What classics did you see last week ? (29 Dec - 4 Jan 2020)
Jan 5, 2020 12:10:04 GMT
teleadm, wmcclain, and 3 more like this
Post by Lebowskidoo 🎄😷🎄 on Jan 5, 2020 12:10:04 GMT
Bullet Head (2017)
Adrien Brody, John Malkovich and Rory Culkin are thieves who hide out in an abandoned warehouse in which Antonio Banderas keeps his very angry pit bull. Sounds more like an action thriller, but it plays more like a drama, with intermittent moments where the characters tell dog stories from their lives. The cast are doing their best, especially Adrien Brody, and it has some gripping moments, but the whole dog fighting thing made me uncomfortable.
Awake (2019)
An okay thriller that will keep you watching, but I guessed the outcome long before it unfolded. Francesca Eastwood is the female lead, daughter of Clint Eastwood and Frances Fisher.
Black Christmas (1974)
Stalkin' around the Christmas tree!
What makes this movie work so well is that it's just out to make your skin crawl and nothing else. It digs down to that level where you should feel safe but something trespasses there and you'll never feel safe again. Someone hidden in your house is out to kill you? Yeah, that's just a great concept, and it unfolds masterfully.
Not to be lumped in with all the other quickie slashers that followed, this is a legit movie with atmosphere and pure suspense. Very little gore, it relies on creeping terror that builds and builds. It explains almost nothing, which is far more horrifying than having it all explained. You're left to imagine what and why, not having all the answers increases the creepy factor.
It's pretty basic filmmaking, and yet, it rarely has been duplicated properly. Obviously there was a lot of imagination, skill and talent involved all at once, people who wanted to make something great, and succeeded. Bob Clark and Roy Moore fought the studio to make this movie the movie it is, and not the movie the studio wanted. True artists. The ending is one of the most terrifying things ever put on film. I can't imagine this movie without it.
I can't recommend this movie enough. I saw it only once before, many years ago, so long ago I nearly forgot just how effective it was. I had to increase my rating because it is simply miles ahead of most thrillers made since and impressed me all over again.
Black Christmas (2006)
Back when I first saw this, I was just taken aback by how insulting it seemed to even attempt to remake a classic that didn't need remaking...and then to go off and make it crazy gory and in the absolute opposite direction of the original. I hated it.
Now, after rewatching the original and before seeing the newer 2019 remake (oh, Hollywood
), I find myself being able to separate this from the 1974 movie and just sit back and enjoy this somewhat sillier update for what it is.
This movie takes the bare bones of the original and builds on it, like Wile E. Coyote builds his latest Acme contraption. And much like those beloved Warner Bros. cartoons, it moves at a breakneck pace, very unlike the original movie. There's blood flying in the egg nog almost immediately and icicles impaling people left and right. Some of this was intended by the filmmakers, some of it was forced upon the movie by those wascally Weinstein brothers.
It served as a nice dessert after an exquisite meal that the first movie was. Nowhere as great a cinematic achievement as the original Black Christmas, but as a fun-loving gorefest for the holidays, it was okay and I now no longer want to return it on Boxing Day.
Black Christmas (2019)
THE GOOD:
* That bloody candy cane poster
* Maybe because it's so different from the other versions, I found myself never bored and a little intrigued for awhile
* The cat was cute and survives the movie
* Imogene Poots. I like saying her name out loud and she delivers a fine performance
* The lack of death-by-plastic-bag-suffocation scenes that the 2006 movie did over and over and over (and over!) in homage to the 1974 original
* That pro-woman attitude. Who doesn't love a strong woman?
THE BAD:
* Forgot I was watching a horror movie for the longest while, too long actually. A Christmas horror movie, in fact, which seemed not like a Christmas movie in any way either. It's sinful to set your movie at Christmas and proceed to not make it seem Christmasy in any way
* Cary Elwes. Fire your agent, you were in The Princess Bride for crying out loud!
* A remake in name only. There's no plot similarities other than young women being murdered. After that, it goes off in some completely rando direction. It made me think of the Paul Walker movie The Skulls more than the original Black Christmas.
* A weak slasher movie, being PG-13 sure doesn't help. I only hope people don't see this and hate it and decide never to check out the brilliant original based on not liking this.
* It makes the 2006 Black Christmas seem like the 1974 Black Christmas in comparison. Well, not really, but you know...
The Best Man and The Best Man Holiday (2013)
The Best Man was an okay dramedy, more drama than comedy though. It didn't impress me too much, but the sequel, The Best Man Holiday did what most sequels rarely do, surpass the original. It is an emotional ode to friendship and family. You're gonna need a bigger box of Kleenex!
