Friday 31 July 2020
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
The surviving members of the resistance face the First Order once again, and the legendary conflict between the Jedi and the Sith reaches its peak bringing the Skywalker saga to its end.
This final Star Wars episode has a heavy load wrapping the whole saga up in feature length and unfortunately packs too much in to make this a thoroughly enjoyable sci-fi adventure; however, along its convoluted way, there are lots of sets of breathtaking visual appeal.
Much Loved (2015)
A group of women in Morocco make a living as prostitutes in a culture that is very unforgiving toward women in that profession.
Thursday 30 July 2020
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy from the perspective of Liz, his longtime girlfriend, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.
Zac Efron gives a convincing portrayal of the serial killer Ted Bundy - as the charismatic, intelligent guy he appeared as to the public and as seen by his girlfriend; beyond this performance, however, the movie misses to give any depth or insight into the killer's character and the crimes, but rather ticks off the events as they happened.
Night Tide (1961)
A young sailor falls in love with a mysterious woman, performing as a mermaid at the local carnival, but he soon comes to suspect the girl might be a real mermaid, who draws men to a watery death during the full moon.
Interesting, but ultimately disappointing phantasmagorical tale is successful creating a mysterious, dream-like atmosphere hinting at more than it delivers.
Halliwell (no star): "Cheaply made and very derivative romantic fantasy which seemed to hold a promise never fulfilled."
Maltin**1/2: "Odd, dreamy little drama is strangely compelling, though not a horror film, as often promised."
A Day at the Races (1937)
A veterinarian posing as a doctor, a race-horse owner and his friends struggle to help keep a sanitarium open with the help of a misfit race-horse.
Wednesday 29 July 2020
Hollywood (2020)
A group of aspiring actors and filmmakers in post-World War II Hollywood try to make it big - no matter the cost.
An interesting premise is carried out with excellent period detail and a superb cast, but over the time its sugary political correctness seems more like a whitewashing rather than an ironic criticism of Hollywood history, which was obviously the intention; nevertheless, lots to enjoy along the way.
Tuesday 28 July 2020
Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957)
A teenage couple accidentally awakens an alien after hitting it with their car.
Sci-fi comedy, clearly aimed at a teenage audience, isn't really that funny; the biggest joke are the freaky alien costumes.
Maltin (no star): "Science fiction with comic overtones, though done with so little finesse that it is difficult to know what is intentionally funny and what is accidentally so."
Maltin*1/2: "Slow-paced, minor sci-fi comedy...Cheap, but has some atmosphere and Paul Blaisdell's outlandish aliens."
Heartbreaker (1983)
A Mexican-American woos a blonde amid his Los Angeles subculture of lowrider custom cars.
Sunday 26 July 2020
Nebo zovyot (1959)
Two countries race to have the first successful landing on Mars.
A probably good Soviet sci-fi movie with impressive special effects is botched (by Francis Ford Coppola!) into a an apolitical space race with some ridiculously hideous monsters added in for more commercial potential, obviously.
Maltin**: "Soviet sci-fi film...is refashioned into a so-so American product..."
Hollywood Burlesque (1949)
Singers, dancers, comics, and striptease artists take the stage of San
Diego's Hollywood Theatre for an actual filmed performance.
Saturday 25 July 2020
Godsend (2004)
A couple agree to have their deceased son cloned, under the supervision of an enigmatic doctor, but bizarre things start to happen several years after his rebirth.
Good premise is rolled out into a cliche-ridden and unmemorable horror tale despite having a capable star cast.
Maltin**1/2: "Good performances and an interesting premise reel us in, but then the filmmakers string us along, teasing us about where the story is headed. It doesn't pay off."
I Want You! (1970)
A housewife with a not so happy sexual life goes to a psychiatrist and explains in details about her sexual fantasies.
Friday 24 July 2020
Night Monster (1942)
A rich recluse invites the doctors who left him a hopeless cripple to his desolate mansion in the swamps as one by one they meet horrible deaths.
Escape Plan (2013)
When a structural-security authority finds himself set up and incarcerated in the world's most secret and secure prison, he has to use his skills to escape with help from the inside.
Mainly efficient, but unambitious sci-fi actioner is watchable for its nice pairing of Stallone and Schwarzenberger.
Maltin**1/2: "Better-than-expected prison drama...Blessedly old-fashioned vehicle for Stallone allows him to be tough as nails...Totally ludicrous but entertaining on its own terms. It's fun to watch Sly and Arnold together."
Thursday 23 July 2020
Hitchcock (2012)
Filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock and wife Alma have a little marriage crisis during the filming of Psycho in 1959.
Although it has a more serious topic at its core this movie manages it be a lighthearted and loving homage to the master and presents some
enjoyably stellar performances from its cast.
On rewatching: Light-weighted, but quite entertaining depiction of the making of Psycho.
On rewatching: Light-weighted, but quite entertaining depiction of the making of Psycho.
Maltin***: "As an account of the making of PSYCHO this is evocative and
fun to watch. As an exploration of what made Hitchcock tick it must be
taken as pure entertainment and not literal truth."
Devil's Partner (1961)
An old man sells his soul to the devil, and turns into a young man, then uses witchcraft and black magic to win a woman from his rival.
Tuesday 21 July 2020
Burnt (2015)
A chef who destroyed his career with drugs and diva behavior cleans up and returns to London, determined to redeem himself by spearheading a top restaurant that can gain three Michelin stars.
Bradley Cooper does his best to portray a disagreeable narcissistic man-child, but the makers' celebration of unnecessary competitiveness and their misunderstanding of the culinary art doesn't help much; the impressive cast serves as mere extras to the one-man show.
Bluebeard's 10 Honeymoons (1960)
A golddigger inspires her older lover to murder wealthy women for the finances to keep her happy.
Sunday 19 July 2020
I Bury the Living (1958)
A cemetery director discovers that by arbitrarily changing the status of plots from empty to occupied on the planogram causes the death of the plots' owners.
Good, above-average horror tale with an imaginative plot and a simple, but surprising twist ending.
Halliwell (no star): "Unusual enough to be encouraging, sloppy enough to disappoint even mystery lovers."
Maltin***: "Crisp little chiller..."
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