Room For Rent (2019)
A widow is forced to rent a room in her home to pay her bills. She has some mental issues and becomes fixated on her tenant. Things only get weirder from there.
Not a horror movie, not really a thriller either. It's mostly a character study, an observation of a woman who has been screwed over lashing out. Lin Shaye is brilliant in this role, both sympathetic and repugnant, depending on the scene. It's an insidious movie, no pun intended. It gradually crawls under your skin and into your mind. You'll never want to stay in an airbnb again!
Freedom (2014)
Freedom tells two stories at once. One about slaves arriving in America by ship and another about slaves escaping to freedom through the underground railroad, years later.
It's good, but not great. For such a sweeping story, it seems a bit dull at times. Then, there are the spontaneous moments when characters burst into song. Not enough to qualify as a musical, but they're in there, and caught me off guard a little.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
"You still wake up sometimes, don't you? You wake up in the dark and hear the screaming of the lambs?"
The Silence of the Lambs is the big daddy of all serial killer movies, the one that all others aspire towards. It's a fascinating, mesmerising and almost spiritually thought-provoking movie that works on so many levels. Watching it again, it hits those same levels and more. It's been years, but I still knew every line that was coming next. This movie exists in my brain, more than I realized. I read the novel years ago, it's the only Thomas Harris novel adaptation that comes so close to his own writing.
What struck me then, and again upon rewatching it, is the absolute horror of the inhumanity towards the victims. That funeral home scene makes you want to break down and cry at the total disregard for human life. The townspeople are not sure what to do or how to act and Clarice is obviously shook to her core. Such an epic human moment in what could have been just another thriller out to offer up cheap thrills.
Jodie Foster plays Clarice as a haunted but determined woman who wants to succeed in her field. She's more intelligent than the average person is aware of, but not Hannibal Lecter. He sees her for what she is, he sees everyone for what they are. Never before has there been such a super intelligent but horrifying movie character, and Hopkins sealed his legendary Hollywood status with his skilled portrayal. Lecter is terrifying, and has done unspeakable things, but also seems to have just the tiniest bit of goodness in him. He seems to work through his own demons by listening to the demons of others...what other reason could there be? He's not only two steps ahead of all the other characters, he's the puppet master of all of them. These two together created movie magic. Even though their screen time together is limited, it was so good that it became a phenomenon.
There is no shortage of great performances in this movie. Ted Levine as Buffalo Bill gives off such heebie-jeebies that, even all these years and roles later, he still weirds me out. He will forever be Buffalo Bill. I can't ever use lotion without thinking of him!
Brooke Smith as Catherine Martin is just perfect as the terrorized captive. When she sees that blood on the wall and realizes something bad has already happened to someone down here and screams, pure visceral terror courses through your nervous system. I knew it was coming, but it happens everytime.
Anthony Heald as Dr. Chilton is excellent as the smug, self-serving head of the psychiatric hospital. Just a sleaze dressed up in bad suits, out for himself and not to treat his patients. He has such a punch-worthy face.
Jonathan Demme, who is at peak directing power here, scattered in so many of his friends and colleges in cameo roles, it's fun spotting them all as a film buff. I met Chris Isaak once, and kicked myself afterwards for not grilling him about
The Silence of the Lambs.
The Silence of the Lambs is so masterfully assembled that it still is riveting today, even knowing every beat of the story, having seen it all before.
"I'm having an old friend for dinner..."
Boundaries (2018)
Road trip movie about a dedicated dog lover and her awkward teenage son driving to Los Angeles with her elderly father, who was recently expelled from his nursing home for selling weed.
It's a fun premise that never fully leans towards either complete comedy or full-on drama. It lands somewhere in the middle, like life, I suppose.
Christopher Plummer and Vera Farmiga work well together as the father/daughter trying to work out their issues, and young Lewis MacDougall as Henry is great too, as the most sane member of this family.
Boundaries could have been so much more, but I did enjoy it for what it is, a fun, bittersweet slice of life.
Remember (2015)
Remember is an absolutely astounding movie from Canadian director, Atom Egoyan. Christopher Plummer plays a man in a rest home with dementia who plots to kill the Nazi guard responsible for his family's deaths at Auschwitz.
Every scene advances the intrigue, like layers of an onion getting peeled, it moves forward and you are captivated by this story. I won't give anything away, but this has one of the greatest twists I've seen in a long, long time.
Christopher Plummer, still at the top of his game, is heartbreaking and heartwarming, just dynamite. Martin Landau is too, in a smaller supporting role. Great to see older actors getting parts worthy of their talents.