Free State of Jones (2016)
The people of Mississippi have had enough of the Confederacy and the North won't help them so they fend for themselves. This movie flew under the radar it seems. It's truly great but doesn't seem to have much of a following. McConaughey is intense and Mahershala Ali is too. I would recommend checking it out.
Fragile (2005)
Calista Flockhart in a haunted hospital for children in England. An okay time killer.
Fractured (2019)
An engaging mystery thriller that really kept me swinging back and forth on where it was going until the end. It's nothing we haven't seen before but it's well told and Worthington seems on top of his game. Needed more Lily Rabe, but I'm just glad to see her at all.
6 Underground (2019)
Michael Bay needs to lay off the caffeine!
This movie makes Fast & Furious look like Driving Miss Daisy!!
This movie reminded me of a squirrel trying to cross a busy intersection!!!
It's crazy but I had a great time, the premise is fun and millions of dollars were spent to make it so you better enjoy it.
Booksmart (2019)
Booksmartis relatable, raunchy and a real riot! It's fun and sweet, you really relate to these girls. I was also the kid that showed up to parties and people were shocked to see me there, so I related to that.
Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein (Jonah Hill's little sister) are the modern day Ally Sheedy and Molly Ringwald. They are going to be huge. Billie Lourd is a maniac in this and nearly steals the entire movie. She deserves to star in a movie soon, and not just standing in the background of Star Wars movies. Olivia Wilde, was not expecting this from you, you have the directing chops, bravo!
Red Sparrow (2018)
Not the action thriller I was expecting, more of a spy drama, with several scenes of extreme violence here and there. It's long, and I guessed the ending correctly early on, but I would recommend this, it's entertaining.
J-Law's bangs were even more distracting than her Russkie accent, but she does carry the movie quite well. Matthias Schoenaerts looked like a mini-Pootin' which surely must have been intentional. Charlotte Rampling as head mistress of the "whore school" was not the kind of teacher who you bring an apple...at all! The dude with the skin shredding device was a great scary baddie straight out of 007!
The Fanatic (2019)
I really liked The Education of Charlie Banks, Fred Durst's movie directing debut, but this one seems universally loathed. I didn't mind it, except that it painted autistic people so negatively in some ways. It's entertaining and Travolta in character-actor-mode is something to see, he is really good. It all gets a little crazy at the end but the final twist was satisfying. It's not the worst movie of the year, it does crossover into that territory a little though. See it for yourself and make up your own minds.
The poster makes it seem like a suspense thriller but it's really more of a character study. Travolta makes the movie watchable.
Until next week...
Adrien Brody, John Malkovich and Rory Culkin are thieves who hide out in an abandoned warehouse in which Antonio Banderas keeps his very angry pit bull. Sounds more like an action thriller, but it plays more like a drama, with intermittent moments where the characters tell dog stories from their lives. The cast are doing their best, especially Adrien Brody, and it has some gripping moments, but the whole dog fighting thing made me uncomfortable.
Awake (2019)
An okay thriller that will keep you watching, but I guessed the outcome long before it unfolded. Francesca Eastwood is the female lead, daughter of Clint Eastwood and Frances Fisher.
Black Christmas (1974)
Stalkin' around the Christmas tree!
What makes this movie work so well is that it's just out to make your skin crawl and nothing else. It digs down to that level where you should feel safe but something trespasses there and you'll never feel safe again. Someone hidden in your house is out to kill you? Yeah, that's just a great concept, and it unfolds masterfully.
Not to be lumped in with all the other quickie slashers that followed, this is a legit movie with atmosphere and pure suspense. Very little gore, it relies on creeping terror that builds and builds. It explains almost nothing, which is far more horrifying than having it all explained. You're left to imagine what and why, not having all the answers increases the creepy factor.
It's pretty basic filmmaking, and yet, it rarely has been duplicated properly. Obviously there was a lot of imagination, skill and talent involved all at once, people who wanted to make something great, and succeeded. Bob Clark and Roy Moore fought the studio to make this movie the movie it is, and not the movie the studio wanted. True artists. The ending is one of the most terrifying things ever put on film. I can't imagine this movie without it.
I can't recommend this movie enough. I saw it only once before, many years ago, so long ago I nearly forgot just how effective it was. I had to increase my rating because it is simply miles ahead of most thrillers made since and impressed me all over again.
Black Christmas (2006)
Back when I first saw this, I was just taken aback by how insulting it seemed to even attempt to remake a classic that didn't need remaking...and then to go off and make it crazy gory and in the absolute opposite direction of the original. I hated it.
