BONE (a.k.a. Housewife, Dial Rat for Terror, or Beverly Hills Nightmare ...)
3.5 / 5
From the late, great American autuer of exploitation and low-budget genre films, Larry Cohen, comes this blax-meets-white-spoitation cum home invasion cum socio/political commentary.
It's strange, bugged-out, hallucinatory, vulgar, and leaves you scratching your head just a wee bit (but it will also spark animated post-viewing discussion for sure).
If you dig whigged-out American films from the '70s with some wicked, violent humor, and sharp commentary on race relations, then this is an interesting watch for sure.
Classic American exploitation to the hilt.
Yaphet Kotto is off-the-nuts brilliant, too.
06-19-2019, 04:51 PM
dookeyXXX
Started watching this last night:
Kind of a detached neon noir that reminded me of an urban version of Twin Peaks, but without all the mystical/altered state stuff (it's still weird, though and there is an occult-styled underbelly, to an extent: hint, check out the titles of each episode).
Directed by Nicholas Winding Refn and co-written by him and Ed Brubaker, the latter of whom is best known for his hard-boiled crime comic books (though he's done stints on major hero stuff like Batman and Captain America).
Not sure how I feel about it after the first episode as it's very detached and everything seems to be really off-kilter and the acting veers from stilted/distant to over-the-top (Billy Baldwin is off-the-nuts crazy). But visually it's stunning, teeming with loots of hyper-neon glitz and crazy shadows and camera angles.
It's getting shit reviews, though (i haven't read any of them, just have seen the headlines...)
RIYL: Only God Forgives (the one NWR film that got really, really panned); Neon Demon
06-19-2019, 05:38 PM
EWG
Quote:
Originally Posted by Woodsy
Good Omens anyone?
Like it, dont love it, but worth the time.
Never read the book. I did read American Gods and Neverwhere.
With that background, I very much enjoyed it.
06-19-2019, 05:40 PM
bizarrefaith
Pretty excited to for Too Old To Die Young, not surprised it’s getting bad reviews. NWR is extremely polarizing and I imagine even more so over a 12-15 hour miniseries.
06-19-2019, 06:05 PM
dookeyXXX
Quote:
Originally Posted by bizarrefaith
Pretty excited to for Too Old To Die Young, not surprised it’s getting bad reviews. NWR is extremely polarizing and I imagine even more so over a 12-15 hour miniseries.
Rolling Stone headline is "Only God Forgives Too Old To Die Young"...I did not read the review, though. Being a former pop culture critic/reviewer, I prefer to watch/read something, formulate my own thoughts and then read reviews after.
I really dug Only God Forgives, but it got pretty universally panned upon release.
Again, first episode didn't grab me immediately and the tone is really detached and nonchalant, but the music (Clint Martinez) and cinematography and the slow leak of story, thus creating a sort of laidback cliffhanger, plus Billy Baldwin's bravura performance, kept me interested enough to invest in Episode 2...
06-20-2019, 02:34 PM
dookeyXXX
Polished off the second installment of Too Old To Die Young last night.
Still not sure where I stand.
It's a super slow-burn, that's for sure.
I only hope that all the drawn out drama eventually leads up to something really, really cool.
That said, it does lure you in with a lulling hypnotism sporadically blasted by some ultra-violence.
And it's damn purdy, in terms of the music and visuals.
On to Episode 3...
06-29-2019, 04:05 PM
dookeyXXX
Episodes 3 and 4 of TOO OLD TO DIE YOUNG were great.
Episode 5 was interesting, to say the least. Super violent, super cheesy, not sure how I felt about it after the fact. I'm still intrigued by the series because it is visually stunning and each episode gets better in terms of how NWR utilizes Cliff Martinez's electronic score (some episodes he doesn't use it enough, others he uses it too much...he (the director) still hasn't found the middle ground, imho). Episode 5 had a lot of cringe-worthy dialogue (specifically related to the use of the term "porn", which I feel that people in the profession wouldn't call it that, but what the hell do I know?). The acting overall, but especially in Ep 5, borders between nonchalant and stilting to completely over-the-top/off-the-nuts, which creates a jerky momentum between episodes. But, again, the whole thing looks purdy. I'm at the halfway mark, so will plow through.
