movies

Barbie 4/5: The production design and costuming are real stars here. I like that the story isn't quite as predictable as you'd think it would be and it has good jokes. It's a weird comparison but I'd liken it to Solo Leveling, I don't really think it innovates all that much but it just does everything incredibly well

Wonka 4/5: My 3rd time watching Wonka this year. This movie is just like a little piece of candy, sweet, easy to consume, and reminds you a little bit of being a kid

The Long Walk 4/5: It's Hunger Games for dudes. It's done pretty well and I like the focus on emotion while adjusting its message to more modern problems

Miami Connection 1.5/5: I don't think the people making this understood how to make a movie. The acting alternates between flat while seeming to not understand punctuation and shouting without emotion. Now they were really putting their heart into the music and action so that buys them a few points

Death on the Nile (1978) 7/10

It’s saved by some truly great performances by great actors but kinda meanders through the story. Best part was me realizing Poirot was the voice actor for Prince John from Disney’s Aladdin.

Rad (1986) 7/10

Truly boring story/performances that’s elevated by a great soundtrack and really well shot action.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021) 9/10

This movie made me cry and really miss my grandmother.

Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold (1964) 7/10

Continuing my quest to watch them all (maybe). Was hoping for more considering the ratings but, while it’s a welcome departure from the formula, the plot is so threadbare. Only scored as high as it did because of Miyagawa’s cinematography.

Pale Flower (1964) 8/10

Pale Flower was kinda like the epitome of Noir. Super depressing, claustrophobic, a femme fatale, and a cool main character. Not what I expected and very understated compared to his other film I saw. Had higher hopes for this than it reached but still a solid movie.

AKA Charlie Sheen.

It was really interesting. Charlie Sheen like all the Sheens/Esteves have been a part of movies for pretty much as long as I have been conscious of the existence of movies.

It starts with illustrating about how he and his siblings spent a year on the set of Apocalypse Now, and it gets more wild from there.

I have always been indifferent to Charlie Sheen, he has been in a number of movies I love but very much like Tom Cruise that was I despite of him being in the movie. I am a huge Martin Sheen fan.

With that said, this documentary is really engrossing. The dude has had a wild reckless life and he has consumed huge amounts of drugs that would have killed ten other people. It was wild how honestly many of the people told their part of Sheen’s story and the most impressive one was Denise Richards.

I didn’t real know anything about her, other than how gorgeous she is on screen, but she is alright and a really tough person. As someone how has to live with an addict I really connected with what she said.

The naked gun

A thought provoking film.

My thoughts were "What the hell am I doing here?" and "Why did I pay money to see this?".

Maybe it's funnier when you're really drunk or when you haven't slept in a couple of days. Otherwise steer clear.

Sinners

Not going to spoil anything, it was quite a fun romp, if you enjoy music it used it's soundtrack better than anything I've seen recently. It wasn't nearly as violent as I expected it to be after the first minute.

I'm glad I went in without any idea what it was going to be about. If you're into scary, or enjoy your horror steeped and dripping with lore/history it isn't the scariest but it's a helluva ride.

Imo it's top 5 of its, very saturated, drama.

• Bacurau (2019): A small town in Brazil has enough to deal with and when the regional Mayor visits, he is obviously only there for the votes. Then things go from bad to worse and we get to see Udo Kier do his villain thing! Low budget action-y movie, but possibly worth watching for the non-standard setting and community.
• Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World (2017): If you have any interest in modern music, this is a must-watch documentary about Native Americans' influence on rock and roll.
• Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013): Young woman unexpectedly finds herself attracted to another woman. Hot sex ensues, but relationships are about more than that, as this movie details. If you don't like French movies in general, be warned: this is a very French movie.
• Bros (2022): Will two gay men do more than hook up? Do they even want to? Billy Eichner runs a verbal stream of consciousness about most everything his character encounters in this light romcom. Not great, but not horrible.
• Fire Island (2022): Gay men vacation and deal with their issues. More comedy than romantic, and an overall better film than Bros.
• The Nightingale (2018): The film hammers viewers with justification for what drives our heroes to get justice. Too many trigger warnings to count. Good enough film, but there are less bombastic versions of similar stories, so if the opening horrors are going to be too much, maybe watch The Piano or Rabbit Proof Fence instead.
• Dave Made a Maze (2017): Interesting concept, but skippable. Silly fun, though.
• The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970):This is not a good movie, but it tries. This was famed director William Wyler's (Jezebel, Mrs. Miniver, Ben Hur) attempt to deal with racism in the U.S., but its reviews were bad enough that he opted to retire rather than continue directing movies. Trigger alert: bad guy shoots and kills friendly dog.
• A Patch of Blue (1965): Blind white girl with horrid home life falls for a kind stranger. Alas, the stranger is a black man, and such things are scandalous at that time. Excellent film.
• You, the Living (2007): 2nd of trilogy that I'd forgotten to finish. I liked it so much I went straight into the third.
• A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014): 3rd in trilogy, but I was a bit disappointed having just watched the lighter 2nd.