This was a remake of Point Blank (1967) starring Lee Marvin. A lot of crime features feel the same, but Point Blank had an interesting tone and mood that I really liked.
The Movie Thread
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Thank you both for good descriptions of a bad film. I found it barely watchable and had to force myself to stay in the theater when it was released.
For some unknown reason, a lot of right-wingers think this is a good movie.
I enjoyed Blade Runner: 2049, but was also on a plane with nothing else to do for 14 hours. Eventually got around to watching the original, didn't like it as much as the sequel.
Long plane flights can be the best possible viewing for some films.
The original from 1982 is very dark, moody and depressing. It has some interesting elements and futuristic technology, but something like Alphaville (1965), which is also about a futuristic detective, has more suspense and yet doesn't feel like you bought a ticket in order be bitch slapped by a post-modernist, sci-fi, buzz kill.
For sure! These days it takes a lot for me to sit there and dedicate a couple of hours to a film, unless traveling and nothing better to do.
Blade Runner: 2049 was a lot more interesting, as well as being more thought provoking, but maybe that's just me... It seemed more hopeful as well, not nearly as sad or tragic.
Blade Runner 2049 made me realize that AI women are more loving and kind than real women. I loved the part when she whispered to him: "I always knew you were special".
Every man needs to hear words of encouragement like that.
There was a little French-Italian film from 1986 called I Love You starring Christopher Lambert, who was burnt out on chasing romance when he found a trinket in the shape of a woman's face that merely said, "I love you," and it was enough to satisfy him.
I don't recommend the film overall, but it illustrates the point of how much a few encouraging words can do.
Maybe AI dolls will pull this off.
Got around to watching Beasts of No Nation and I thought it was pretty good. I got the sense they tried to avoid making the boys look too much like monsters so you would still have a little empathy for them by the end, but otherwise it was well made. I also couldn't help but think how stupid it would have been if they had shoehorned in a white or asian kid for the sake of woke diversity and that reminded me of how stupid it is when I see something that's supposed to be clearly all-white have people-of-the-color randomly inserted like a Bethesda game.
Also watched a Mexican sci-fi, called Our Times, which was a complete reverse of Barbie, where the woman gets transported from her man-controlled world into a woman-dominated one and the man is the one who is "barbie" and suddenly out of place and grows to dislike it. When the shoe is on the other foot, as in this movie, the woman gets to live her full fantasy, of being a super-smart-you-go-girl-sexy-scientist-woman-of-the-year who has a good husband, she has a good job, and then it gets even better for her, she chooses her career over her husband, then she goes back in time to spend her retirement years with him again. Isn't that every woman's fantasy? To have the romance, the career, then romance again, and the whole time she's childless. Meanwhile, there's nothing redeeming about the man, he's systemically oppressive no matter what and clearly has no place in society (a complete revolt against all tradition). And yet, the portrayal of Mexico in the 60s made it seem like a pretty good place. I note the film didn't address the modern cartel culture at all, and for some reason whenever I watch Latin and South American stuff no one ever looks like they're authentically from the area, they always look like they're from the Spanish colonial stock.
Also watched a Mexican sci-fi, called Our Times, which was a complete reverse of Barbie, where the woman gets transported from her man-controlled world into a woman-dominated one and the man is the one who is "barbie" and suddenly out of place and grows to dislike it. When the shoe is on the other foot, as in this movie, the woman gets to live her full fantasy, of being a super-smart-you-go-girl-sexy-scientist-woman-of-the-year who has a good husband, she has a good job, and then it gets even better for her, she chooses her career over her husband, then she goes back in time to spend her retirement years with him again. Isn't that every woman's fantasy? To have the romance, the career, then romance again, and the whole time she's childless. Meanwhile, there's nothing redeeming about the man, he's systemically oppressive no matter what and clearly has no place in society (a complete revolt against all tradition). And yet, the portrayal of Mexico in the 60s made it seem like a pretty good place. I note the film didn't address the modern cartel culture at all, and for some reason whenever I watch Latin and South American stuff no one ever looks like they're authentically from the area, they always look like they're from the Spanish colonial stock.
Not a big fan of action movies, but once in a while I'll be in the mood for one on a Friday/Saturday night to turn my brain off.
I don't think I've watched a single Mission Impossible movie yet, but MI: Dead Reckoning: Part 1 popped up on my feed so I put that on. Gotta say, it was pretty damn good. The action and fighting scenes were incredible, albeit you do have to suspend your disbelief for a couple of them. 7.7/10
I don't think I've watched a single Mission Impossible movie yet, but MI: Dead Reckoning: Part 1 popped up on my feed so I put that on. Gotta say, it was pretty damn good. The action and fighting scenes were incredible, albeit you do have to suspend your disbelief for a couple of them. 7.7/10
Last weekend, I watched "Wind River". It was not too bad. Good solid writing. None of the woke crap in the movie.
