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07-03-2023, 03:07 PM
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I finally saw High Tension! Also known as Haute Tension, and Switchblade Romance, it had a nice twisty ending I did not see coming...
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07-05-2023, 02:12 AM
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 ..pretty brutal film too.THE GUEST LIST (2022). Very good REELZ doc (on TUBI) about the horrific Feb 2003 fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick Rhode Island that could have been prevented so easily if greed and foolishness had not been involved. Good interviews with many of the people who are affected by the tragedy; particularly Joe Kinan, who was the last survivor pulled out of the building. Despite the shitty hand fate dealt to Him, He shows how human spirit can prevail. There also footage of the event, so be prepared. ****1/2
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07-05-2023, 06:09 AM
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Run Rabbit Run, 2023. 6/10
Directed by Daina Reid  Possessor, 2020. 8/10 Directed by Brandon Cronenberg 
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07-05-2023, 09:41 AM
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Godsend 2004 ★½
Bla bla technology... bla bla bla cloning... bla bla bla they're going too far... Robert De Niro yadda yadda yadda But you yadda yadda'd over the best part. I mentioned cloning. No. All jokes aside, this one is not likely to pop up in any retrospective on either Robert De Niro or Greg Kinnear. Kinnear at least tries, but De Niro phones it in. Leash 2018 ★ Now I know what Otto felt like when he walked out of the stoner pot palace. Because this is flagrant false advertising. This is not about football. In fact, it's just background noise. A plotline that could have easily been dropped all together. That would not influence the story at all. For the lines between patriotism and xenophobia to be blurred (as the plot synopsis claims), you would need a story that's a lot more complex and layered and nuanced. Sadly, we don't get any of that. On the contrary. This is almost offensively simplistic. All we get is a stereotypical gang of racist Welsh women bullying a Polish girl. The waisters beating up on the good girl. 5 on 1 of course. At least, they realised that it would be too rich to have a Welshman complaining about a foreigner not speaking proper English. No revenge. Little or no pay-off. An ending with no rhyme or reason. You can undoubtedly do powerful movies about racism and how it occurs in football stands and what not. This movie did not do that. At all. Cocaine Shark 2023 ★ One of the first in a what will probably feel like a nearly endless slew of Cocaine Bear knockoffs. The main cop, Sonny Drebin*, wants to catch a dealer and stop him from selling a shark related drug he designed. When he should know nothing beats swank. Also, he immediately gets addicted to it himself. It's awesome. Yes, it's only 1 star, but I had a ball. I simply love this kind of trashy schlock. Between the terrible practical effects and the lackadaisical delivery – Yeah, we exist and stuff. Should we sound badass now? Whatever. – this movie has all the “qualities” to deserve a place in the “so bad they're good” lists along with other gems like The Room and so on. I love how their idea of tripping on drugs looks like an epileptic episode. Or how they managed to sneak in a Brian Pilman lookalike hostage taker. How do they overpower this mean machine? Super easy, barely an incovenience. Or the mere idea that the lead probably accidentally shaved his beard before the end of the shoot. What do you mean, you thought we were done? Oh well, guess we will have to work that into the story now. Somehow. *What else would you call with a Tubbs-beard, a wish for Sonny Crocket-toughness and a Leslie Nielsen-style voiceover? It's amazing.
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07-06-2023, 09:09 PM
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Casting Kill 2023 ★★
A case of the cover photo being more appealing than the actual movie. The idea of an id fraud killing actors is not that bad, but this needs a bigger budget to really have an impact. Now the few somewhat interesting moments drown between the unconvincng acting, the (mostly) offscreen kills and the forced, tacky ending. Not really recommended. Mukbang 2022 ★★★ Entertaining short with with a nice, albeit goofy, cartoonish idea behind it.
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07-06-2023, 09:09 PM
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Things Heard & Seen 2021 ★★★
For me, this was an overall entertaining haunted house flick. To call it truly memorable would be an exaduration, but it had enough going on to keep me invested. After seeing her in both this and You should have left, I hope Amanda Seyfried finds more solid haunted house scripts, because the genre does suit her. Alex Neustaedter is solid as the boy with the heart of gold. The movie also features Karen Allen and Natalia Dyer, but their talents are pretty much wasted since they don't get much to do. Of course, it follows the tropes and has no pretensions about reinventing the wheel. A decent style exercise can have its merits as well and this one does. Not sure about one thing, though: Was the husband posessed (perhaps by the killer from past times) or is he just a miserable character by nature?
