**** = Really good.
*** = Worth seeing.
** = A waste of time, but one or two good moments.
* = Not worth your time.
-0 = Less Than Zero.
1. The Mandalorian (2019) *** I wasn't really anxious to see this at all, but I got shepherded into a free Disney+ membership, so I thought I would give it a try. And it was pretty good...even beyond the cuteness of Baby You Know Who. Actually, my favorite moment was a meaningless conversation between two Storm Troopers in Episode 8...but I'm funny that way. All in all, I wouldn't mind having another season or two.
2. Alita: Battle Angel (2019) **** This was my third time seeing this movie...and I still like it a lot. There are lots of true Kick Ass moments, it's got a Girl Power movie that doesn't seem staged, and it has true heart. Gonna watch it again sometime. Probably soon.
3. Raising Arizona (1987) *** So I guess I am watching the Coen Brothers movies in order of their appearance. I haven't actually done that with any movie person before...though I came close to it with Bela Tarr a few years back. Anyway...I really enjoyed this movie. It's funny, even if it stretches the bounds of credibility to and past the breaking point. Although I could have done without the scene at the end wherein Nathan Arizona, Sr., suddenly becomes beneficent for a minute or two. The best part of the movie was John Goodman's performance as Gale, though. He was so funny...that proper diction thing was just deadly. Mmm-hmmm. Guess it's Miller Time now. Miller's Crossing, that is. Just reserved it at the public library.
4. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995) ** Got this for the little Js for Christmas, and they got around to watching it this morning, 1/4/20. When it started I asked Joe what year it came out and he immediately said, "1995." Who needs Google or Wikipedia when you've got a son with an eidetic memory? As for the movie...well, let's put it this way: it was a hell of a lot better than the 2017 movie. And Gabrielle Fitzpatrick as Dulcea was kind of hot, which always helps.
5. Just Mercy (2020) ***** It's my first 2020 made movie...and it was just superb. Michael B. Jordan has always been good, but he ups the ante considerably for this performance. It made me mad, it made me laugh, it made me cry. It even made me like Brie Larson, and I really didn't think that that was possible. Jamie Foxx was so good that I can't even say anything more than that. But suffice it to say: this is a must see movie. Probably a must read book as well. I'll get back to you on that in a minute.
6. Miller's Crossing (1990) *** For some reason this movie just didn't move me. It could have been anybody's movie, you know? A bunch of nasty-ass people trying to hurt each other.
7. Bad Boys for Life (2020) ** There were actually a half-dozen or so good moments in this movie...mostly due to Martin Lawrence. But the rest of it was exactly what you would have expected...if you weren't expecting much.
8. Dolittle (2020) *** Surprisingly, this was better than I thought it would be. And I wasn't once conscious of how much longer I had to go. So of course it is under-performing at the box office.
9. Barton Fink (1991) ***** Still working my way through the films of the Coen Brothers. This was number 4. And man, seeing it again reminded me of how great those boys could be. Not to mention how great John Turturro and John Goodman could be.
10. Paterson (2016) ***** Wow, great stuff. This movie made me want to
Drive a bus
Write poetry
Read poetry
Visit Paterson, New Jersey
Be a regular at a bar
Have a girlfriend
And other stuff, too.
11. Baywatch (2017) * Hey, what can I say? It was on for free, I like The Rock, and Kelly Rohrbach is unbelievably sexy. And to be honest, it's worth watching just to see Zac Efron's body. It is truly amazing.*
* Not in a gay way.**
** Not that there's anything wrong with that.
12. Chris Claremont's X-Men (2018) Low budget, but lots on interview time with Chris and others, and pretty interesting.
* Not in a gay way.**
** Not that there's anything wrong with that.
12. Chris Claremont's X-Men (2018) Low budget, but lots on interview time with Chris and others, and pretty interesting.
13. The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) **** Ah, this is the stuff. The Coen Brothers are at their best when they stray away from realism, I think. Which is why Barton Fink is probably (get back to you on that) my favorite of their movies...and why Miller's Crossing is, so far, my least favorite. It was also great to see Paul Newman in action. It's been awhile since I've seen him on screen, and even though I've seen this movie before, I'd forgotten that he was in it. (Whatever the opposite of conflated is, I did with The Hudsucker Proxy and Hud.) On the other hand...it is pretty obvious that this movie takes a lot of inspiration...and maybe even a bit more than inspiration...from Terry Gilliam's Brazil. The music...and the pneumatic tubes...and just the whole over the top line delivery. Yeah, I'd have to say that this goes beyond derivative to straight out rip-off at times. But I still liked it. Maybe make it a *** ?
14. Place de la République (1974) ***** I am now officially a Louis Malle fan. Must have more....
15. Vive le tour (1962) *** Another Louis Malle film. A short one about the Tour de France...which wasn't all that interesting for me, sorry to say.
16. Superstore Season 1 (2015) ****
17. Superstore Season 2 (2016) ****
18. Superstore Season 3 (2017) **** I didn't actually watch all three of these seasons back to back, but I kind of forget to put it in the list and then couldn't remember when I'd started, etc. But I have to confess that I have been knocking them back hard. Pretty sure I started a little less than three weeks ago, and that's 11+21+22=54 shows...so that's a lot. But this show is just so damned funny. Besides, I have finally reached my bursting point on "news," so instead of watching MSNBC or CNN for an hour or so each morning and a little bit more in the afternoon, I've been Superstoreing it instead. And you know...not only is it a lot funnier, it's also about equally informative vis a vis the state of affairs in the world these days. So there's that.
19. The Accountant (2001) **** No, not the Ben Affleck one. This one is a short film available (at least for the nonce) on Amazon Prime, and it is a non-stop hoot fest.
20. Trespassing Bergman (2013) **** Great documentary which made me want to see lots of Bergman films. I was particularly impressed with the Woody Allen bits. I also concluded that I want absolutely nothing to do with Lars von Trier, who came off as a complete asshole. He found it necessary to (1) speculate on Bergman's masturbatory habits, (2) insult Bergman--calling him a technical idiot at one point, and (3) rail against Bergman for not answering a fan letter and for not inviting him over to his house for a chat. What a fucking child. So my advice would be to hit the fast forward button every time you see von Trier's face come on the screen, and you will probably enjoy this documentary even more than I did. I wish the directors of this movie (Jane Magnusson and Hynek Pallas) had had the sense to leave that infantile motherfucker out of the final cut. Oh...Martin Scorcese and Robert de Niro were great, too. And if you need more reasons to watch this, Francis Ford Coppola, Wes Anderson, Ang Lee, and Holly Hunter are also in this documentary. Others, too, but those were the guns I thought big.
21. Humain, trop humain (1974) **** My third Louis Malle film...which means that I am now fresh out of Louis Malle films. This one was mostly excellent. The scenes...with no commentary, and, in fact, pretty much no voices whatsoever...of the workers putting cars together were very powerful. The only part of the film I didn't "get" was when it cut from the factory to the showroom floor where various people talked about the cars--the salespeople about the prospective buyers. For one thing, it interrupts the flow for me, as after this they went back to putting the cars together. It would have made more sense to me if they'd put this at the end of the film. On the other hand, I'm glad that they didn't do that, since the ending of the film...focusing on a woman who looks as if she is trapped in hell, and then freezing on her image as the sounds of the machinery go on...was really powerful and perfect.
I guess I just didn't want that 20 minute (guessing) section of the film to exist at all. Or maybe if the movie had started with that and then gone to the factory. That actually might be the way for me, since then we'd go from people bitching and moaning or lying and scheming to the human quiet of the work floor. Hey, Louis, are you listening? How about a recut? At any rate...the scenes of the workers were very powerful, even without any commentary. There's a five or ten minute section which focuses on people making wire harnesses, and that brought back some memories pour moi, since I spent five years of my life working in a wire harness factory. Those were the days, my friend.
22. Fargo (1996) ***** Holy shit...can it really be 24 years since this movie came out? 24 years ago I was in my sixth year of teaching, happily married to my first wife, and my youngest kid was not yet 2 years old. Now I'm twice divorced, my baby is 25, and I am significantly less than happy. Times don't change, they fly.
I remember not liking this movie very much when I saw it in the theater back in the day...and I'm thinking that it was mostly due to that revolting wood chipper scene at the end. But of course I really can't remember. Needless to say, the movie grew on me when I re-watched it. I'm thinking that didn't happen until after I saw the first season of the TV show. And I loved the first three seasons of that show (especially that second season)--and am anxiously awaiting that fourth season.