The Last Full Measure (2019)
Based on the real-life heroic sacrifice of William H. Pitsenbarger, Jr. during the Vietnam war, and the thirty four year struggle to get him awarded the U.S. Air Force Medal of Honor.
The Last Full Measure is a valiant attempt to tell Pitsenbarger's story, and the story of his family and fellow soliders and their guilt over his death and their long road to honoring him. The movie has some very effective moments, it does get a little dull from time to time though.
The cast on this thing! Jeremy Irvine (destined for stardom) and Sebastian Stan (finally, a lead role) carry the story, but it's the impressive supporting cast that really catches your attention.
Final film appearance of Peter Fonda and Christopher Plummer, both really deliver excellence here. R.I.P.
Aces High (1976)
An extremely green but brave young rookie soldier (Peter Firth) is stationed with the Royal Air Corps in France during World War I. All of the men are close and have great camaraderie and with one exception, look forward to the fight. There 's a lot of humor and good times when they're not off risking their lives in the sky for their country. The flying scenes are very well done. It's all very British, well, it is their story.
Malcolm McDowell, Simon Ward, Peter Firth and Christopher Plummer (no wonder people thought he was British) all do a great job of making you care for each one of these soldiers. Ray Milland, John Gielgud and Trevor Howard pop up for a few brief moments to add some more class.
Aces High was an enjoyable movie. It has gravitas and good fun. I suppose it's like the war itself. You had some fun when you could because you never knew when it could all be over for you.
Conduct Unbecoming (1975)
British soldiers stationed in colonial India must contend with an attack on a hero's widow, possibly by one of their own men.
Conduct Unbecoming is based on a play by Barry England and features an impressive British cast, plus Christopher Plummer (Canadian) and, surprisingly, Stacy Keach (American), doing very impressive accents here.
It feels very much like a play, in that it doesn't travel very far from the one set, but the story distracts you from all that. It has the potential to be even more than it is, perhaps one day there will be a remake with more meat on its bones.
Starcrash (1978)
"A galactic adventure beyond your wildest dreams!"
Holy space sprockets! What do we have here?
Starcrash has to be the worst attempt at science fiction of all time! It's an abomination that makes
Spaceballs seem like
Interstellar by comparison! Having said that, this movie is so bad it's great! I loved every minute of this space junk. Fans of bad movies, this is your new obsession!
Starcrash began as some Italian
Star Wars ripoff, only without the talent
Star Wars had. Cringe at the dialogue that sounds like it was made up on the playground by ten year olds! Wince at the outer space special effects that will remind you of the Lite-Brite you got for Christmas as a kid! Marvel at the futuristic space fashions that wouldn't look out of place in a music video from 1983! Listen in awe at the soundtrack by the legendary John Barry, YES, JOHN BARRY! He must have been blackmailed or deceived in some manner, that's all I can figure.
I have to give
Starcrash some credit for centering their story around a female hero, the hilariously named "Stella Star" played by Caroline Munro (who is dubbed by an American voice for some reason). Stella is a space smuggler with an array of costumes. She can even switch from a plastic see-through suit to an aluminum one-piece bathing suit from one scene to the next without explanation.
Stella's smuggling companion, is Akton (Marjoe Gortner), who looks human but is some kind of alien with a huge 70's blond perm and some leather one-piece outfits, plus some kind of space powers or something. Gortner is not a great actor, which is probably why you don't see him anymore.
Joe Spinell plays Count Zarth Arn, in what can only be described as the ultimate ham performance of all time. I've seen some scenery chewers in my time, but this guy is on a whole other level. He's like Snidely Whiplash on cocaine in space! From his muhuhuhuhaaa maniacal laugh to his repeating "KILL! KILL!" to his henchmen, this guy belongs in his own category.
Christopher Plummer (dude, why?) plays the emperor of all outer space and David Hasselhoff is his son, Prince Simon, complete with leather outfit and black eye shadow.
Stella also has a robot companion named Elle with the voice of a southern redneck and the appearance of some sort of self-pleasuring device women keep in their nightstands. Elle, which implies a female, sounds male and is played by Judd Hamilton but voiced by Hamilton Camp. That's a lot of Hamiltons.
Starcrash sounds terrible, and it is, but it was also very watchable. I had a great time and couldn't wait to see what weird thing would happen next. It's such a unique mess, that entertains, but not for the reasons initially intended.
