiction until now but we thoroughly enjoyed it and found it much funnier than expected.

Young and Innocent is one of Hitchcock's last UK films before moving to Hollywood. It's a typical Hitchcock plot with a falsely accused hero on the run. But even Hitch's lesser efforts are much better than Hitchcock, the biopic with Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren. I didn't get the gimmicky technique at all and found the whole thing phony.

I watched a couple of WWII movies. Escape to Victory (aka Victory) is the classic with the soccer playing POWs. It's corny and ridiculous but epically entertaining. Fury was like a violent road movie with lots of Nazi killing. It was ridiculous as well but I got tired of them by the end. The Hudsucker Proxy wasn't as good as I remembered. It had lots of moments but the story ran out of steam. Wicked Little Letters is a cozy comedy/mystery set in an English village in the 1920s that's enlivened by a hilariously profane script. If you ever want to see Olivia Coleman spitting filth, this is the film.

The Great Silence is a Spaghetti western directed by the other Sergio with a hero who is unable to speak. The movie couldn't overcome this but it had a beautiful wintertime setting and the excess typical of the genre. Gideon's Day is a John Ford movie I'd never heard of before. It's a light and charming English police procedural about one day in the life of a Scotland Yard inspector. Ford never made a bad movie and this one is pretty good.

And the movies kept coming. I loved Vanya on 42nd Street. It's a filmed rehearsal of Chekhov by actors in casual dress which worked to make play more intimate and accessible. The dialogue seemed strikingly modern and relevant for a 19th century text. Our Betters is a saucy pre-code comedy of manners about rich Americans trying to fit in with the English social set after WWI. It made me wonder how different the next 40 years would have been if the production code didn't neuter Hollywood. And finally I ended with Buffet Froid, a bizzarre Kafkaesque story set in the Paris Metro and La Defence. It was more pretentious than disturbing but Gerard Depardieu was a powerful presence in his prime.

 

[belljr]

Old Guard 2 is out

 

[Uruk-Hai]

In Sly Lives, ?uestlove took a traditional approach with a lot of talking heads talking about Sly Stone. It suffered from limited footage of the subject himself but I liked how they broke down some of his music.

I thought it was pretty good, but there's nothing groundbreaking about the film. Sly's interviews are archival (from the '70s), though there are more recent interviews from other bandmembers. I think it's a good primer for anyone interested in more than hearing a couple of hits for the millionth time.

 

[beer 30]

Old Guard 2 is out

Started a rewatch of Old Guard 1 last night to refresh. Looking forward to seeing 2 this weekend.