Thursday, 25 July 2019
Rust Never Sleeps (1979)
Documentary covering Neil Young's October 22, 1978 concert performance at the Cow Palace.
Great documentary of a Neil Young & Crazy Horse concert in probably the best phase of their existence; contains a lot of their best songs.
Maltin***: "Ragged-out but rousing record of Neil Young in concert, with 16 well-performed tunes by rockdom's most lovable downer. My My, Hey, Hey."
Tuesday, 23 July 2019
Merci pour le chocolat (2000)
A young woman discovers that she may have been switched at birth and presents herself to her possible father And slowly discovers the dark secrets that connect her family with his.
Typical for its director this is a meticulously made satire of French/Swiss bourgeois society with a somewhat puzzling plot and an unexciting ending.
On re-watching: I still agree with my initial opinion; the ending is a bit disappointing.
Halliwell*: "Icy, ambiguous thriller that exposes the passionate screts that underlie an apparently conventional bourgeois family."
Maltin**1/2: "Subdued psychological thriller is mostly nuanced talk, with Chabrol favorite Huppert well suited to the role of perverse matriarch."
Universal Soldier (1992)
Private Luc Deveraux and his sadistic sergeant, Andrew Scott, got killed in Vietnam. The army uses their bodies for a secret project - reanimating dead soldiers as deadly obedient cyborgs. However, their memories come back too.
Well-made, but silly action vehicle for its two muscle men would like to be as good as The Terminator, but isn't by a far cry.
Halliwell (no star): "Science-fiction hokum intended to boost the appeal of its two action stars, done with enough energy and containing more than enough mayhem to appeal to fans of action movies."
Maltin**: "Van Damme and Lundgren - well, it's not exactly Tracy and March in INHERIT THE WIND. Hunks are well cast as rival cyborgs...Has the requisite number of explosions. The director sly keeps the grocery store Muzak going during Lundgren's one big emoting scene - right after he eats raw meat from a bin."
Sunday, 21 July 2019
Roadie (1980)
A young Texas good ol' boy has a knack with electronic equipment, and that talent gets him a job as a roadie with a raucous travelling rock-and-roll show.
From memory: Hyped-up rock'n'roll comedy with some musical stars of the time, but not much humor.
Maltin*1/2: "Talented director Rudolph turns into a Hal Needham clone with loud, excruciatingly dopey comedy."
Big Game (2014)
A young teenager camping in the woods helps rescue the President of the United States when Air Force One is shot down near his campsite.
Likable, but otherwise run-of-the-mill actioner is obviously aimed at an more adolescent audience.
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