red desert (1964) 2/5 mid-point comment:
this scene in this shack is filled with awful & annoying people laughing & laughing at what seem to be to be extremely non-funny things. i didn't time it, but this scene surely has gone on for at least 15 minutes and has to rank as one of the most irritating stretches of film i've ever seen.
final thoughts:
i am not in a bad mood at all today, but i truly hated this film. i didn't find it an interesting look into a woman's fragile mental state. i found it dull & dreary mostly, and the only times it wasn't dull were when it was annoying.
i found la notte a bit dull as well, but thought it was redeemed by its ending. here, i found no redemption, just endless seconds clicking off the clock until this onerous, endless affair ended.
hagazusa (2017) 3.5 lots of comparisons to the witch, and rightly so, but i also think there's a bit of similarity to ben wheatley's 'a field in england,' which also blends period drama & horror, but throws in some trippy drug elements as well.
i quite enjoyed hagazussa, & it was clearly a labor of love for those involved, but unlike the witch & field..., i did find it ultimately a bit lacking, didn't quite give me the complete, satisfying mental crunch that comes from seeing a complete story.
logan's run (1976) 3.5 i think it's universally recognized that we are allowed to give complete passes to films that played a billion times on tv when we were kids & are indelibly stamped in our memory.
i will never, ever try to make the case to anyone that this is a sci fi classic, but every time i watch it i have what i can only describe as a good time.
pieces (1982) 3.5 the more i watch it the more i love it. lots of fun kills. makes little sense, but in the fun no-sense making way. and lots of attractive women. maybe the best looking slasher cast i've come across so far.
a plea for help here: this movie has a fun 'funky town' rip-off song that plays around the 30 minute mark probably called running around. if anyone knows if there is a full length version of it available anywhere, please pass along that info to me.
slave girls from beyond infinity (1987) 3 it's exactly what you'd expect. alternatively fun/boring. attractive women, some nudity.
revenge of the mekons (2012) 4 fun documentary, more so a tribute to one of the greatest cult rock bands. i'd call them the greatest, but i reserve that top slot for the fall. obviously a labour of love, made with tons of affection. made me dig up about about a 1/2 dozen albums i hadn't played in a decade. also, i had no idea sally timms used to be married to fred armisen. weirdness.
retro puppet master (1999) 1.5 pretty dull. stars greg sestero of 'the room' fame. he doesn't embarrass himself. he's passably good as far as b-movie actors go i'd say.
rolling thunder review: a bob dylan story (2019) 4.5 dylan can seem full of limitless wisdom one moment, completely full of shit the next.
i was a little confounded by what was real & what was artifice here, but that pretty much is the story of dylan's career, i suppose.
the music is continuously great.
even lambs have teeth (2015) 2.5 rather light-hearted compared to most rape revenge films. there's no nudity, & not much focus on the rapes. the revenge kills are fairly brutal, but even then it skirts close to having an almost sit-comish tone at times.
i found the female leads almost unbearably annoying at times, particularly in the opening scenes.
insiang (1976) 4 sad, realistic look at life in a philippine slum. my second viewing. grinding drudgery of life in a manila slum is very well portrayed, but emotional reactions for me were undercut by a slightly melodramatic story.
all i need (2016) 2 you woman is imprisoned by a killer. the first 2/3s plays pretty well. verges on torture porn at times, but it's tense & reasonably creepy. sort of peters out towards the end rather than continuing to build, though.
unrelated (2007) 3.5 tom hiddleston is a good looking rascal.
it ebbs & flows very nicely, with a nice naturalistic manner, until there's an emotional climax that really felt terribly false & out of place with all that came before & after.
maybe this is the way women talk to other women in real life when they're at their lowest moment, but it made me very uncomfortable & caused me to cringe & look away.
lots to admire in it regardless.
long lost (2018) 3.5 silly but fun, twisty thriller. ending doesn't quite live up to the promise of what came before, but i had a very very very good time watching it.
toy story (1995) 5 my first watch ever. why? i don't know.
team america: world police (2004) 4 that vomit scene is the only stain on this thing.
it's complete fun from start to finish. except for that needless bit of gross-out business.
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[deleted]
5 years ago
secret sunshine (2007) 4 a widow trying to rebuild her life instead has it upended by more tragedy.
subtly moving, one of the best representations of religious belief i've personally seen in a movie, and overall just a great film about grief. would be one of the best movies i've ever seen if it wasn't so bloody long.
there was no need for this to be 140 minutes long.
toy story 2 (1999) 5 a dog-damned delight.
terrifier (2016) 3.5 if you're going to make a slasher, go full in. make it vicious & bloody & brutal.
this film gets things right.
the only reason i don't move my rating up to a 4 or more is because the foxiest girls don't stick around long enough for my liking.
regardless, one of my favourite slashers of recent years.
the hazing (2004) 2.5 some fun gore effects, & occasionally fun, but rather lifeless for long stretches, & it has a rather fuzzy, bland visual tone that made me not want to look at it.
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StoneKeeper (21186)
5 years ago
Toy Story: 9/10
Toy Story 2:9/10
Team America: I need to see it one more time but I remember loving it. 7.5/10
Terrifier: fun 6.5/10
Secret Sunshine looks interesting
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