ANYway...this is at least the third time I've seen it, and it's possible there was another time or two in there somewhere. So I decided to do the commentary route first off. Unfortunately, the commentary by cinematographer Roger Deakins was just pretty bad. He's a great cinematographer, for sure...I mean, check out his resume...but he doesn't have a whole hell of a lot to say here (lots of gaps), and when he does talk it's pretty much just obvious shit that you didn't need any commentary on. The "We had to wait three days for a snowy sky" kind of stuff. So...you should most definitely save 98 minutes of your life and skip this bit. The "Minnesota Nice" featurette, on the other hand, was quite good...so definitely spend 28 minutes on this.
23. Fargo And then I watched it again without the commentary. Yep. Still hate that ending, though.
24. Anna (2019) *** If you like seeing a hot woman (Sasha Luss) cripple and kill dozens of men, then this is definitely the movie for you. There's a little more to it than that, though. Luc Besson (writer and director) decided to up the ante a bit here, so the story goes through a series of loop backs which serve to explain some of the startling turns the story takes. And that aspect of it was actually pretty cool. But I much prefer Luc Besson's District B13 from 2004. That is one of my favorite action movies of all time. Although there's nobody close to Sasha Less for the prettiness.
25. Tom Jones (1963) ** */2
I have to admit that when I saw this on the shelf at the library, the two main factors in my deciding to pick it up were (1) it was part of The Criterion Collection, and that's pretty much an all winner squad, and (2) I thought it might provide me with some sexy goings on with buxom women. I didn't know that it had won Best Picture for 1963...and I was a bit puzzled about how that could have come to be until the fox hunt scene, wherein the obvious attempts to show the cruelty of the thing (shot of a horse's flank bloodied by spurs, deer torn to shreds by dogs, man holding up dead dear in "triumph") upped the ante considerably. For the most part the narrative stuck with over-the-top line delivery and exceptionally corny music (harpsichord-centric), but there was always something else lurking at the corners of the story. As for the buxom women...not so much, but Susannah York as Sophie Western and Diane Cilento as Molly Seagrim were both extremely hot, for sure. And hey, is it my imagination, or does Young Albert Finney--
--bear more than a passing resemblance to a certain Very Bad President?
ANYway...there were some nice directorial flourishes here: sliding frame transition to the next scene, making the picture narrow down to a circle around a character to focus on him, freeze frames, speeding up footage. In fact, I started wondering if Stanley Kubrick might not have cribbed a bid from this movie when he got around to making A Clockwork Orange eight years later. At any rate...this wasn't a great movie for me, but it did make me want to read some Henry Fielding...which is something that I haven't yet got around to doing at all. So there's that.
P.S. Then I watched a commentary featurette, and I have to say it made me appreciate the movie a bit more. For one thing, I hadn't noticed (though I should have) that there were helicopter shots used in the movie...which were not obvious helicopter shots at all, at least not until you stopped to think, How did they get that shot? So hey...let's make it a full ***.
26. Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) ** Yeah...it's just kind of a shame to see Jim Carey doing stupid shit like this. As for the rest...well, kid movies don't have to be stupid and illogical, y'know. And you'd think that $90 million (+ ?) would kind of iron out the stupid. But clearly it doesn't.
27. Top Gun (1986) ** Y'know, I actually enjoyed seeing this movie, but it sure was full of shit. Everything...from putting up with the shenanigans of Maverick because he was A Helluva Pilot to the affair with the instructor to letting a guy who is clearly suffering from serious PTSS pilot a fighter in a war zone...I mean, for fuck's sake. (And I didn't even mention Val Kilmer's hilariously non-regulation hairdo.) On the other hand, I really like Tom Cruise a lot, and Kelly McGillis was seriously hot back in the day, wasn't she?
28. Superstore Season 4 (2018) **** Yep, still works for me.
29. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) **** Well what do you know...Quentin Tarantino finally made a great movie. And Brad Pitt made aNOTHer great movie. And Leonardo DiCaprio ditto. And Margo Robbie...etc. Yep.
30. Knives Out (2019) *** Funny, I got this movie for Joe, and I was only kinda sorta watching the first part of it, but as it went on I started getting more into it, and by the 3/4ths point I was thinking, "Maybe I should watch this over again from the start." I didn't, but I have to say that I did enjoy this movie a whole hell of a lot more than I thought I would. Superb job by Daniel Craig, especially.
31 and 32. Oleg's Choice (2016) ***** Wow. If you stick with it, this movie will touch your heart. Hell, it will punch you in the heart and shake your soul. Hard. After watching it I did a little online reading about the film, read something which confused me, and then watched the movie again just to make sure I understood it. I did--I'd actually misinterpreted the online comment. So no spoiler, but just in case: Oleg is a Russian at the beginning, and a Russian at the end. He changes drastically in the course of this thing, but he does not switch sides.
33. Malcolm X (1992) ***** This was a Spike Lee movie, so of course there were some We Interrupt This Movie To Remind You About How Clever I Am moments, but even that couldn't stop this story. Denzel Washington was absolutely superb, and the story itself is as compelling as it gets. Awesome movie. Joe watched it with me, too...mostly because of the Denzel factor, but he got into it, and I'm happy to say that he was outraged by the ending. He's got a good heart, my boy.
34. The Russian Woodpecker (2015) ***** An absolutely stunning, must-see documentary. And the good news: it's available on Amazon for a mere $1.99 (SD rental)...or, if you have access to Kanopy, for free there. I want to go on at some length about this, though, so ahmo go write that up asap and just link to it from here.
35. The Dark Crystal (1982) *** Well...you'd think I'd have seen this a long time ago, but no. Guess I was busy wooing and earning. I have to say that despite some nice touches here and there, it wasn't worth the wait. Especially the ending, which was just tired and cliche. I also thought it was kind of rough for a PG movie: I mean, plucking out eyeballs, eating living creatures, draining the life-force out of other creatures, fatal stabbing, scary spider / lobster-y monsters. It'd give me bad dreams if I was a Little. Don't think I'm going to go for the sequel.
36. Capitalism (2014) ***** Six part series...and there was a guest appearance by Noam Chomsky in the second part. It was superb. A little over my head at times, but all in all excellent.
37. Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) ***** Admittedly I love Michael Moore and have seen all of his movies...but still, this movie kicks ass, man. Also, perhaps you notice a trend in my current movie viewing? Mmm-hmmm. Found this for free on tubi , by the way...which led me to...
38. American Mind Control: MK Ultra (2015) **** This was surprisingly interesting...not nearly as Conspiracy Theorist as you'd think from the title. I watched it by accident (it started up when I finished #37 on tubi), but it ended up being pretty captivating.
39. Bloodshot (2020) ** Well...Valiant Comics enters the movie arena. There were a few decent spots, but not nearly enough...and there was more than a heapin' helpin' of stupidity to go along with it. So save your bucks on this one, kids.
40. Evil (2019) **** Finished season one of this show awhile back but kind of forgot about it. It's quite good. Mike Colter is excellent as David Acosta, Michael Emerson (Ben on Lost) is so creepy and awful that you want to punch him in the Adam's Apple as Dr. Leland Townsend, and Katja Herbers is making smart look mighty sexy as Dr. Kristen Bouchard. And for network tv, I've got to say...this show is pretty fuckin' scary!
41. Three Days of the Condor (1975) *** Wow. Plot was pretty good, especially at the beginning before the holes became so large you could see the insulation. And Robert Redford show was pooty. But my God, the misogyny is just unrelenting. I actually cried out loud when Redford and Dunaway go in for a kiss and the subsequent sex scene. For God's sake, he kidnapped her, held her at gunpoint, and tied her to a toilet and gagged her with his tie. That is not okay. I am actually anxious to see the TV show remake, as I am hoping that they have taken care of that shit and I can wash the original right out of my hair. I know those were different times, but FF'S....
42. Carmen (2010) **** Great stuff...and a really 🔥hot🔥 Carmen.
43. Marriage Story (2019) **** This was probably a great movie. Adam Driver was really impressive. But I hated it, and it took me several weeks to make it through it. Watching a marriage disintegrate...watching decent people say awful things to each other...it was just a bit too close to home. And I didn't gain anything from it, either. No insights. Just sorrow. And who needs more of that? We're all full up here.