RIYL
Only God Forgives; the original Twin Peaks
07-01-2019, 11:27 AM
dookeyXXX
Quote:
Originally Posted by PNWbrit
Frankenheimer knows how to film cars
See Grand Prix.
Holy moly is GRAND PRIX cool.
FWIW, it's on AP for $2.99 and totally worth the money to stream it.
Frankenheimer's race sequences are insane, floating between white-knuckled intensity and hallucinatory dream states. Lots of great camera trickery, too (split screens, kaleidoscopic multiplicity, etc.). The dramatic/romantic sub-stories are a bit soap-opery, but they also provide a cool dichotomy to the thrilling race bits. The extras (on the DVD), while not great, do illustrate how you probably could not make this movie today, just given the logistics, insurance, etc. James Garner did his own driving, too, which is nuts (he stated in an interview that after one scene where he crashes his insurance dropped him and he finished the picture uninsured!).
Thinking this would have been stellar to have seen in its original CINERAMA version...
07-01-2019, 02:05 PM
PNWbrit
Quote:
Originally Posted by dookey67
Holy moly is GRAND PRIX cool.
FWIW, it's on AP for $2.99 and totally worth the money to stream it.
Frankenheimer's race sequences are insane, floating between white-knuckled intensity and hallucinatory dream states. Lots of great camera trickery, too (split screens, kaleidoscopic multiplicity, etc.). The dramatic/romantic sub-stories are a bit soap-opery, but they also provide a cool dichotomy to the thrilling race bits. The extras (on the DVD), while not great, do illustrate how you probably could not make this movie today, just given the logistics, insurance, etc. James Garner did his own driving, too, which is nuts (he stated in an interview that after one scene where he crashes his insurance dropped him and he finished the picture uninsured!).
Thinking this would have been stellar to have seen in its original CINERAMA version...
I assume you've seen Le Mans?
Far better race scenes.. and the backstory to the production is incredible.
07-01-2019, 02:20 PM
dookeyXXX
Quote:
Originally Posted by PNWbrit
I assume you've seen Le Mans?
Far better race scenes.. and the backstory to the production is incredible.
Yeah, but it's been a long while.
Curious as to whether McQueen did LeMans because he passed up on Grand Prix (on the DVD they have an interview with Garner, who was second choice after McQueen, where he says that he and McQueen were neighbors. And that Steve reluctantly took his son Chad to see the movie. Afterwards, when he saw Garner outside his house he said "It was okay." Garner said that was pretty high praise coming from McQueen. :)
I totally regret not having seen Grand Prix back when I was a journalist and I interviewed Frankenheimer, though. Oh well.
07-01-2019, 02:25 PM
PNWbrit
I understand that was part of the motivation.
McQueen's son's documentary about filming of Le Mans is worth checking out too.
07-05-2019, 09:16 AM
dookeyXXX
Too Old To Die Young: Episode 5 was very uneven. Some genuinely cringe worthy dialogue, some super cheesy visual elements, but some off-the-nuts violence. It was almost a perverse comedy.
Too Old To Die Young: Episode 6 was awesome. Some seriously twisted psycho-sexual stuff is emerging with the Jesus character for sure. Also the first 20-minutes before the title sequence were great.
This mini-series has been extremely uneven, but always hallucinatorily captivating, both in terms of the sheer visual assault and the strange detached quality of most of the acting, which is blasted apart randomly by a few actors who are just over-the-top gonzo. The similarities to vintage Lynch are a bit obvious, but that's a tad bit of the charm.
07-20-2019, 04:48 PM
otto parts
Coen bros remake of True Grit.
