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WIENER DOG
Watched this dark and twisted gem last night.
Highly recommended if you enjoy detached, seemingly ambivalent snark.
It’s essentially 4 vignettes about death and mortality using the titular pet as a literary device to explore the somewhat morose subject matter. There’s a bit of existential satire tossed in for good measure.
RIYL
Of Horses and Men, Welcome to the Dollhouse
I highly recommend these two films from director/screenwriter Choi Dong-hoon, who is incredibly popular in his native South Korea, but I feel that he has been overshadowed by both Bong Joon-ho (Parasite) and Park Chan-wook (Oldboy).
ASSASSINATION
This intricate historical fiction thriller is teeming with great action, practical effects, and solid acting. The story can seem a bit labyrinthine, but once you succumb to its groove it becomes immersive and exciting. This is the type of epic film Hollywood has forgotten how to produce.
THE THIEVES
Choi Dong-hoon's 2012 film is a great caper flick that is a Korean/Hong Kong co-production.
The film starts out light and breezy like Ocean’s 11 and then gets hectic like The Raid.
Top notch cast, great story, and some solid action in terms of rappelling and gun-fu.
If you are a agave tequila mezcal enthusiast then Sons of Mezcal is a must see.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13805210/
Some interesting and mostly decent recommendations in this list from the NYT:
https://www.nytimes.com/article/best...zon-prime.html
Nice ^^^ list - thx!
This new series Dead Ringers is available starting 4/21...
https://www.npr.org/2023/04/19/11706...w-rachel-weisz
I love Rachel Weisz - when she plays a psycho, even better!
The original was pretty good, too! (Currently streaming on Peacock and Kanopy.) Saw it when it first came out, and liked it. Think I'll give it a fresh watch and then check out the new one.
Of course Cronenberg's not everyone's cup of tea.
THE ACCOUNTANT
I was pleasantly surprised by this Ben Affleck starring action thriller.
I'd place it in the same league as London Has Fallen, in terms of being a well-crafted, excellently paced, high-octane (and engaging) little thriller.
There are some genuinely nice twists at the end, many of which I didn’t see coming. What's more is that these twists all made perfect sense (and thus, I felt kinda “:stupid” for not having seen them coming).
In regards to being a pretty low-budget Hollywood action film, The Accountant manages to do what the similarly minded (and budgeted) Transporter and Hitman films haven’t: be a good, well-written, sleek action thriller that actually makes some sense, had great action, and didn’t feel watered down.
Sure, a lot of the story was cliche, but it all fit together nicely and just worked well.
.....And it was the perfect (maybe even the only role possible?) for Affleck!! An autistic savant!
I really liked this movie, and thought it was significantly better than the reviews indicated, but could have been my low expectations.
THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING
Given that this is the latest cinematic endeavor from George Miller, just be aware that if you go in expecting some Mad Max mayhem, well you’re gonna be disappointed; it has more in common with The Princess Bride than Fury Road.
To sum it up short: this is an adult fairy tale; think I Dream Of Jeannie, but way more metaphysical.
I dug it. The narrative structure is really cool, the acting from Swinton and Elba is solid, the pacing is even, and the direction is artfully restrained.
While arguments could be made that it succumbs to the “magical negro” trope, one could just as easily say it embraces the “white savior” trope, too. If such is the case, those two tropes pretty much cancel each other out. Personally, I didn’t feel that the film’s story succumbed to either.
Honestly, the film is more of a veiled “chick flick” bathed in neo macho accoutrements.
So, if you enjoy rich romantic fantasies with a dark and mysterious edge, then this will be right up your alley.
P.S.
I have not read the source material, so no clue as to how faithful it is…
RIYL
The Princess Bride; The Fall; 300; The Brothers Grimm
Loved it
Very much like The Fall
Cinematography was sumptuous
Mmm..mmm. That Eldris Elbow makes me moist
Deadloch
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1467167...m_0_q_deadloch
Laugh out loud funny
TAR
Sit back, relax, and be prepared to be riveted and nonchalantly repulsed by the story of a high profile maestro who is haunted, hindered, humiliated, and possibly humbled--though this last state is up for debate depending on your interpretation of the film's bonkers ending--by her hubris. Portraying the titular character, Cate Blanchett goes quietly off-the-rails in this darkly veined examination of the cult of personality.