43. La bohème (2008) **** Not quite up to Carmen level...but pretty darned close. And a couple of the arias--expecially Mimi's first...are as good as it gets. BTW, Met Opera is doing free streams every night this week in an effort to help people deal with the Covid-19 quarantine. Apparently it is attracting quite a crowd--their website has been so overwhelmed that they had to set up a virtual waiting room. Good to know that there are that many people who give a shit about opera. (At least when it's free. And who knows, maybe some of them will like it so much that they subscribe. I'm thinking I might do it again myself.) And oh...the setting for the courtyard in the winter? Probably the best opera stage I've ever seen...and I've seen a couple hundred of them.
44. Il Trovatore (2015)...with Anna Netrebko (!) And by the way, that first act set...Holy Shit! My favorite moment, though was when Dmitri Hvorostovsky walked onstage and the audience applauded and applauded. He tried to just wait it out, but then he had to crack a smile and acknowledge the love before he could start singing. I don't know him from any previous work, but he certainly was impressive. Great voice, great presence--very dignified and noble.
45. La Traviata (2018) **** Wow, the opening scene of this opera is pretty amazing. I wonder if an audience unfamiliar with the story would get it, though.
46. The Land That Time Forgot (1974) *** Of course the special effects were laughably bad, but this movie works surprisingly well. Count me as a Doug McClure fan! I am actually looking forward to watching the sequel in the near future. BTW, the poster for this movie is truly awesome:
And did I forget to mention, forget to mention that Joe and I are reading this book right now? He was having a little trouble following the story, though, so I thought that watching the movie might make the reading more accessible for him. Considering the fact that he was writing adventure novels...presumably not for a sophisticated audience...ERB had a pretty complex style...and a very good vocabulary. I'll bet my AP students would have struggled with him at times.
47. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) ** Funny, I had such fond memories of this movie. Especially of my dad watching it and laughing his ass off. And there are still some really great moments, of course. "Well, if there aren't any rules...." "I can't swim." But what I saw most this time around was unrelenting hostility towards women, and it just overwhelmed the movie for me...even though most of the movie didn't include women.
48. 1917 (2019) *** An interesting movie from a technical standpoint...though it is not actually one long shot. The technical achievement was in making it look like one long shot. In fact, I read that there was only one shot that was as long as 8 1/2 minutes, and that many shots were more like one minute. So I don't know how they did that. The story was a mess, though. So many holes. In fact, at one point I actually thought that the movie was the lead character's hallucination, as it was so clear that what had happened couldn't have happened. Same as it ever was: spend $100 million making a movie, but not the extra couple of thousand it would have taken to make it a good movie.
49. The Expanse Season 1 (2015) ***** This, on the other hand, was even better than I remembered it. Such great characters. Such excellent writing. Heading right into Season 2.
50. Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) ** A truly shit movie, but nice to see Rick Schroder, whom I actually like quite a bit, and a surprise to see Peter Fonda, who must have fallen on some pretty hard times to take on this project. Lots of holes in the story, pretty bad special effects, and really bad choices in terms of changes made from the original, but I'm guessing most of that had to do with a limited budget.
51. Westworld Season 1 (2016) *** There was some really good stuff in this series...and I like Ed Harris a lot, so always good to see him, even if he was The Bad Guy this time around...but I have to admit that my brain was too tiny to grasp what was going on in this series. Maybe I just didn't pay close enough attention. But Joe enjoyed it, so it's onward to Season 2, I suppose. We'll see how that goes. Watching it did give me a hankering to see the original movie, though, so I might go looking for that.
52. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001 ) **** A fun movie...even if the special effects are a bit dated. Holy shit, this movie is almost twenty years old. How did that happen? Anyway...Joe was talking about this movie with his speech therapist today on his video therapy session (Covid-19 Days), and Jacqueline decided it was high time to have another go at the series, so I decided to join her. Though I did spend about half of the running time on my stationary bike. It made for a most enjoyable diversion. I'm actually looking forward to the next one, too.
53. Pretty Woman (1990) *** Didn't really mean to watch this. It was on when I was flipping through the channels, I noticed how hot Julia Roberts was, and so I stayed. And then I found it again to watch the first part. It was okay. Kind of dopey, but, y'know. At least the bad guy turned into a good guy.
54. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) ***
55. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) *** I usually don't care for time travel stories, but this one was okay by me. Ready for the next HP movie!
56. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) *** I'm pretty sure that this is the last HP film I saw in its entirety...for reasons unknown, but time will tell. I'm glad that Jacqueline booted us into this HP Film Festival, though, as I'm enjoying both the films and the company.
57. Shakespeare Was a Big George Jones Fan: Cowboy Jack Clement's Home Movies (2005) *** Not a great documentary, but it was fun. Lots of glimpses of people you know and love, like John Prine, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, Charley Pride, Bono, Jerry Lee Lewis, George Jones, Porter Wagoner. That's a whole lot of love, ennit?
58. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) *** Another good movie. Y'know, these movies are a lot darker than I remembered. Not that I actually remembered this one, since I'd never seen it in its entirety before today. I find myself getting really frustrated when the bad guys lie or are mean to Harry and the other kids. Ha ha. I guess that's the trick of it, ennit?
59. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) **** Speaking of dark...man, this movie actually hurt a bit. My first time for this one...in fact, I am pretty sure I hadn't seen a single frame of this one. (I had glimpsed a few bits from Order of the Phoenix when it was on tv.) It's also amazing how much these actors have grown up over the course of the movies. Those were 8 big years, for sure. Anyway, very entrancing movie. I actually made the kids pause it when I went to make them lunch. (I often tell them to let things keep rolling and I will listen to them because I don't really care that much about the show and don't want to prolong the viewing time for myself.)
60. Shitt$ Creek Season One (2015) ** This show is not worth your time. The plot is ludicrous, the acting is way over the top--most egregiously from Catherine O'Hara as Moira Rose, but pretty much every character could be painted with the same brush--and, perhaps worst of all, Chris Elliott plays a major recurring role. Chris may well be a wonderful human being, but his "acting" here is exactly what you would expect: crass, revolting, and often disgusting. I only watched the first episode of the show because my sister asked me if I had seen it. She told me that some of her friends had recommended it and that she tried to watch it but after the first episode she thought it was terrible and had had all she could stands and she couldn't stands no more. So I thought I'd watch the first episode to see if we were simpatico. And? We most definitely were. It was just awful. There was just this one thing.... I found Annie Murphy, who plays Alexis Rose, unbearably attractive. I'm not sure why. She has a very pretty face, but her body doesn't seem to be remarkable. (I always did have a thing for thin girls, though.) Long story short, I watched all of Season One. I can't say that I thought any more of it than I did after the first episode, but I will probably watch some more. Just goes to show you, huh? What? Oh, I don't know. But it sure does show you SOMEthing.
61. Underwater (2020) **** As soon as I saw the trailer for this movie, I had two thoughts: (1) I feel like I have seen this movie before and (2) I really want to see this movie. It's hard for me to get to the theater even in the best of times, though, and of course it's impossible right now (Covid-19 Stay At Home Thing), so I was waiting for it to come out on Redbox. It came out yesterday. I got it yesterday. I watched it yesterday. And? Well, it is what it is. It's an underwater creature feature. Nothing more. That said, I thought it was a great way to spend 95 minutes. And though I've never had any love for Kristen Stewart before--and found her unbearable in Charlie's Angels--I thought she did an awesome job. Speaking of Kristin, she spends a fair amount of this movie clad only in bikini briefs and a bra-like top, but I don't think this movie ever focused on her in a way that exploited her sexuality. If that makes no sense, then I'll just say that I don't think there was a single camera shot that lingered on her ass on her stomach, and the reason she was thus clad is because (1) she was in the bathroom brushing her teeth when the disaster hit and (2) in order to get into the deep sea diving suit, all of the characters had to take off their pants. That said...not only did this movie keep me on the edge of my seat and make me Oh! a few times, but it also surprised me several times. Yep. Good movie. I think I'm going to see if I can find some other stuff by the director, William Eubank.
62. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part I (2010) ****
63. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part II (2011) ****
Yowza. First time for both of these, and it was pretty intense. It's been just long enough since I read the books that I couldn't remember the details of what happened, so it was almost like hearing the story for the first time. And I thought it was most excellent. Thus ends our Harry Potter Film Festival. Anyone up for Fantastic Beasts?
