I finally was able to catch this...a year later. Or, maybe, a year earlier? One's sense of the temporal gets mightily mixed up here. (As Robert Pattinson says to John David Washington, "Does your head hurt yet?") Christopher Nolan makes a worthy follow-up to 2010's Inception - this is sheer exhilarating fun; a breathless espionage high-octane thriller, everything a James Bond film should be (well, it's maybe too science-fiction for Bond) - gorgeous locations, a master destroyer-of-the-world villain (Kenneth Branagh in high mustache-curling mode), a vengeful damsel (Elizabeth Debecki whose long, long legs almost come in handy when she finds herself trapped in a car moving high speed backwards [It makes sense in context]), and more action, suspense and intrigue that one can keep up with. (This is definitely a movie that needs more than one viewing.)
Washington is an immensely likable "protagonist," to use this film's terminology, and Pattinson reminds one of a "Denholm Elliot soiled Brit in a hot climate" character with his first appearance. Turns out he is hiding a lot of secrets that Washington eventually uncovers.
Ludwig Göransson's score adds to the thrills. It's "drone-y" but good drone with lots of unusual and unexpected sounds.
I usually roll my eyes at obvious sequel hooks at the end of movies, but I rabidly await more adventures of the Protagonist.
Joel McCrea is Confederate “Major Clete Mattson” who, along with friends, has stolen two million dollars in Union gold from a Colorado bank in order to buy war supplies for the South. He takes the gold across the Rio Grande to a Mexican free zone called Zona Libre run by renegade “General Eduardo Calleja” (Pedro Armendáriz), who has arms and food for sale. There, he meets the General’s less than amorous girlfriend “Carmelita Carias” (Yvonne De Carlo). Alfonso Bedoya plays his usual role as a colorful Mexican, “Captain Vargas.”
Despite a short 80-minute running time, this western seems to poke along, as Mattson and the General warily circle each other, each not trusting the other one. When Mattson finally decides to make the transaction, it’s unclear why he does it as a side deal with the General’s aide-de-camp “Baron Von Hollden” (Ivan Triesault) rather than with the General himself. There’s not much action in the film, but plenty of skulking around. Every time Mattson goes into his hotel room and lights the lantern, there’s some intruder in there.
According to Fred H. Detmers, Technicolor's domestic sales manager, in the June-July 1968 issue of Films in Review, this was the last film shot in the three-strip Technicolor process. The color is fine, but nothing out of the ordinary for a Universal western from this period.
Xebec... "The Dead Zone 9.5/10 A very good film. Excellent acting and a great score that really works. Some of the editing is a bit dicey early on, especially around the car crash. The stripped down story works in its three-act structure. Always nice to see Anthony Zerbe, and especially not playing a villain. It's interesting how late they leave the final plot line, though it's seeded throughout. The harsh Canadian weather looks suitably glum on film" ---------------------- I love this film too. Pretty much perfect. It really captures the feeling and spirit of the book. I remember being on holiday many years ago, visiting Niagara Falls and while bumbling around Niagara on the Lake, noticed the gazebo in the park and Johnny Smith's house (from the latter half of the film) and became convinced it was used for the film*. I didn't know, at the time, that a lot of the film had been filmed there, but checked to confirm when I got home. I was chuffed.
*I think I spent that day calling Carole 'Alma' and asking her if she liked the word GAZ-E-BO!
It was just a terrible, confused mess. Time travellers going backwards trying to miss later versions of themselves?? Please. I dont even think the actors knew what was going on.
It was just a terrible, confused mess. Time travellers going backwards trying to miss later versions of themselves?? Please. I dont even think the actors knew what was going on.
This is why for once I hope for a sequel - so this nutty world can be explored further!
Mark i thought this was an utter elip fo tihs. Worst movie in years and im annoyed i cant unsee it.
Really? I found it to be a great breezy thrill ride. What did you not like about it?
I just I wish knew what the hell they were saying about half the time!! For me an unbelievable colossal miscalculation on Nolan's part for making much of the important dialogue deliberately obtuse!! I'm still aggravated by it LOL.
I just I wish knew what the hell they were saying about half the time!! For me an unbelievable colossal miscalculation on Nolan's part for making much of the important dialogue deliberately obtuse!! I'm still aggravated by it LOL.
I usually turn on the CC for movies anyway so I don't miss any garbled lines of dialogue. So it helped getting all of the references to "algorithms," "inversions," and "temporal pincer movements." But really, for me, all of this sci-fi gobbledygook is just an excuse for the outrageously fun globe-hopping spy craziness.
This film tells the story of three executives of the GMX Corporation who lose their jobs during the 2008 financial crisis, as their conglomerate engages in several rounds of downsizing in order to keep up the stock price. Ben Affleck is a sales executive with two kids, a supportive wife (Rosemarie DeWitt), a Porsche and a large house. Chris Cooper is a 60ish executive with a wife who insists he keep up appearances for the neighbors, even after he is let go. Tommy Lee Jones and Craig T. Nelson were the firm’s founders back in the day, but now Jones is just a senior executive to Nelson’s CEO, and is cut loose after disagreeing with his boss once too often.
The men’s stories follow somewhat predictable paths, with scenes showing their struggles to obtain new jobs, their money troubles, and the emotional toll that a sudden job loss can take on a person. The film is well-crafted, but doesn’t offer any new insights in its tale of how corporate greed and the immediate demands of the market sabotage employees’ long-term well-being.
