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05-01-2024, 05:26 AM
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Escape from New York 1981 ★★★★½
The master Carpenter at work in this dystopian sci-fi action romp. With a bit of imagery that will probably have some audiences squirmish in the 2000s. Also, Doctor Loomis is now president of the United States. Carpenter went there. So the story is the template for a lot of dystopian sci-fi action flicks. Anything from Mad Max to Army of the dead if somehow indebted to Escape from NY. So in the near future, Manhattan becomes a giant prison where they somehow manage to capture the president (don't ask) and his only hope is Snake Plisskin, a convicted felon played by Kurt Russell. Russel oozes so much machismo and badassery here that it made me wonder why he was never considered for the Expandables-franchise. Carpenter turns this into a super entertaining rollercoaster ride with plenty of because of course he does-moments Plisskin landing on the roof of the World Trade Centre tower (the one where they put all the jerks) Plisskin stopping just at the edge of the roof a ring fight where Plisskin kills a huge bald fella with a beard Plisskin being coerced into the plot with a bomb in his body Needless to say, the entire cast is on point. Ernest Borgnine as Cabbie, Carpenter regular Adrienne Barbeau, Harry Dean Stanton, Lee Van Cleef, Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton, Tom Adkins,... And of course Kurt Russell as the shining star. They all know what their job is and they do it excellently. If you are a fan of action and sci-fi and you have not seen this one yet, look out for it. A Clockwork Orange 1971 ★★★★ I love this one. A surreal, dystopian take on society in a near future. Looks like something Black Mirror would take a cue from. I always enjoy hearing the language and the inflections in this one. Always manages to give it an extra cachet. The visual style makes it all the more thrilling, thus providing inspiration for thrill rides like Trainspotting and Natural Born Killers. Also interesting how Alex at first is not deterred by the violence, but it's more the presence of Beethoven getting to him. From reading other reviews, it would appear that the movie in fact has a bleaker ending than the novel. Making me want to read the latter. A clockwork orange. Timeless masterpiece.
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Yesterday, 08:49 PM
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Day of the Dead 1985 ★★★★★
Is Bub the most layered zombie performance in movie history?
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Yesterday, 10:22 PM
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One thing not really mentioned is the humor, particularly Alex's treatment of Dim, Alex's whining at his parents and particularly, his "rescue" from the Police-His reaction is priceless as is the use of the word "Well" WELCOME TO ARROW BEACH (1974). A Hippie girl (Meg Foster-those lovely eyes) becomes acquainted with a guy who lives nearby with his sister and at first, it seems to be nothing more than hospitality. Of course, things are not always as they appear.. This was Laurence Harvey's last film acting and directing, while being ill with cancer. It's more disturbing than anything else-one wonders what exactly is going on between Laurence and his lovely sister, JoAnna Pettit and not much goo, although there is a pretty nasty sendoff, filmed in a different fashion than You would expect. Some name performers help out and WTAB is worth a watch. ***
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Today, 04:06 AM
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Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers 1988 ★★½
Perhaps the first of the "diminishing returns" but still a fun watch with a young Danielle Harris, a few fun kills and rescue coming from drunk rednecks. Whou woulda thunk it?
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Today, 04:14 AM
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Magnificent Warriors 1987 ★★★½
A very entertaining 80s action flick. Looks pretty Hollywood with captivating, fast paced fight scenes and humour reminiscent of Hollywood action flicks. Last but not least: Michelle Yeoh makes for a great action lead and the comic relief is at least better than Joe Pesci in the Lethal Weapon-sequels.
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Today, 04:25 AM
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The Horror at 37,000 Feet 1973 ★★★★
Maybe it's the special effects, or the setting or the fact that it was made as a TV movie, but this felt like a precursor to The Langoliers. That said, it was quite well made and I liked the pace and the cast. Chuck Connors stars as the gruff pilot who for some reason does not slap anyone over the course of this film. Funnily enough, for later generations the bigger star in this movie would be William Shatner. Even though... his... delivery here... is very... un... Shatner. Also drunk bitter priest William Shatner is a-ma(!)zing. That alone is worth the price of admission, not to mention his bickering with his wife Rosemary (yeah, she has a different name, but I'm calling her Rosemary; you'll see why). Also fun to see Paul Winfield as posh doctor. Or the man who went on to play Jeremiah Smith as one of the leads. Very entertaining and well made for tv movie means. And it's on Youtube.
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Today, 04:26 AM
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Saw IV 2007 ★★½
The first entry in the Hoffman-saga looked better than I expected. In spite of the monotonous nature of torture porn - work out the trap and move on - the pace did not lag all that much or often throughout the movie's runtime. Costas Mandaylor and Lyriq Bent make for a decent villain and a solid hero. The convoluted soap opera-esque plot is both the charm and the flaw of this franchise. On the one hand, it's nice to spot the callbacks to part 3 and the elements hinting towards part five. On the other hand, it sometimes makes the story so convoluted it's not even funny. But... we came for the kills and they were as gory, brutal and mean spirited as you would expect with the demise of Eric Matthews as the "icing on the cake". And a well executed (but in hindsight predeictable) reveal in the end. In short, Saw is like Pringles: once you pop...
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Today, 04:47 AM
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For me, the visual presentation (the sets, the costumes, the language register,...) is key here. It makes everything else (the violence, the brutality, the whininess,...) look more cool than it actually is. We are supposed to feel sorry for Alex because of his screams during the treatment, but once you look past the surface level, you immediately realise he is not learning anything. If anything, it's as effective as the anti swearing chip from the South Park movie.
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