64. The Signal (2014) ** and */2 Maybe even ***, depending on what you're looking for. Because on the one hand, it's a kind of pedestrian science fiction / horror movie, and there are some sizable holes in the plot with a little Deus ex machina on the side. But on the other hand, director William Eubank knows how to make stuff look interesting. He does some very cool stuff both in terms of use of slow motion and in juxtapositioning of scenes. Actually, I think this movie would have worked better for me if I'd turned the sound off and just let it flow over me...maybe with a little Ben Cosgrove on the stereo for a soundtrack.
65. Schitt$ Creek Season 2 (2016) ** It's still a pretty bad show...but Annie Murphy sure does look good in white. And I have to admit that there were a few moments which I actually found amusing. None of which included Chris Elliot, by the way.
66. I forgot to include Les Miserables (2012) in there. Which I watched with Jacqueline a few days ago. And which is still a ***** for me. And which made me cry. Several times. Even though I've seen it on stage four times and watched the movie at least three times (and probably more). It just really gets me, y'know?
67. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) *** Another watched with Jacqueline movie...and the first time I've seen it from start to finish. It was pretty good, I must say. I tried to watch The Aristocats with her, too, but had to stop after about thirty minutes. For some reason Jacqueline feels the need to scream regularly throughout this movie, and I just couldn't take it anymore.
68. Murder on the Orient Express (2017) *** Man, EVERYbody was in this movie. It was good, too. I am particularly indebted to this movie, though, in that I had to break Joe's heart by telling him that things wouldn't be opening up May 1st--which he has been counting on for a month and a half--and after we'd talked, he wanted to watch this movie. And it took his mind off of things for a couple of hours. So here's to that.
69. Yesterday (2019) *** And after Murder OtOE, Joe wanted to watch this. The concept went right past him, but he still enjoyed it. As did I...for the second time.
70. Little Women (2019) ***** My second time out on this one. Still made me cry. And laugh. And want to be a writer again. Someday. When I grow up.
71. The Gentlemen (2019) ** When this movie first started, I was thinking, "This is going to be really good!" But it turned out to be just another one of those movies. Lots of violence, lots of killing, lots of people being really mean. Another two hours I'll never get back.
71. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) Funny...the first time I saw this movie I was unimpressed, the second time I saw it I thought, "I was wrong, this is delightful!" and the third (this) time I saw it I was unimpressed again. So much of this story is sunk into overplayed (and underdone) special effects. Yeah. It's not a good movie.
72. Batman and Bill (2017) **** Wow. I know a fair amount about comic books...but a lot of this was new to me. Go Bill Finger! I could have done without the stupid graphics, but the rest of this documentary was really good.
73. Bakery in Brooklyn (2016) -0 This morning I saw a post from one of my Facebook Friends which said that you could watch Ken Loach films on YouTube for free, and since Friend is Irish and Mr. Loach had done several films on Irish topics, I went looking for him. I didn't find what I was looking for--maybe it's not open to Americans?--but I did out something I hadn't none before: YouTube has a whole section of free movies. Some of which are actually good. As I was browsing, I thought, "I want to watch a movie I know nothing about, just to see if it's good on its own merits." And I saw a listing for Bakery in Brooklyn. And since the last time I was in New York I ate a lovely meal in a Hungarian bakery which was close to Brooklyn (a mere 30 minute drive)...I decided to have a look at it.
And? It was quite bad. So bad that it was hard to see it through to the end. The writing was incredibly stupid. In fact, I think the only thing that kept me going was that one of the actors...Blanca Suárez was quite attractive. Other than that...terrible movie.
74. Daylight (1996) * Just happened upon it and stayed. Not a good movie...not even close. But I like Sylvester Stallone, and I'd never seen this before. Not to mention that I really like Amy Brenneman
(who did a nice job as Janice Licalsi way back when on the first season of NYPD Blue--in fact, after seeing her in this movie I had to go back and re-watch the first episode of NYPD Blue, and now I'm thinking that I might as well go ahead and watch all twelve seasons, right?) Have to admit that I would like to know more about those Sandhog tunnels...assuming that they really did exist, which I think is likely.
75. The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) *** I've got to say...with all respect to Robin Williams...this is a lot funnier than the remake.
76. Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019) *** Pretty weak shit, actually...and the second (this) time around was really not all that enjoyable. But hey, it's Star Wars, so you might as well see it. And there are a few good moments.
77. Watched Saariaho’s L’Amour de Loin (2016 version) last night. It was the first opera I've had a chance to watch in its entirety in awhile, and it was *****...maybe even if you're not an opera kind of person. I'd never heard of it--or of the Finnish composer Kaija Anneli Saariaho--but I loved it, and I want to hear more of her music. It was visually quite striking and unique--with bars of light representing the ocean...and an ocean in motion, but not in a cheesy trying to imitate reality way, more like in a 2001: A Space Odyssey way...if Kubrick had had the proper modern technology. It's a must see. And even though it was a modern opera (it premiered in 2000), it wasn't chock full of atonality and all of that irritating shit that modern composers seem to find de rigueur. If you need another reason to seek it out, then the conductor was a woman, too...and in the commentary they said that this was only the second time in the Met's history that a work by a female composer had been staged.
78. SEAL Team: Season 3 (2019 / 2020) ***** I've gone from sitting beside my son and "watching" this show to telling him "pause it until I get back" this season. This is a truly great show which actually takes chances with characterization and story telling. Hats off to ya, SEAL Team!
79. Just Mercy (2020) ***** Jacqueline put in a request for this one, and I'm glad that she did. It was just as moving as it was the first time. Just as infuriating. Just as powerful.
80. The Opera House (2017) **** and add a * if you're any kind of opera fan. But it's really about much more than opera. It's about poverty and affluence, respect for history and the lack thereof, architecture and art and compromise and...well, pretty much everything. I'm going to watch it again tomorrow morning.
81. I Still Believe (2020) **** I'm not a big fan of Christian dramas (or, more specifically, Christian Romance / Dramas)...but I'm not closed-minded, either...and this was a really good movie. Yes, I did cry. Several times. And btw, K.J. Apa did a superb job. He is so much better than the Archie role in Riverdale...a show which I can't even stand to watch anymore.
82. The Call of the Wild (2020) -0 Well, just looking at the trailer made me think that this was going to be bad, but watching it (Joe wanted to see it) was even worse than I thought it would be. My God...this was a terrible movie. I don't want to go on and on, so I'll just say that (1) the CGI was really bad; at no time was I unaware that I was watching CGI animals; (2) speaking of animals, whoever directed the animation of the animals doesn't seem to know anything about how animals move or behave; (3) downplaying the violence in a story about violence really isn't the best idea; and (4) this movie has almost nothing to do with the book other than the title. Definitely not even worth the $2 it cost via Redbox.
83. Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four (2015) **** A really good documentary. So good that I had to watch...
84. The Fantastic Four (1994)...which I had seen once before. I appreciated it on another level this time, though--not as a throwaway joke, but as a sincere effort on a piddling budget (can you imagine making a superhero movie on a one million dollar budget?) undertaken by people who were serious about getting the story told. And you know...there are some good moments in this film. It really should be released. In the course of hunting this down (it's on YouTube, btw), I also found out that there was a book--Forsaken: The Making and Aftermath of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four by William Nesbitt and Mark Sikes--which I'd like to read. Hopefully for free.
85. The Way Back (2020) ** Ben Affleck did a good job in this, but you've seen this movie before. Many times.
86. Emma (2020) **** Superb, nuanced movie. Made me want to read the book. Going to go find the book right now, matter of fact, and ditch that John Barth shit I've been going on about.
87. Alien (1979) **** There are a couple of shit moments special effects wise, but hell, the movie IS over 40 years old...and you know, the rest of it holds up pretty well. Watched this with Joe, and he was into it. Have to admit that I warned him before any of the seriously gross stuff happened, just to make sure he wasn't scarred by it. Don't think he even thought twice about it, though, actually.
88. Carmen Jones (1954) *** An all black modernized version of Carmen...which includes the original music and a re-vamped libretto. Interesting. A bit too affected to really grip me, but still, an impressive achievement for 2020, much less 1954. Might need an extra * or two just for that aspect of it.
89. Took me some doing, but I finally managed to fire up the old VHS player, and first tape in was...Flash Gordon (1980). It has its faults, of course, but hey, it has its moments, too. And that Ornella Muti...what a hot little 🍅! So let's give it a good *** there.