Just terrific, even better than I remembered.
07-20-2019, 05:32 PM
dookeyXXX
Quote:
Originally Posted by otto parts
Coen bros remake of True Grit.
Just terrific, even better than I remembered.
I feel it is much closer in tone and feel to the original source material, too; Charles Portis' excellently droll novel of the same name.
*technically it is not a remake, but another adaptation of said novel; one much truer to the source material than the JW flick, fwiw. :biggrin:
07-21-2019, 01:34 PM
ThreeRidges
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyoverland Captive
“Fleabag” is hilarious. Rude and crude, make sure the kids are asleep before you start it.
This. Quite a twist at the end of season 1. Haven’t started season 2 but a friend gives it rave reviews.
Chick who writes/stars in it apparently has the pen for the new Bond movie!
07-22-2019, 08:49 AM
billyk
“Travels by Narrowboat”. This one is odd, but strangely addicting. Moves at literally a snails pace, but there is even a bit of violence for action seekers. I suppose it is an English version of van life. The last episodes of Seasons 1 & 2 are particularly worth watching, if you can’t sit through the rest of it.
07-22-2019, 10:07 AM
AK47bp
Fleabag is good
Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
07-23-2019, 01:40 AM
billyk
“Fortress of War” on Prime. Wow, just blown away by this movie. If you thought the D-Day scene in “Saving Private Ryan” was intense, you need to watch this one.
The film is about one of the earliest battles during the invasion of the Soviet Union by Germany during WWII. The film is supposed to be extremely historically accurate - and very bloody.
Here is a wiki page that gives details about the battle.
OOC, have you read the source material (i.e. the comic books by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertston)?
07-27-2019, 07:10 PM
mcski
Endeavor is on Prime. Easier to track episodes than hunting around on masterpiece if you want a good detective binge
07-28-2019, 09:35 AM
PB
Quote:
Originally Posted by dookey67
OOC, have you read the source material (i.e. the comic books by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertston)?
Nope.
With the exception of Frank Miller, I seem to lack the motivation to go back and read original comics/graphic novels for movies. I take it you recommending that I do?
07-28-2019, 11:46 AM
dookeyXXX
Quote:
Originally Posted by PB
Nope.
With the exception of Frank Miller, I seem to lack the motivation to go back and read original comics/graphic novels for movies. I take it you recommending that I do?
I am an on again/off again comic nerd. I swing by the local comic shops every few months to see what is out and buy a few things here and there based on buzz and established names whose work I have enjoyed in the past. Had the whole 90 issue run of The Boys and powered through it two weeks ago because of the show dropping.
They changed a ton of stuff, some works, some doesn't.
Some of the casting is off, imho,, in terms of how characters are portrayed in the comics. For example, I am not feeling Karl Urban as Butcher or the Hughie character. Also the Queen Maeve actress is wrong for the part, imho. Frenchie and The Female and Mother's Milk are spot on, though. They switched ethnicity on a number of characters, which really makes no sense to me (in the comics The Deep is black, A-Train is white). They added new characters not in the comics and got rid of others altogether (in the comics there is a character named Jack From Jupiter who is replaced with Translucent in the show. There is another character named Our Father in the comic who is replaced by Ezekiel).
Some of the changes I've really dug, others not so much.
FWIW, the comics were written by Garth Ennis (Preacher). So, recommended if you have read and enjoyed his other work and if you are interested in delving deeper into the world of The Boys.
That said, I powered through 5 episodes last night and like enough of it to keep watching, though I think I ultimately dig the comivs a bit more.
07-31-2019, 09:33 AM
PNWbrit
Peterloo.
Internationally acclaimed and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mike Leigh portrays one of the bloodiest episodes in British history, the infamous Peterloo Massacre of 1819, where government-backed cavalry charged into a peaceful crowd of 60,000 that gathered in Manchester, England to demand democratic reform.