"Well, it's done. It's happened. The stars are clear. The planets shine. We've won. Oh, some dark force, no doubt, will show it's face once more. The wheel will always turn; but for now it's calm. And for a little time, at least, we can rest." - The Emperor (Christopher Plummer)
Firehead (1991)
Something about a Soviet cyborg, who can shoot lasers from his eyes, trying to defect and some secret organization that wants to use him to take over the world. Good gravy, the things I do for Christopher Plummer. And here I assumed that
Starcrash would be the worst Christopher Plummer movie I would see all week. Nope.
The entire thing is as bland as boiled cabbage. It reminded me of some random syndicated TV show from the same period that wants to be exciting but just isn't. Chris Lemmon, son of Jack, is over the top in every scene, but at least he brings some life to this unremarkable enterprise, everyone else seems to be in cyborg-mode themselves. Not sure why Plummer and Martin Landau agreed to be in this, I guess this was the storm before the calm in both of their careers.
It's boring as can be, but luckily, I watched it with the RiffTrax commentary on Tubi, and that made it more entertaining...although, even they had a hard time making this interesting.
The Sound of Music (1965)
"Radiance that floods the screen and warms the heart!" 💛🎼🗻🎬🇦🇹
The Sound of Music is basically the greatest musical ever. Yeah, try to think of a better one, but no, you can't.
This thing will have you singing and humming and whistling these songs for weeks afterwards. You may even find yourself swirling and prancing in the wild, singing to the damn hills.
Like so many people, I first saw this as a kid at Christmas. It's still played at the holidays, possibly because of the song, "My Favorite Things," which has become one of my own favorite things. You could watch it and enjoy it any time of the year and still fall under its spell.
Julie Andrews has never been lovelier, nor Christopher Plummer more dashing.
It's got Nazis and nuns, and it's basically a musical travel brochure for Austria. Resistance would be futile, surrender to this movie and you'll never be sorry.
Mary Poppins (1964)
"Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way." 🐧
Walt Disney was right to hold
Mary Poppins in such high regard, a personal favorite of his...it's a beloved ode to the joy of living and a technological movie marvel, loaded up with some of the greatest songs ever to grace the cinema.
The singing is incredible, hello...Dame Julie Andrews, doy! She is so wholesome, so beautiful, so perfect as
Mary Poppins. She deserved to win that Oscar, nyah nyah, Audrey Hepburn!
Dick Van Dyke has taken a lot of flack over the years for his lousy cockney accent, but his accent in his secondary role of Mr. Dawes, Sr., is spot on, guv! Plus, his singing, dancing and general sense of whimsy and wonder would make for a gapping hole in all of this if he were not in it. Honestly, not many could do all he did and do it so well.
Solid supporting cast, especially the children. Sadly, Matthew Garber, who played Michael Banks, passed away at the age of twenty one. Karen Dotrice, who played Jane Banks, still acts and has a cameo in Mary Poppins Returns.
Mary Poppins is instantaneous happiness, in movie form. You don't need a prescription from a doctor, maybe just a subscription to Disney + will do.
Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
"Everything is possible, even the impossible."
I had my doubts about a sequel to
Mary Poppins, I know I can't be alone in this. However, this movie delivers. The songs are very good, and in time, may go on to classic status like the ones we love from the original. That scEmily Blunt was a great choice to carry on the flying umbrella mantle. I like how her version is slightly bitchier than the Julie Andrews version.
Director Rob Marshall knows how to make a musical, there's no doubt about that. He's assembled a great cast. Dick Van Dyke especially was the casting coup of the century and this only came out in 2018. Meryl Streep shows up in a wig that I do believe she wore later in
The Prom (2020).
To make a follow-up that feels so much like the first, and just as good is a miracle. Big snaps to Disney for taking the time to respect Walt's favorite movie enough to get it just right.
The Big Sick (2017)
Second time watching this excellent rom com, based on the true experiences of star Kumail Nanjiani. Holly Hunter and Ray Romano are excellent together as the future parents-in-law.
Nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar. It's just such a rewarding movie, watch it! This is not a heckle, it's a woo-hoo!
His House (2020)
His House has an authentic tone, about a couple fleeing South Sudan for a new life in the U.K., only to be haunted by sinister forces in their new home. Bleak and sad, I found it worked better as a drama than as a horror movie. Wunmi Mosaku and Sope Dirisu are both really great in their roles.
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What Allen needs, desperately, is a writer--someone who can come up with something that isn't a sad rehash of rejected lines from a script he wrote in 1979. The cultural references constantly mentioned by the youngsters here strain credibility.