This week, I plan to watch "Mr. Jones", a story about Holodomor.
This week, I plan to watch "Mr. Jones", a story about Holodomor.
Wind River was a good story, even if quite brutal and violent.
Note for the gun guys: Jeremy Renner's character is shown making handloads for his 45-70 Marlin lever gun, and his digital scale shows 500gr - a massive bullet!
Been on a Hitchcock kick because they're a few on Netflix (I've already seen Psycho and The Birds long ago, these are recent):
1. Rear Window - a lot better than I thought, a wholly unique film, and I didn't know James Stewart was in several of Hitchcock's films (I had only seen Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life).
2. Vertigo - Also a good film but slow at times. The real payoff to me was in the scenery and people. I could distinctly feel the America of old is truly gone and has been for some time. I can't get over how feminine women were. There is class and ladylikeness that doesn't seem to exist anymore, except in some wealthy women like Melania Trump.
3. Frenzy - Beyond the golden age of 50s America, this movie was in 70s London, which, while highly English, was sullied by how absolutely annoying one of the characters was, not just because I think he was supposed to be, but he reminded me of how annoying the boomers were in The Deer Hunter.
4. Family Plot - Terrible. Had to turn it off halfway through I was so bored. Movies from the 70s, even a Hitchcock film, feel like the nadir of American culture.
5. Hitchcock - A biopic with Anthony Hopkins playing Hitchcock. I was disappointed with this film. It was about the making of Psycho, but I found Hitchcock, the man, as portrayed by Hopkins to be annoying. I didn't care for the story of the making of Psycho, and they didn't make Hitchcock seem interesting as a person. He seemed autistic to me. I had to remind myself, just because someone makes good art or interesting film doesn't make them interesting as a person in everyday life.
6. They Cloned Tyrone - The first 2/3rds of the movie were good, the last act was boring melodrama. I couldn't help but think the whole thing was a metaphor about whites and blacks in America, and I bet to the left-liberal, they see the movie as a commentary on trying to whitewash and assimilate blacks, and cultural appropriation, but to me, I found the film to be a subconscious realization that blacks have been weaponized against whites in America (by the Jew, but Jews in the film are offscreen as if they don't exist).
7. Out to Sea - A Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau comedy. I like every movie they've made together (Grumpy Old Men, et al) and this was no exception. I wish more witty older men made films like this. In fact... are there any witty boomers capable of making clever stuff? Seinfeld's movie Frosted was pure garbage.
1. Rear Window - a lot better than I thought, a wholly unique film, and I didn't know James Stewart was in several of Hitchcock's films (I had only seen Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life).
2. Vertigo - Also a good film but slow at times. The real payoff to me was in the scenery and people. I could distinctly feel the America of old is truly gone and has been for some time. I can't get over how feminine women were. There is class and ladylikeness that doesn't seem to exist anymore, except in some wealthy women like Melania Trump.
3. Frenzy - Beyond the golden age of 50s America, this movie was in 70s London, which, while highly English, was sullied by how absolutely annoying one of the characters was, not just because I think he was supposed to be, but he reminded me of how annoying the boomers were in The Deer Hunter.
4. Family Plot - Terrible. Had to turn it off halfway through I was so bored. Movies from the 70s, even a Hitchcock film, feel like the nadir of American culture.
5. Hitchcock - A biopic with Anthony Hopkins playing Hitchcock. I was disappointed with this film. It was about the making of Psycho, but I found Hitchcock, the man, as portrayed by Hopkins to be annoying. I didn't care for the story of the making of Psycho, and they didn't make Hitchcock seem interesting as a person. He seemed autistic to me. I had to remind myself, just because someone makes good art or interesting film doesn't make them interesting as a person in everyday life.
6. They Cloned Tyrone - The first 2/3rds of the movie were good, the last act was boring melodrama. I couldn't help but think the whole thing was a metaphor about whites and blacks in America, and I bet to the left-liberal, they see the movie as a commentary on trying to whitewash and assimilate blacks, and cultural appropriation, but to me, I found the film to be a subconscious realization that blacks have been weaponized against whites in America (by the Jew, but Jews in the film are offscreen as if they don't exist).
7. Out to Sea - A Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau comedy. I like every movie they've made together (Grumpy Old Men, et al) and this was no exception. I wish more witty older men made films like this. In fact... are there any witty boomers capable of making clever stuff? Seinfeld's movie Frosted was pure garbage.
Rear Window is awesome. Grace Kelly has never looked more radiant than she did in that film. Just pure feminine perfection. I love the opening scene where she is kissing Jefferies, but Hitchcock was clever to show it from Jefferies POV so that it looks like she's kissing you the viewer.
Vertigo was indeed slower, but you do get to see more of what that 50s culture was like back then. I like the scene where Jimmy Stewart's character marches his love interest into the women's apparel section of a department store and tells the saleswoman what he'd like to see on his girl. Nowadays, you see men wait patiently in a store with no input at all, just tagging along like a puppy. It made me realize how much feminism has hurt men, because the men of yesteryear had a much greater say in their woman's appearance and behavior in public.