It’s not surprising that a mass audience wasn’t interested in seeing a film about the effects of the financial crisis just two years after it happened, when much of the nation was still reeling from those effects—particularly a film that focused on white, male, top executives. The $15 million production brought in just $8 million at the worldwide box office. And the marketing campaign for this film sucked, with a poster tagline that made the film seem like a comic revenge fantasy and a trailer that made it look like the feel-good movie of the year.
I was staying with my niece & we needed something to watch & have a laugh at, so it had to be...Tenacious D: The Pick Of Destiny. I think my niece had forgotten how rude it is, but her 16 year old son really enjoyed it.
“Jack Crews” (Patrick Swayze) is a New Jersey working man and a family man with a past. He’s just out of prison, working for a trucking company as a mechanic, when his sleazy boss “Cutler” (Graham Beckel) offers him a large sum of money to drive one load of bathroom fixtures from Atlanta to Jersey. Problem is, Crews lost his commercial operator’s license after he struck and killed a couple whose car had broken down on the side of the road. Crews was pushing his driving hours past the limit, and had seen “the black dog,” a trucker’s term for the hallucinations that can affect a driver when he becomes semi-asleep at the wheel. The subsequent manslaughter conviction is what put Crews in jail.
Crews at first turns down the job, but when he finds out that his wife (Brenda Strong) has been hiding the unpaid mortgage bills from him, he decides to risk it. Picking up the load from “Red” (Meat Loaf) in Atlanta, Crews starts back, with Red’s assigned co-driver “Earl” (Randy Travis) and, strangely, a follow car manned by “Sonny” (Gabriel Casseus) and “Wes” (Brian Vincent). That’s when the trouble starts, as the truck is pursued by both hijackers and FBI agents determined to get their hands on the load. And that’s when Jack finds out that he’s hauling a lot more than bathroom fixtures.
The rest of the film is one long chase involving multiple cars, pick-ups, motorcycles, and 18-wheelers. There are some great vehicular stunts, some spectacular crashes, and enough crosses and double crosses to sustain two films. You can look at it as a deadly serious SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT or as a forerunner to the FAST AND FURIOUS films. Swayze is stoic throughout, and Randy Travis provides some good support. At 89 minutes, the film doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Kevin Hooks (the young boy from SOUNDER) directed the film. None of George S. Clinton’s score appeared on the Decca song-track CD, which was heavy with country tunes. It’s a good, compact action film, with all the surprises in the stunts rather than the plot. All those destroyed vehicles didn’t come cheap, and the $30 million film failed at the box office, grossing just $13 million.
Why Go On Killing(1965) 7/10 With Anthony Steffen, Evelyn Stewart, Franco Pesce and plenty of familiar faces ( whom I can't be arsed listing). Gringo gets murdered by Mexican gang. Gringo's son deserts army to get revenge. That's the plot, to the point. Decently played by all. Filmed well. Decent pace. Plenty of shootin'. Though not much punchin' in this one, except Evelyn gets slapped around a bit( but doesn't talk). This one is enhanced by the presence of Franco Pesce( we like him in our house). He usually plays.the undertaker. In our house he's known as Des O'Connor! Music by Felice Di Stefano was good, would be worth a buy.
Eurovision Song Contest : The Story Of Fire Saga (Netflix/2020) 7/10 (8/10 if you're a fan of the Eurovision Song Contest) Predictably daft (Will Ferrell is in it) but surprisingly brilliant spoof/love letter to this European tradition of song, politics and buffoonery. At times, it's just as ridiculous as ANCHORMAN or BLADES OF GLORY, but it's relentlessly entertaining and fun. All the cast are perfect and the characters are various shades of silly and likeable (the Russian singer, played by Dan Stevens, steals every scene he's in) and the songs perfectly capture the catchiness and cringiness of previous ESC's down the years. Some nice score moments by Atli Orvarsson too. I even had a bit of a lump in my throat at the end. So much better than I expected and highly recommended if you don't mind huge helpings of silliness.
It was just a terrible, confused mess. Time travellers going backwards trying to miss later versions of themselves?? Please. I dont even think the actors knew what was going on.
Tenet is one of the 10 worst studio films of the past decade, amazingly bad, incredible how bad it is. It was a giant mistake by Nolan and the studio, it is utter garbage, and a pretentious mess.
Braveheart (Blu-ray) I haven't seen it for a few years. It's starts off a bit Mills & Boon, but once his wife is murdered & the killing starts, it's pretty good, if a bit clunky at times. The battles are fantastic, & I'd think that's where the majority of the budget went. Overall I enjoyed it. FREEDOM!
Quiet Place II aka "To the Bank and Back in 97 Mins"
Frightfully pointless and stupid. Only watched to hear what Beltrami got himself up to … which, as it turns out, is probably the only respectable creative contribution to the production.
Adam Brody is very good in this small Canadian film about a lad who was a successful kid private detective aged 12, solving local small crimes but is now 32 and a failing adult privative detective in the same small town. Then he investigates a murder.
It was much better than i was expecting. It has quite a downbeat tone that at the same time is gently amusing throughout. The score is very good. It hits on 60s detective type stuff, Ipcress type feel and Herrmann at times. I'd get a copy of it for sure.
