Saturday 29 February 2020
Le calde notti di Poppea (1969)
The busty and famous Poppea loves to seduce the Roman patricians to keep them firmly in hand.
Italian sandal slapstick comedy combines bad humor, wooden performances and lots of nudity to form a rather annoying movie.
Friday 28 February 2020
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
The Gremlins are back, and this time, they've taken control of a New York City media mogul's high-tech skyscraper.
A sequel that is better than the original ups the ante on action and mayhem, but with a tighter script and more inspired humor.
Halliwell**: "A sequel more entertaining than the original, stuffed with in-jokes for movie buffs."
Maltin***: "Not so much a horror film as a goofy sendup of itself, this sequel turns the slimy creatures loose in N.Y.C. Filled with gags, movie in-jokes, satiric barbs, and gratuitous cameo appearances. Glover is especially funny as a Domald Trump/Ted Turner type, and Lee is a delight as a genetic scientist. Be sure to stay with this through the closing credits."
Gremlins (1984)
A boy inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.
Quite original, over-the-top horror spoof is lively and entertaining, over-abundant with in-joke details, but its black humor is childish most of the time.
Halliwell*: "Juvenile horror comic, a kind of deliberate inversion of E.T. Slow to start, and a little too knowingly nasty, with variable special effects; but a pretty hot commercial success."
Maltin**: "Comic nightmare is a cross between Capra's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and THE BLOB; full of film-buff in-jokes, but negated by too-vivid violence and mayhem."
Thursday 27 February 2020
The Aeronauts (2019)
Pilot Amelia Rennes and scientist James Glaisher find themselves in an epic fight for survival while attempting to make discoveries in a gas balloon.
Nicely made adventure tale with good effects and engaged cast is a bit old-fashioned, but suspenseful and entertaining.
I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)
A cop turns con man once he comes out of the closet. Once imprisoned, he meets the second love of his life, whom he'll stop at nothing to be with.
Offkilter romantic tragicomedy has a few hilarious moments and a typically outrageously over-the-top Jim Carrey performance, but as whole it's more unnerving than entertaining.
Maltin***: "Continuously surprising blend of comedy and drama features what is arguably Carrey's all-time best performance."
The Light Between Oceans (2016)
A lighthouse keeper and his wife living off the coast of Western Australia raise a baby they rescue from a drifting rowing boat.
Unabashedly old-fashioned tearjerker with good performances and beautiful scenic cinematography; watchable, but keep a handkerchief at hand.
Tuesday 25 February 2020
Repo Men (2010)
Set in the near future when artificial organs can be bought on credit, it revolves around a man who struggles to make the payments on a heart he has purchased. He must therefore go on the run before said ticker is repossessed.
Sci-fi romp with a strong satirical streak is too focused on its action and mayhem to be taken seriously and simply wastes its star cast.
Maltin**: "Intriguing premise with strong social implications is given uninspired execution and fails to make its point. Law and Whitaker have good chemistry but cast is wasted on a script that must have looked better on paper."
Monday 24 February 2020
The Two Popes (2019)
Behind Vatican walls, the conservative Pope Benedict and the liberal future Pope Francis must find common ground to forge a new path for the Catholic Church.
An imagined look at the two popes' relationship has some fascinating moments in the dialogues and is at times not without humor, but avoids - though skillfully - the more questionable aspects of the Catholic Church; a great showcase for the two leads' talents.
Doctor Zhivago (2002)
Young and beautiful Lara is loved by three men: a revolutionary, a mogul, and a doctor. Their lives become intertwined with the drama of Russian revolution.
TV adaptation with high production value and capable cast is long-drawn-out and not really an improvement to David Lean's version.
On rewatching: My first impression was correct; nice to watch, if you have the time.
Sunday 23 February 2020
The Cured (2017)
A disease that turns people into zombies has been cured. The once-infected zombies are discriminated against by society and their own families, which causes social issues to arise. This leads to militant government interference.
An original, a bit artsy, but not too exciting take on the zombie genre makes good use of its cast and Irish settings.
Saturday 22 February 2020
Hell Is for Heroes (1962)
Small squad must hold off German attack.
Tightly directed, tough war drama with good cast doesn't really add much to the genre, but is quite watchable.
Halliwell*: "Fairly routine anti-war film with a strong cast and effectively-directed moments battling a generally artificial look."
Maltin***: "Tough, taut WW2 film...Takes its time getting started but builds in intensity to a riveting climax. Only incongruous note: young Newhart, who even interpolates a variation on one of his telephone monologues into the story!"
The Homesman (2014)
Three women who have been driven mad by pioneer life are to be transported across the country by covered wagon by a pious, independent-minded young woman, who in turn employs a low-life drifter to assist her.
Excellently directed Western with a dark, bleak vision of the period is an intense experience, thanks to exhilarating performances by Jones and Swank and a a good throughout and some magnificent cinematography.
Friday 21 February 2020
Genius (2016)
A chronicle of Max Perkins's time as the book editor at Scribner and his relationship with Thomas Wolfe.
Muddled attempt of recreating a historical literary episode has some good period detail, but most figures are portrayed unsympathetically (especially Jude Law's Thomas Wolfe) and hardly manages to give an impression what the fuss is all about.
Tuesday 18 February 2020
Destroyer (2018)
A police detective reconnects with people from an undercover assignment in her distant past in order to make peace.
Dark, intense, downward spiral of an undercover cop is skillfully revealed in slow bits and with a twist ending; Nicole Kidman delivers a remarkably terrifying performance as the downtrodden cop.
Sunday 16 February 2020
Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)
Jake Pentecost, son of Stacker Pentecost, reunites with Mako Mori to lead a new generation of Jaeger pilots, including rival Lambert and 15-year-old hacker Amara, against a new Kaiju threat.
OK sequel doesn't have really live up the original, but has good effects, some capable performances and does offer some exciting action.
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