True. Even the way Stewart's character talks to the women in both of those movies shows how much has been lost in male confidence and dominance.
Rear Window is indeed awesome; Grace Kelly is feminine perfection. Over and above that, the host of characters occupying all the surrounding apartments are thoroughly entertaining, and I love how the background sounds and music are woven into the story (I believe the term is "diagetic"?). I watch it every chance I get.
Last two entries (probably for a bit):
1. The Man Who Knew Too Much - a lesser Hitchcock film. Not his worst, not his best. Definitely found my modern, dopamine-saturated mind struggling at times to pay attention. Doris Day was nice. I'm beginning to see why old-timers liked all those actresses from back then. I'm also noticing how much women had their hair up in something other than a ponytail and I began to get used to it and started to think things like: Day has a really nice neck.
2. Novocaine - A modern movie with Jack Quaid from The Boys. I felt they pulled this movie off. The concept kept it interesting, Jack was okay and not too goofy, and I was able to appreciate the fact the movie didn't have an over-the-top final act (I feel sick of movies that try to go all-out in the last act). It was nice to see how, while the character was capable of feeling no pain, it wasn't a superpower, and he was still trying to avoid damage if he could.
1. The Man Who Knew Too Much - a lesser Hitchcock film. Not his worst, not his best. Definitely found my modern, dopamine-saturated mind struggling at times to pay attention. Doris Day was nice. I'm beginning to see why old-timers liked all those actresses from back then. I'm also noticing how much women had their hair up in something other than a ponytail and I began to get used to it and started to think things like: Day has a really nice neck.
2. Novocaine - A modern movie with Jack Quaid from The Boys. I felt they pulled this movie off. The concept kept it interesting, Jack was okay and not too goofy, and I was able to appreciate the fact the movie didn't have an over-the-top final act (I feel sick of movies that try to go all-out in the last act). It was nice to see how, while the character was capable of feeling no pain, it wasn't a superpower, and he was still trying to avoid damage if he could.
I bought the Hitchcock collection a few years ago and they're almost all gems, highly recommended if you can get them on DVD/Blu-ray.
It does make you realize how far our culture has degraded so it can be a little depressing in a way but the movies are fantastic viewing with your wife/girlfriend.
It does make you realize how far our culture has degraded so it can be a little depressing in a way but the movies are fantastic viewing with your wife/girlfriend.
Huge irony being that Hitchcock was legitimately subversive for his time and ushered in the kind of disturbing violence in films that is commonplace today by pushing the limits of what could be shown. Particularly in Psycho. It's funny now to look back at HIM as some example of lack of degradation. Hitchcock films do not have a moral center - they are supposed to excite and titillate and shock. There's no heart in his films. I've seen most of them because I was hero worshipping this idea of the auteur genius. But when I think about soulfulness in film? It isn't there. I kind of feel the same about Billy Wilder. I watched most of his movies but then I realised this whole anarchic, nihilistic view is in his films. He was very 'modern.' I do think in his case the screenwriting was incredible.
I went to see F1 last night with my DAD. I have no interest in motor sport and overall I had a great time.
The story hits every beat you've seen before in a sports movie sometime somewhere. You have the arrogant rookie guy and then the grizelled older racer (Brad) tortured by his past. They have to overcome their arrogance and learn to work as a team (reminding me a bit of Ford vs Ferari). The whole idea of this 'zen' aspect of racting also reminded me of Senna. There were enough twists and turns in this 'team work' angle to just about keep me hooked even if the plot did feel a bit AI generated in it's formulaic aspects.
The real great thing about this movie were the race scenes themselves. They were high octane intense thrills. For me, with no idea of the rules, I felt I was learning a lot too about how these races work as I watched. And because it was all condensed into 'film' narrative I could understand the stakes of how the race events were playing out. When I try to watch F1 on TV, I never can.
The music (thumping beats) mixed with the editing and the visuals (fireworks, shots of different locations all over the world) was certainly a feast for the senses.
And Brad Pitt's character? He was an archetypal strong male lead in an old school cowboy John Wayne 'strong silent' type kind of guy who learned to adapt without diminishing his values or independence. We don't see that often.
From a Christian angle I felt there were some references to having faith agaisnt great odds as well as a yearning for transcendence in your life which seemed oriented towards the idea there is a spiritual realm. Sure it didn't discuss the Christian aspect but for me that's the next step.
It clearly didn't look like Brad was ever going to settle down and have kids with the career woman who was linked with. But overall, was a very enjoyable film.
Wait a minute here, you're criticizing Hitchcock here while enjoying and even praising the F1 film which truly means nothing to cinema?
At least I hope the flick wasn't as boring as the sport is these days.