90. Godspell (1973) *** This could have been a great movie. There are several scenes which are so poignant that my soul stirs and tears come to my eyes. But that's mostly due to the music. The film itself is just a bit too much most of the time. Overly campy, completely negating the story at times. Which is just a shame, because the idea...of telling the Gospel via music...is a good one. I think this is one of the few times when I would have to say that I wish that somebody with some sense would do a remake of this thing. Side note: I have seen this movie before, but this is the first time that I realized that Jesus was played by a 24 year old Victor Garber--in his first film roll. And he was really good...well, as good as he could possibly be given the context, anyway. BTW, this was my second VHS movie since The Resoration.
91. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (1970) *** With Fred Astaire and Mickey Rooney...this was good stuff. Surprisingly, I don't think I've ever seen it before. Or if I have, it was so long ago that I didn't remembered anything about the story. But Jacqueline is in Christmas mode, and that means (1) we break out the VHS tapes and (2) she sings along. And not only does she know every song, she knows most of the dialogue as well. Her brain is an amazing thing. Or place. ANYway...I enjoyed this show.
92. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) **** You'll never guess who chose this one...or via what media? Great show, though. And Burl Ives, man...that's the stuff.
93. The Green Berets (1969) *** Actually watched this one via DVR...though in the meanwhile Jacqueline has watched The Little Drummer Boy and Frosty the Snowman on VHS, still in that Christmas mode. ANYway...this is one of the few...actually, the ONLY...movie I can remember going to see just with my Dad. And, ironically, halfway through the movie we had to leave, as he was having a kidney stone. I eventually saw the whole thing in the old Hollywood Theater in Arbutus, Maryland, but I can't remember if Dad went back with me. I seem to remember my friend Danny Boyd accompanying me, but it's possible I made that up. The movie is not what I'd call good. For one thing, Georgia, where it was filmed, doesn't look a hell of a lot like Viet Nam. But considering the fact that it's a very Pro-US Involvement movie, it has its moments.
94. The Goldfinch (2019) *** I have to say that I thought the actors and director which better than the script of this movie. (I haven't read the book, so I don't know if the problems that I had with the script were Donna Tartt's or Peter Straughan's...but since two other scripts written by Peter were very good movies--Frank and The Snowman--I'm guess he just did what he could with the hand that was dealt him.) BTW, director John Crowley also did HBO's True Detective...at least two seasons of which (1 and 3) were really good, and one of which (3) was brilliant.
95. Lucy in the Sky (2019) *** Wanted to like this movie a lot more. And it had some moments, for sure. But what made it less than enjoyable for me was the unrelenting selfishness of the main character. By the time we hit the halfway mark, I didn't really give a shit what happened to Lucy.
96. Tolkien (2019) **** What a superb movie. Very touching at times--in fact, there were two scenes that literally brought me to tears. I wasn't a big fan of the This Is Where He Got His Ideas stuff, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the movie, either. Nicholas Hoult is the head of Benedict Cumberbatch, so I actually was expecting BC to be in this movie...but this Hoult fellow is quite good, too. This was the beginning of Joe's next Movie Cycle, so from here we go through the three Hobbit movies (I've not seen any of them) to The Lord of the Rings cycle (I've seen all three at least twice, maybe more)...and then, in slightly related news, the plan is to go the The Chronicles of Narnia. (C.S. Lewis was J.R.R. Tolkien's buddy and fellow member of The Inklings.) Apparently we have to watch a cartoon version of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, then the PBS series, then the films (3? 4?) of the latest version. I've seen the PBS way back in the day with Jimmy--have it on VHS--and saw the first one of the new run, but wasn't interested in seeing any more after that, so at least half of it will be new to me.
97. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) **** I was only going to watch this because Joe wanted to, and my memory of seeing it...at least some of it...previously was not good at all. But surprise, surprise, this was actually quite good. I must not have been in a very good mood when I saw in previously. Maybe suffering from LOTR hangover. Anyway...looking forward to the second one tomorrow.
98. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) *** Sorry to say that while this one had some moments, it wasn't as good as the first installment. Largely because there were just a few too many Stupid Movie Moments. Most of which involved the dragon. Why the hell didn't he at least try to burn the dwarves up while he was chasing them around? Sure, he made a couple of passes here and there, but every time he had a clear shot at them he held his fire. And using him to light up the forge...well, that was predictable, stupid, and no even close to believable. So. It was nice to see Evangeline Lilly, of course...even if she did have pointy ears. BTW, what was Legolas's problem? He was PMSing the whole movie.
99. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) *** And sorry to say, but fewer good moments, more stupid movie moments. Sigh. Onward to TLOTR now.
100. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) **** I've seen this a few times, but it's been awhile...and I have to admit I wasn't all that keen to have another go of it, but Joe wanted to do a run through the whole series, so I joined him. And? Well...it was quite a delight. Maybe part of that is the contrast with The Hobbit movies...because this is so much better than they were. Now I'm actually looking forward to the second film. (Which starts tomorrow, of course. Although I did talk Joe into just doing one disc per day, so that's a bit more manageable.)
101. Brooklyn Bridge (1981) *** Not quite as compelling at the other Ken Burns stuff I've seen, but there were definitely some great moments here. I was interested in seeing this because I've been reading (courtesy of ComiXology Unlimited) The Bridge: How the Roeblings Connected Brooklyn to New York by Peter Tomasi. Turns out the aforementioned graphic novel is far superior to the documentary, but that's life sometimes. One plus re: the documentary was not Kurt Vonnegut was one of the voices (reading Mark Twain stuff...maybe other stuff as well). Also, there was a voice credit for Richard Pini. Surely there can't be more than one of them, right?
102. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) **** That Viggo Mortensen was a sexy beast, wasn't he? (I don't mean that in a gay way. Not that there's anything wrong with that.) ANYway...another brilliant movie. The only thing that continues to bother me is what piss poor fighters the Orcs are. I mean...shit, man. Some of them go down when a hobbit throws a rock at their heads. What's up with that shit?
103. Ad Astra (2019) **** A friend of mine told me that he didn't like this movie, and so it went from my Anxious To See It list to my Maybe I won't Bother List. But I still get free HBO, and when it popped up there I decided to have a go at it. And? I think there's something seriously wrong with my friend's powers of judgment. This is a really good movie, and Brad Pitt does a great job. Hell, the opening scene alone...of Roy McBride (Brad) falling off of a space antenna and plunging to earth...is worth the price of admission. Well, more than that, since I didn't pay anything. But you know what I'm talking about. Also nice to see Tommy Lee Jones (as H. Clifford McBride, Roy's dad) and always nice to see Donald Sutherland (who is looking great at 84) and Liv Tyler (how the hell did she get to be 42 year old?). And did I mention that there are killer space monkeys? Well, I shit thee not: there are killer space monkeys. What the fuck more do you want from a movie?
104. Artemis Fowl (2020) * I'm going to have to admit that I dozed off a few times during this movie, but I don't think any power on Earth could have kept my consciousness engaged with this mess. My God...they spent $125 million on this thing? It was just awful. I felt embarrassed for Colin Farrell and Judi Dench, who surely must have taken part in this because the rent was due. As for director Kenneth Branagh...well, just shame on you, Sir Ken. I know that you were limited by the parameters of the book...and I'm guessing that that made it impossible to make a decent movie out of this...but for fuck's sake, there are hundreds of other young adult fantasy novels out there. And you chose to do this?
105. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) **** Yep, it was all good. I probably wouldn't have re-watched this series if not for Joe's prodding, so I'm glad that he did that. I had forgotten how much I liked this series...and how good Viggo Mortensen is in it. Definitely worth doing.
106. I Know This Much Is True (2020) **** Wow. Mark Ruffalo was absolutely brilliant in this. Some of the stuff was pretty hard to take...cutting off a hand, beating up a woman, terrorizing children, brutality...but in this case it was actually worth it. Amazing show. I will never talk shit about Wally Lamb again. Not that I ever did before, but just sayin'.
107. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1988) *** Almost three hours' worth of Narnia action...with some of the worst special effects ever put on screen...including (I shit thee not) drawn creatures and a big stuffed lion. Which does, admittedly, have its own sort of charm...but it was hard for me to hang in there on this one. And I doubt that it will be any easier when we watch the other two parts of this series. Sigh. Speaking of, we tried to go VHS Theatre on this episode, but the old tapes were just too worn out, raked with tracking lines and even shuddering to a stop, and the sound was so muddy you needed a boot jack to make any sense of it at all. Fortunately, YouTube came to the rescue...the entire thing was posted there...for free!