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07-09-2023, 05:58 AM
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Good Bye Lenin! 2003 ★★★★½
This is a great example of the beauty of cinema in its purest form. From the premise to the cast, the characters and the emotions they portray. It starts with a premise... Be honest, as much as we all love this movie, try telling it without making it sound closer to Weekend at Bernie's than to Sophie's choice. Nonetheless, this is where the cast shines. Daniel Brühl dazzles you with his performance, showing just how far Alex is willing to go to keep the jig up for the sake of his mother. Endlessly searching for a pot of Spreewald which, to any Westerner, would now probably taste awful. Or the very touching moment in the library with Sigmund Jähn. What? So they all look at him like he is crazy, who cares? If this is what makes mum happy, then by gum, that's what we'll do. The movie is tsjock full of these touching moments: Alex and his sister meeting their father, or when Katrin Sass's Christiane confesses the deep secret she carries behind her facade of feistiness. And I cannot go without mentioning the scene where Kristiane leaves the building and is confronted with the changes of the past months. A very powerful image of somebody having the rug pulled from under them. Cinema magic at its best. You don't need words, since the images tell you everything. The secondary characters only add layers to the drama. Arianne who works at Burger King and fully embraces capitalism. Leading to a brilliantly filmed confrontation with her brother. Saying, without explicitly going there: Verdammt, this is not about politics, this is about our mutti, scheisse. Or his friend Denis, a tv repairman from the West with hopes of becoming a director. He willingly becomes a pawn in Alex's game as an East German newscaster, complete with that awful Rudi Völler like stache. Also giving the director an excuse to squeeze in nods to both 2001 and A clockwork orange, copying the speeded up sex scene in the most unsexy setting imaginable. Intentional? Because don't get me wrong: there are times when this movie is bust a gut funny. Like the bit with the Coca Cola banner and the ensuing fake news bit about Coca Cola being a socialist drink and all. (And yes, history has unintentionally added another layer to these images. But then I would digress.) Or the East Germans gathering in a sex shop. Holy crap, you mean this is possible here? Das kan doch gar nicht. It's not a political movie, but it does show you how the changes affected society. The bank scene with Ariane and Alex in my opinion highlights the contrast between the endless waiting in the DDR and the rat race in BRD. Sigmund Jähn and the professor fall from grace, breeding the kind of bitterness and resentment that perhaps help explain certain later developments in this part of Germany. Alex and his girlfriend Lara – magnificently portrayed by Chulpan Khamatova – find an apartment where they can move in. Affordable? Empty. The previous owner just split after the collapse of the wall. Leaving behind the moccha fix and all without blinking an eye. To hell with it all. Implicitly saying more than a pamflet movie ever could. Well recommended. For everyone.
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07-09-2023, 05:59 AM
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The Blackwell Ghost 2017 ★★
From what I understand, this sets up later sequels. I hope it picks up steam in part 2, because apart from one scene and a few special effects here and there, this was pretty unimpressive. Kristy 2014 ★★★★ Let's get the neg out of the way first. Yes, the idea behind the cult and their motives is laughable and ridiculous. And yes, that lifts some of the suspension of disbelief. Those who do that, would do themselves a disservice. And even they have to admit the whistling is creepy. Kristy is a pretty good horror with a home invasion motif (with the campus being her home over the Thanksgiving weekend). A good part in this is the lead. Props to the screenwriter for writing a main character as likable as Justine is here. You really want to root for her here, not in the least because of the great performance by Haley Bennett. A feeling that adds to the eerie moment in the shop. Another thing that this movie show off very well is her heroin prowess. With a lovely bit of foreshadowing at the beginning, hinting at her determination to get along on her own. Yes, she is scared. Who would not be when a gang is after you, being effective enough to kill pretty much anyone crossing your path. But this baby does not need training wheels. She is a certified badass. Show, don't tell. These people get it. Oh yeah, and it has a pretty high kill count too. That pleads for it too. Kristy, an overlooked gem that deserves more love and attention. Check it out.
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07-11-2023, 12:45 AM
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NOW MORE THAN EVER:THE HISTORY OF CHICAGO (2016). Very good documentary of the iconic band from the humble beginnings up to their induction into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Lots of footage of them performing and I was marveling at HOW GOOD Terry Kath and Danny Seraphine on their instruments (GTR and Drums) and HOW much the band lost after Kath's accidental (and stupid) death. The only complaint I've read have mentioned that the narration by members of the band (the four remaining originals also produced) tends to be biased. Perhaps, but We weren't there and several key members like Manager/Producer James Guercio, Donnie Dacus (gtr player after Kath) and most tellingly Peter Cetera declined to be interviewed. While I liked a lot of their singles, it really went downhill after Terry's death and the dominance of Peter and producer David Foster who came out with all sorts of goopy ballads (very popular ones) that just didn't make it for Me. Obviously this is for fans, but a casual (Me) or even non-fan will enjoy this. ****
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07-14-2023, 03:49 AM
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Goosebumps 2015 ★★½
We start with the typical single mom teacher and her son Zach, aka the star of Young Chandler. They release a load of monsters and Narnia-ish shenanigans ensue. This is a style exercise that comes with all the genre tropes: the silliness, a few groanworthy puns, an unfunny side character, a sad farewell, a happy ending,... But it's not all bad. Jack Black is good at this PG family friendly stuff and his physical comedy fits this type of film. Admittedly, this movie got a few grins and chuckles from me and Slappy had his moments. Not saying that this is geat, but I'm pretty sure that there's a lot worse in this style. Under the Shadow 2016 ★★★★ Let me be clear from the start: this is for fans of slow burns. Also, it's not just a ghost story. It's also about the horrors of war like taking care of somebody with a bomb right next to you ready to explode. Or the horror of being a woman in late eighties Iran. Where she can neither be a doctor nor go out without her veil. The Djinns come into play, but at first only subtly. At that point, the scares come more from the bombings from Iraq. They then slowly start to manifest themselves by taking prized possesions. First Dorsa's doll Kimia. In the case of Siheda, it's her VHS tape with a Jane Fonda fitness video. The only bit of rebellion that she has left. It all has this did you see something vibe, reminiscent of Amityville and Poltergeist. All build up to a final confrontation with imagery that hints at the dream sequences in ANOES. I liked this one for several reasons. Telling religious horror stories from the perspective of different religions is a nice change of pace and the djinns (seem to) offer very intersting storytelling material. It also weaves in the horrors of society, so it's not just the usual “the devil is coming for power” exposition. The acting is well done – though sadly, I have not seen these actors in other flicks yet – and I appreciate the fact that Netflix offers the possibility to watch this movie in Farsi. Not for everyone, but good and different.
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