Now, after rewatching the original and before seeing the newer 2019 remake (oh, Hollywood
), I find myself being able to separate this from the 1974 movie and just sit back and enjoy this somewhat sillier update for what it is.This movie takes the bare bones of the original and builds on it, like Wile E. Coyote builds his latest Acme contraption. And much like those beloved Warner Bros. cartoons, it moves at a breakneck pace, very unlike the original movie. There's blood flying in the egg nog almost immediately and icicles impaling people left and right. Some of this was intended by the filmmakers, some of it was forced upon the movie by those wascally Weinstein brothers.
It served as a nice dessert after an exquisite meal that the first movie was. Nowhere as great a cinematic achievement as the original Black Christmas, but as a fun-loving gorefest for the holidays, it was okay and I now no longer want to return it on Boxing Day.
Black Christmas (2019)
THE GOOD:
* That bloody candy cane poster
* Maybe because it's so different from the other versions, I found myself never bored and a little intrigued for awhile
* The cat was cute and survives the movie
* Imogene Poots. I like saying her name out loud and she delivers a fine performance
* The lack of death-by-plastic-bag-suffocation scenes that the 2006 movie did over and over and over (and over!) in homage to the 1974 original
* That pro-woman attitude. Who doesn't love a strong woman?
THE BAD:
* Forgot I was watching a horror movie for the longest while, too long actually. A Christmas horror movie, in fact, which seemed not like a Christmas movie in any way either. It's sinful to set your movie at Christmas and proceed to not make it seem Christmasy in any way
* Cary Elwes. Fire your agent, you were in The Princess Bride for crying out loud!
* A remake in name only. There's no plot similarities other than young women being murdered. After that, it goes off in some completely rando direction. It made me think of the Paul Walker movie The Skulls more than the original Black Christmas.
* A weak slasher movie, being PG-13 sure doesn't help. I only hope people don't see this and hate it and decide never to check out the brilliant original based on not liking this.
* It makes the 2006 Black Christmas seem like the 1974 Black Christmas in comparison. Well, not really, but you know...
The Best Man and The Best Man Holiday (2013)
The Best Man was an okay dramedy, more drama than comedy though. It didn't impress me too much, but the sequel, The Best Man Holiday did what most sequels rarely do, surpass the original. It is an emotional ode to friendship and family. You're gonna need a bigger box of Kleenex!
Free State of Jones (2016)
The people of Mississippi have had enough of the Confederacy and the North won't help them so they fend for themselves. This movie flew under the radar it seems. It's truly great but doesn't seem to have much of a following. McConaughey is intense and Mahershala Ali is too. I would recommend checking it out.
Fragile (2005)
Calista Flockhart in a haunted hospital for children in England. An okay time killer.
Fractured (2019)
An engaging mystery thriller that really kept me swinging back and forth on where it was going until the end. It's nothing we haven't seen before but it's well told and Worthington seems on top of his game. Needed more Lily Rabe, but I'm just glad to see her at all.
6 Underground (2019)
Michael Bay needs to lay off the caffeine!
This movie makes Fast & Furious look like Driving Miss Daisy!!
This movie reminded me of a squirrel trying to cross a busy intersection!!!
It's crazy but I had a great time, the premise is fun and millions of dollars were spent to make it so you better enjoy it.
Booksmart (2019)
Booksmartis relatable, raunchy and a real riot! It's fun and sweet, you really relate to these girls. I was also the kid that showed up to parties and people were shocked to see me there, so I related to that.
Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein (Jonah Hill's little sister) are the modern day Ally Sheedy and Molly Ringwald. They are going to be huge. Billie Lourd is a maniac in this and nearly steals the entire movie. She deserves to star in a movie soon, and not just standing in the background of Star Wars movies. Olivia Wilde, was not expecting this from you, you have the directing chops, bravo!
Red Sparrow (2018)
Not the action thriller I was expecting, more of a spy drama, with several scenes of extreme violence here and there. It's long, and I guessed the ending correctly early on, but I would recommend this, it's entertaining.
J-Law's bangs were even more distracting than her Russkie accent, but she does carry the movie quite well. Matthias Schoenaerts looked like a mini-Pootin' which surely must have been intentional. Charlotte Rampling as head mistress of the "whore school" was not the kind of teacher who you bring an apple...at all! The dude with the skin shredding device was a great scary baddie straight out of 007!
The Fanatic (2019)
I really liked The Education of Charlie Banks, Fred Durst's movie directing debut, but this one seems universally loathed. I didn't mind it, except that it painted autistic people so negatively in some ways. It's entertaining and Travolta in character-actor-mode is something to see, he is really good. It all gets a little crazy at the end but the final twist was satisfying. It's not the worst movie of the year, it does crossover into that territory a little though. See it for yourself and make up your own minds.
The poster makes it seem like a suspense thriller but it's really more of a character study. Travolta makes the movie watchable.
Until next week...