108. Prince Caspian/The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989) ** The vhs of this one was in a little better shape than the first, but we opted for YouTube again. And?
109. The Silver Chair (1990) ** Another YouTube viewing. Thanks, YouTube, you made my kids happy for about three hours. As for me? Too much screaming, too many bad special effects, too many obnoxious little boys. Glad this series is over...and hope that the more modern ones are less painful, since it looks like I'm going to have to watch all of them, too. At least they pooped out after the third one, so there's some blessing in that.
110. Three Christs (2017) ***** This is the first movie I've rented for myself in a long time...and it was really good. Richard Gere does a great job as Dr. Stone, the psychiatrist, and Peter Dinklage,
Walton Goggins, and Bradley Whitford were superb as the three Christs. And of course I fell in love with Charlotte Hope's Becky. Part of my love for this movie is no doubt the mental hospital setting, as, for whatever reason, I am always a sucker for that scenario. And the theological aspect of it attracted me...though, to be honest, there was very little of that in the movie, actually. And the story doesn't go the way you think it will, and there are some tearful moments along the way, for sure, but I think what really emerges is the undeniable fact that there are some people who really want to help other people...whose devotion to kindness is extraordinary. I need those stories. The fact that it is a true one makes it even more necessary.
111. Midway (2019) ***** Awesome movie.
112. My Spy (2020) *** Some stupidity here and there, but quite a few laugh out loud moments, too. I'd say go for it. Especially if you have Amazon Prime, since it's free there.
113. One Million Years B.C. (1966) ** Well, what can I say? It's been awhile since I've seen Raquel Welch in a deerskin bikini. And that, of course, was well worth the time, but this movie is so bad...from the primitive (no pun intended) special effects to the complete lack of plot and the almost complete lack of dialogue...it's just awful. Still...I wouldn't mind seeing another Raquel Welch movie!
114. Devs (2020) **** Got to this via a friend's recommendation...but since that friend and I rarely agree on anything with respect to movies, tv shows, books, or movies, I was not all that anxious to get to it. Still, a friend is a friend, and so on a slow night I checked out the first episode. I wasn't captivated, but it did have a very interesting Jesus Moment...so I kept at it over the next few days. And it definitely got more and more interesting. It even ended well (only 8 episodes). Pretty sure there ain't gonna be no rematch, but...yeah. Well worth doing.
115. Doctor Sleep (2019) *** Had no interest in this movie, even though I am a pretty big Stephen King fan and had read the book. Well, actually there's no even though about that...it was because of those things that I didn't have any interest in seeing it. But Joe wanted to see it, and it was on HBO, so I sat down with him to check it out. And? Well. I was most impressed. I am not a horror movie fan, but there were some good moments in this one, for sure. And Rebecca Ferguson as Rosie the Hat...¡muy caliente! So something for everyone, then.
116. The Shining (1980) ** You know...I really don't like Jack Nicholson. For one thing, he just always seems to be playing Jack Nicholson. For another thing, he is so limited in his range...including range of motion as well as emotion...that I often feel like I'm watching the same movie I've seen before. But even setting that aside, I think The Shining is a bad movie. The book is so much richer...and so much more frightening...that it really isn't even the same thing. It's hard to believe that Stanley Kubrick had anything to do with this thing.
117. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) * Joe's next film series kick is, alas, The Pirates of the Caribbean. I saw this one when it came out and thought it was awful, and re-watching it now has not made me think better of it. It's just such shit. I wish I had those hours back, but hey, at least I got some couch time with my son.
118. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) -0 This one made the first one look like Citizen Kane. Holy shit. They spent $225 million to make this thing, and it earned $1,066,179,725 at the box office, making it the 34th highest grossing film worldwide of all time. (And 27th in the USofA.) Unfuckingbelievable. I don't think I can watch anymore of these movies. I'm going to have to resort to sneaking a read in while I sit with Joe, as I want to keep him company, but my brain can't handle this bullshit anymore.
P.S. I have to admit that the Davy Jones character did look pretty good. I guess that's worth a billion dollars, isn't it?
119. Well, I tried to watch Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
(2007) with Joe...but I just couldn't take it. I had to just pretend to watch it while sitting at the computer...occasionally interjecting comments so he wouldn't feel deserted. God, what an insipid, worthless movie. So of course it made almost a billion dollars at the box office. Later on, though, Jacqueline wanted to see Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019 ) again, and I watched that with her. And it had a lot of really dopey moments, but you know...I enjoyed this movie. At least it had a good heart, you know? I'd give it a solid ***. And in case I forgot to mention it last time out, that Isabela Moner is a cute little thing. I'll bet she is going to be a knockout when she gets a few more years on her.
120. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) ** Had to watch this one, as it wasn't available on Disney +, so I had to pay for it from Amazon. And surprise, it didn't suck nearly as much as the other three movies. Not that I'd call it good, because it wasn't, but at least it was watchable. I didn't care for the misogynistic interpretation of mermaids, though.
121. Infinite Potential: The Life and Ideas of David Bohm (2020) ***** Happened upon this by accident. Ir DID I? Anyway, it was pretty fascinating. Kind of like What the Bleep Do We Know? minus the mumbo jumbo. (Not to say that I didn't like the mumbo jumbo...because I did. It's just not in this movie. Knowhatimsayin?)
122. Twilight (2008) ** Yep, I did watch this. Not my choice...and there certainly were some godawful moments...most of them involving truly awful special effects...but Kristen Stewart did a good job, and I thought the story was okay.
123. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) ** That's right, the saga continues. Joe likes these series. And this was actually maybe slightly better than the first. Guess what I'll be watching next?
124. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)
125. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011)
126. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012) Oh...Remy Malick showed up. Other than that...pretty much ** for me. The special effects never improve over the four years that they spent making this movie, and that was always distracting. Especially the fast motion moving, which just seemed really stupid. But the story never became so awful that I couldn't stand watching it, which is something, I suppose. My main thought while sitting through this series, though, was "Robert Pattinson is way too skinny to play Batman." We'll see, I suppose.
127. Snowpiercer (2020) * I am amazed that Jennifer Connelly and
Daveed Diggs are featured players in this show. It is virtually non-stop bad...from the absolutely ridiculous premise (why would it make sense to put the few surviving members of humanity on a train and run it non-stop (almost...it stopped for a bit on the final episode of the season) around the world?...to the nasty violence (which includes a young woman who cuts the dicks off of men before they are murdered). It's just an awful show masquerading as an allegory. And a bad allegory at that. I really hope that this thing gets cancelled so that I won't have to put up with it for another minute...but Joe is a fan, so if I have to, I will. Sigh. The things we do for the love of our children.
128. Johnny Tremain (1957) *** Not a great movie by any means, but there were many things that I liked about it. A movie about when Americans were the good guys, the idealists, the people who were willing to suffer without whining about it. Those were the days, my friend. Unfortunately, the movie took great liberties (pun intended) with the story from the novel, and none of those changes were good...but they were obviously done to streamline the plot, and that's understandable. (Especially so as the budget was $700,000!) The only "star" here was Sebastian Cabot...Mr. French from Family Affair...and here he plays a pain in the ass Brit. He's also unrecognizable without his beard, but that voice is unmistakable. (BaGHEER-A!) So if you need a dose of American idealism, this is worth 80 minutes of your time.
129. Soylent Green (1973) ** Of course I knew the "surprise" ending--is it possible to avoid it?--but I don't think I've ever watched this movie before. It was okay, I suppose. Charlton Heston is a little hard to bear, and I don't know how I'm supposed to sympathize with a character who smacks women around and forces one to have sex with him. (Of course, she is okay with it and even wants him to stay with her later. FF'S.) The biggest surprise of the movie was that Tom Robinson (Brock Peters) played the police captain, and Dick Van Patten had a bit part as the guy in the suicide parlor. I guess he hadn't really made it by 1973...and he was no spring chicken even then.
130. The Architect (2006) ** I think this movie had good intentions. The basic plot premise--that a woman who lives in public housing is trying to get the buildings demolished, as they have become unliveable, and goes to the architect who designed them to try to get his help. It also has some decent folks in it, including Viola Davis, Isabella Rossellini, and a very cute seventeen year old Hayden Panettiere. But things just kind of fell apart along the way, and it ended up being well worth missing. But that's okay, because I only watched it because I wanted to see Lauren Hodges in action. You had to play close attention to the screen to catch her, though, as she was only in two scenes: on in which she fixes herself up in the bathroom, and the other in which she tends bar. This woman has been on the screen for 23 years...9 of them by the time of this movie...but she just hasn't really broken through. Which is a real shame, as she is quite good.