The pacing is slowburn and deliberate, the plot is a percolating melange of arthouse melodrama, but delivered in a brooding and low-key manner. Underneath the surface is a strange air of mystery, which may very well be due to the minimal exposition; key elements of our protagonist's life are doled out sparingly over the 2 hour and 38 minute run time, keeping us in the dark as to her true self.
The film is perhaps unexpectedly prescient, too, given how it mirrors the current unravelling and cancellation of (Kan)Ye. It also tackles MeToo, albeit more as a tertiary element to the core story of an ego unchecked.
Blanchett is riveting and the supporting cast manages to keep their heads above the maelstrom she creates.
If you dig high drama delivered with smoldering intensity and keen camera sense, then this will be right up your alley.
Shiny Happy People
Holy shit. The Duggars are fuct and the organization they associate with is a Christian Scientology.
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Watched the first episode last night, thanks for the recommendation!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Pow
Saw a Tweet last week from Stephen King suggesting the show "From." I watched the first season and it was fairly decent. Not exactly sure where it's going.
When I went to watch the second season I found out it's on MGM+, fuck.
CLAN OF THE WHITE LOTUS
This 1980 Shaw Brothers joint is somewhat influenced by Jackie Chan’s seminal 1978 venture Drunken Master, but one can also see how it later influenced Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh’s 1993 gem Tai Chi Master.
It also features an appearance from Pai Mei, the killer monk who shows up in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol. 2, portrayed by Gordon Liu, who is the hero in this film.
Virtually non-stop fighting from start to finish, it features some great sets and plenty of furious fists.
I’M A VIRGO
The 7 episode first season of this series is visually mesmerizing, narratively innovative, and often brimming with familiar elements, but never fails to entertain and engage.
Injecting superhero and sci-fi tropes with a heavy dose of socio-political agitprop it unfurls like a twisted inner-city David Lynch mind-f%*k generously infused with nods to The Cosby Show, The Pink Panther, Oakland Bay Area hip-hop culture, comic books, and much more.
While creator Boots Riley’s agenda can seem a bit ironic considering he’s railing against the very machine that produced and distributed his show, the message is no less pungent. And if manifestos for social change aren’t your thing, he does a whiz-bang job taking familiar situations and creating a story rife with plot twists and bugged out imagery that teems with dramatic and magical elements that are engrossing and just enough left-of-center to keep even the most jaded of viewers entranced.
Given the ending of Ep 7, I sincerely hope that Amazon ponies up for a second season.
Discovered last night that Deadloch is being released weekly and I have to wait a couple of days for the final episode. :(
Not an amazing show, but a worthwhile diversion for sure.
The first two episodes of the latest season of Jack Ryan are out now.
So far it’s as good as the previous seasons, if you like that kind of thing.
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JACKIE BROWN
I revisited Quentin Tarantino’s third film last night.
When it was originally released back in 1997, I recall being underwhelmed by it as it’s considerably more sedate (in terms of violence and manic dialogue) than either Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs. And while it’s kind of a modern noir, it has this sort of quasi sweet innocence lurking underneath the grit and grime. It definitely was a far cry from Pulp Fiction, both stylistically and thematically.
But I gotta say, it holds up all these years later and I definitely appreciated its more subtle nuances this time around. There are lots of great verbal callbacks and the way QT utilizes the soundtrack is pretty awesome; I mean his choice of music is always great, but here it really accentuates the drama, creates uncomfortable tension (the final mall sequence in particular), and makes for a wonderful bookend between the opening title and closing credits.
I remember watching it in the theatre and thinking it was my favourite QT movie to date.
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Loved itQuote:
Originally Posted by Danno
Got the finale to watch
One of the best dramedy's I've seen in a very long time
Last episode of Deadloch was great
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AgreedQuote:
Originally Posted by MagnificentUnicorn
Fantastic
Kept me guessing to the end
And laughing
Different strokes, I liked Deadloch all the way through, but found the last episode somewhat unsatisfying. Too many loose ends and unexplained things.
But it wasn't supposed to be realistic so I still enjoyed it, and there were definitely some high points.