131. Harriet (2019) ***** I didn't really want to see this movie. It fell into the (1) heard that story too often and (2) don't want to see the horrors replayed again categories. But I saw it listed on HBO and thought that Joe would want to see it...and maybe Jacqueline, too, since she had gone to the theater to see it (back in the day when we did that sort of thing) and had to leave before the end. But I sat down with Joe, planning to get a little sneak reading in...and I was almost instantly kidnapped by this movie. I don't know how historically accurate it is, but it was just a stunning movie. Made me cry several times...and not just at the horrors of slavery. Made me wonder (for the 3,027th time this week) what the fuck is wrong with people. It's a must see.
132. Knucklehead (2015) ***** Happened upon this pretty much by accident. I was pursuing The Complete Filmography of Lauren Hodges, and she had a part in this, and it was available (on tubi, btw). And it was one of the best movies about a special needs adult that I've ever seen. Alfre Woodard plays a nasty, alcoholic mother if that adds to the incentive to watch it.
133. Broadway's Finest (2012) -0 This was another movie I watched in pursuit of The Complete Filmography of Lauren Hodges...and the only reason I continued to watch it after the first few minutes was because I wanted to see her. This was one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my life. It is not hyperbole to say that there was not a single scene which I actually believed in...including, alas, the five short scenes in which Lauren Hodges appeared. The only good news is that this wasn't the last Lauren Hodges show I saw, because I would hate for this to be the last taste of New that I had in my mouth. (That said, I will add that she wasn't nearly as terrible as everything else in this movie, but it definitely wasn't up to her usual level of excellence.)
134. The Adjustment Bureau (2011) ** I'm a big Philip K. Dick fan, but I didn't think a whole hell of a lot of this movie. I don't think I've read the story, but if the movie stuck to it, then I don't want to. It was a silly version of Dick's basic distrust in what we call reality. Big surprise, I watched this because Lauren Hodges is in it. And by in it, I mean for less than one minute total of onscreen time (split between two short scenes), and she uttered one line of dialogue. And this was after Rubicon, so there's just no fuckin' excuse to relegate her to the back of the room that way. Unless maybe it was shot before Rubicon was released, which is possible, I suppose. Still...Lauren could have done the Emily Blunt part (female lead) a lot better than EB...and I say that as one who is awfully fond of Ms. Blunt, too, not a hater. Sigh.
135. The Exhibitionists (2012) -0 Another Lauren Hodges movie. And oh, my, what a horrid movie this was. My heart goes out to Lauren with sincere sympathy. How bad was it? Well, I'm actually going to try to say, simply in the hopes that I can spare you the pain of losing 90 minutes of your life to this film. Here's the basic plot: a guy and his sister are caught fucking in the basement by their mother. She hangs herself. The guy goes into the priesthood to toe for his sins. This is all backstory. At the start of the actual movie, the priest runs away from his monastery and arrives at the house his sister shares with a filmmaker. He wants to make a film about the priest. And then...well, just the highlights. There's a woman who taps her ashes into the open mouth of a young woman. And then she puts the young woman into a dog collar and attaches a leash. The film maker guy gives a pistol a blow job. Several of the characters drink something that looks like blood, and then spend the rest of the movie with Joker mouths. Had enough? Yeah, me, too. The funny thing is that for all its pretense at being On The Edge of Porn, there's actually no nudity in the whole movie. It gets close with a shot from behind scene where you get a pretty good view of one breast, but no nipple, so it doesn't count, right? At any rate, if you think you want to see this for titillation, walk on by, because you are not going to find it here. The only reason to watch this movie is for Lauren Hodges, and to be honest, although she doesn't do anything that is TOO humiliating, it's just not a good role to see her in.
136. The Swamp (2020) **** Well...when I saw that Matt Gaetz was going to be featured in this documentary, I was ready to sit back and loathe him. And when I saw that Thomas Massie would be in there, too, I was figuring on a regular feast of scorn. (I didn't know the third featured congressman, Ken Buck, though.) But you know...this really wasn't that kind of documentary. Despite my dislike for the Republican perspective...and for two of these fellows specifically...I have to admit that neither one of them seemed like idiots in this thing. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say there were a few moments when I admired them. Didn't see that coming at all. I thought that Gaetz was just a preening asshole who specialized in spectacle for the sake of spectacle (like storming the skiff), and that Massie was a dumbass who said that political science wasn't "real" science. Anyway, it's worth having a look at. I know it's more fun to just hate these rat bastards, but hatred doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere, so it might be time to try a different approach.
137. Hanna Season One (2019) **** I took a look at the first episode of this show just because. I'd seen the movie...or part of it, anyway, I really don't remember...and thought it was okay, but didn't really think the series would be my cup of tea. But I was wrong. I was real wrong. This show is most excellent. Esme Creed-Miles is superb as Hanna, and every other cast member is at least excellent. I am ready for Season Two.
138. The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) **** I hadn't really intended to watch this movie...though I'd heard about it when it first came out...and though I admire some of Miloš Forman's work immensely (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, Goya's Ghosts, some parts of Hair). But you know...Larry Flynt. And Hustler. I've seen a few of those, I'll confess, but it's never really been my idea of a real good time. And Woody Harrelson is not my favorite actor...though of course he's done some excellent work. But I was browsing through tubi and there it was, and I didn't have much of anything on my schedule, so.... And then there was Courtney Love...who I am not fond of. But I didn't actually recognize her right off, so my first impression was actually, "Oh, wow, that girl is really hot." So by the time I realized it was Ms. Love, I was already inclined to disregard my previous opinion. (Even though she was not nearly as hot as I thought from that first scene where she is doing her strip tease routine.) Anyway...I ended up watching the whole thing. And you know...it's not only a good movie, it's also a pretty important movie, and it raises some damned good questions about pornography and obscenity and free speech and Christianity and lots of other things. I'd have to say that this is very close to being a must see movie. Maybe close enough to round up.
139. Magic Camp (2020) *
140. The One and Only Ivan (2020) * Wow. Bryan Cranston was actually in this.
141. Hanna Season Two (2020) **** I don't want to wait a year for Season Three, man.
142. Rubicon (2010) ***** Wow, has it really been ten years since this show was on television? Hard to believe. Also hard to believe that a show this good couldn't generate enough interest to get a second season made. Where are Amazon and Netflix when you really need them, anyway? Anyway...this is one of my all time favorite shows. It's intelligent, the actors are great, and it only uses sex and violence when necessary...which is why there's very little of either one of them. I guess we've answered the question as to why it didn't make it to a second season, then, eh?
P.S. Then I watched a commentary featurette, and I have to say it made me appreciate the movie a bit more. For one thing, I hadn't noticed (though I should have) that there were helicopter shots used in the movie...which were not obvious helicopter shots at all, at least not until you stopped to think, How did they get that shot? So hey...let's make it a full ***.
26. Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) ** Yeah...it's just kind of a shame to see Jim Carey doing stupid shit like this. As for the rest...well, kid movies don't have to be stupid and illogical, y'know. And you'd think that $90 million (+ ?) would kind of iron out the stupid. But clearly it doesn't.
27. Top Gun (1986) ** Y'know, I actually enjoyed seeing this movie, but it sure was full of shit. Everything...from putting up with the shenanigans of Maverick because he was A Helluva Pilot to the affair with the instructor to letting a guy who is clearly suffering from serious PTSS pilot a fighter in a war zone...I mean, for fuck's sake. (And I didn't even mention Val Kilmer's hilariously non-regulation hairdo.) On the other hand, I really like Tom Cruise a lot, and Kelly McGillis was seriously hot back in the day, wasn't she?
28. Superstore Season 4 (2018) **** Yep, still works for me.
29. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) **** Well what do you know...Quentin Tarantino finally made a great movie. And Brad Pitt made aNOTHer great movie. And Leonardo DiCaprio ditto. And Margo Robbie...etc. Yep.
30. Knives Out (2019) *** Funny, I got this movie for Joe, and I was only kinda sorta watching the first part of it, but as it went on I started getting more into it, and by the 3/4ths point I was thinking, "Maybe I should watch this over again from the start." I didn't, but I have to say that I did enjoy this movie a whole hell of a lot more than I thought I would. Superb job by Daniel Craig, especially.
31 and 32. Oleg's Choice (2016) ***** Wow. If you stick with it, this movie will touch your heart. Hell, it will punch you in the heart and shake your soul. Hard. After watching it I did a little online reading about the film, read something which confused me, and then watched the movie again just to make sure I understood it. I did--I'd actually misinterpreted the online comment. So no spoiler, but just in case: Oleg is a Russian at the beginning, and a Russian at the end. He changes drastically in the course of this thing, but he does not switch sides.
33. Malcolm X (1992) ***** This was a Spike Lee movie, so of course there were some We Interrupt This Movie To Remind You About How Clever I Am moments, but even that couldn't stop this story. Denzel Washington was absolutely superb, and the story itself is as compelling as it gets. Awesome movie. Joe watched it with me, too...mostly because of the Denzel factor, but he got into it, and I'm happy to say that he was outraged by the ending. He's got a good heart, my boy.
34. The Russian Woodpecker (2015) ***** An absolutely stunning, must-see documentary. And the good news: it's available on Amazon for a mere $1.99 (SD rental)...or, if you have access to Kanopy, for free there. I want to go on at some length about this, though, so ahmo go write that up asap and just link to it from here.
35. The Dark Crystal (1982) *** Well...you'd think I'd have seen this a long time ago, but no. Guess I was busy wooing and earning. I have to say that despite some nice touches here and there, it wasn't worth the wait. Especially the ending, which was just tired and cliche. I also thought it was kind of rough for a PG movie: I mean, plucking out eyeballs, eating living creatures, draining the life-force out of other creatures, fatal stabbing, scary spider / lobster-y monsters. It'd give me bad dreams if I was a Little. Don't think I'm going to go for the sequel.
36. Capitalism (2014) ***** Six part series...and there was a guest appearance by Noam Chomsky in the second part. It was superb. A little over my head at times, but all in all excellent.
37. Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) ***** Admittedly I love Michael Moore and have seen all of his movies...but still, this movie kicks ass, man. Also, perhaps you notice a trend in my current movie viewing? Mmm-hmmm. Found this for free on tubi , by the way...which led me to...
38. American Mind Control: MK Ultra (2015) **** This was surprisingly interesting...not nearly as Conspiracy Theorist as you'd think from the title. I watched it by accident (it started up when I finished #37 on tubi), but it ended up being pretty captivating.
39. Bloodshot (2020) ** Well...Valiant Comics enters the movie arena. There were a few decent spots, but not nearly enough...and there was more than a heapin' helpin' of stupidity to go along with it. So save your bucks on this one, kids.
40. Evil (2019) **** Finished season one of this show awhile back but kind of forgot about it. It's quite good. Mike Colter is excellent as David Acosta, Michael Emerson (Ben on Lost) is so creepy and awful that you want to punch him in the Adam's Apple as Dr. Leland Townsend, and Katja Herbers is making smart look mighty sexy as Dr. Kristen Bouchard. And for network tv, I've got to say...this show is pretty fuckin' scary!
41. Three Days of the Condor (1975) *** Wow. Plot was pretty good, especially at the beginning before the holes became so large you could see the insulation. And Robert Redford show was pooty. But my God, the misogyny is just unrelenting. I actually cried out loud when Redford and Dunaway go in for a kiss and the subsequent sex scene. For God's sake, he kidnapped her, held her at gunpoint, and tied her to a toilet and gagged her with his tie. That is not okay. I am actually anxious to see the TV show remake, as I am hoping that they have taken care of that shit and I can wash the original right out of my hair. I know those were different times, but FF'S....
42. Carmen (2010) **** Great stuff...and a really 🔥hot🔥 Carmen.
43. Marriage Story (2019) **** This was probably a great movie. Adam Driver was really impressive. But I hated it, and it took me several weeks to make it through it. Watching a marriage disintegrate...watching decent people say awful things to each other...it was just a bit too close to home. And I didn't gain anything from it, either. No insights. Just sorrow. And who needs more of that? We're all full up here.
43. La bohème (2008) **** Not quite up to Carmen level...but pretty darned close. And a couple of the arias--expecially Mimi's first...are as good as it gets. BTW, Met Opera is doing free streams every night this week in an effort to help people deal with the Covid-19 quarantine. Apparently it is attracting quite a crowd--their website has been so overwhelmed that they had to set up a virtual waiting room. Good to know that there are that many people who give a shit about opera. (At least when it's free. And who knows, maybe some of them will like it so much that they subscribe. I'm thinking I might do it again myself.) And oh...the setting for the courtyard in the winter? Probably the best opera stage I've ever seen...and I've seen a couple hundred of them.
44. Il Trovatore (2015)...with Anna Netrebko (!) And by the way, that first act set...Holy Shit! My favorite moment, though was when Dmitri Hvorostovsky walked onstage and the audience applauded and applauded. He tried to just wait it out, but then he had to crack a smile and acknowledge the love before he could start singing. I don't know him from any previous work, but he certainly was impressive. Great voice, great presence--very dignified and noble.
45. La Traviata (2018) **** Wow, the opening scene of this opera is pretty amazing. I wonder if an audience unfamiliar with the story would get it, though.
46. The Land That Time Forgot (1974) *** Of course the special effects were laughably bad, but this movie works surprisingly well. Count me as a Doug McClure fan! I am actually looking forward to watching the sequel in the near future. BTW, the poster for this movie is truly awesome:
And did I forget to mention, forget to mention that Joe and I are reading this book right now? He was having a little trouble following the story, though, so I thought that watching the movie might make the reading more accessible for him. Considering the fact that he was writing adventure novels...presumably not for a sophisticated audience...ERB had a pretty complex style...and a very good vocabulary. I'll bet my AP students would have struggled with him at times.
47. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) ** Funny, I had such fond memories of this movie. Especially of my dad watching it and laughing his ass off. And there are still some really great moments, of course. "Well, if there aren't any rules...." "I can't swim." But what I saw most this time around was unrelenting hostility towards women, and it just overwhelmed the movie for me...even though most of the movie didn't include women.
48. 1917 (2019) *** An interesting movie from a technical standpoint...though it is not actually one long shot. The technical achievement was in making it look like one long shot. In fact, I read that there was only one shot that was as long as 8 1/2 minutes, and that many shots were more like one minute. So I don't know how they did that. The story was a mess, though. So many holes. In fact, at one point I actually thought that the movie was the lead character's hallucination, as it was so clear that what had happened couldn't have happened. Same as it ever was: spend $100 million making a movie, but not the extra couple of thousand it would have taken to make it a good movie.
49. The Expanse Season 1 (2015) ***** This, on the other hand, was even better than I remembered it. Such great characters. Such excellent writing. Heading right into Season 2.
50. Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) ** A truly shit movie, but nice to see Rick Schroder, whom I actually like quite a bit, and a surprise to see Peter Fonda, who must have fallen on some pretty hard times to take on this project. Lots of holes in the story, pretty bad special effects, and really bad choices in terms of changes made from the original, but I'm guessing most of that had to do with a limited budget.
51. Westworld Season 1 (2016) *** There was some really good stuff in this series...and I like Ed Harris a lot, so always good to see him, even if he was The Bad Guy this time around...but I have to admit that my brain was too tiny to grasp what was going on in this series. Maybe I just didn't pay close enough attention. But Joe enjoyed it, so it's onward to Season 2, I suppose. We'll see how that goes. Watching it did give me a hankering to see the original movie, though, so I might go looking for that.
52. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001 ) **** A fun movie...even if the special effects are a bit dated. Holy shit, this movie is almost twenty years old. How did that happen? Anyway...Joe was talking about this movie with his speech therapist today on his video therapy session (Covid-19 Days), and Jacqueline decided it was high time to have another go at the series, so I decided to join her. Though I did spend about half of the running time on my stationary bike. It made for a most enjoyable diversion. I'm actually looking forward to the next one, too.
53. Pretty Woman (1990) *** Didn't really mean to watch this. It was on when I was flipping through the channels, I noticed how hot Julia Roberts was, and so I stayed. And then I found it again to watch the first part. It was okay. Kind of dopey, but, y'know. At least the bad guy turned into a good guy.
54. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) ***
55. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) *** I usually don't care for time travel stories, but this one was okay by me. Ready for the next HP movie!
56. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) *** I'm pretty sure that this is the last HP film I saw in its entirety...for reasons unknown, but time will tell. I'm glad that Jacqueline booted us into this HP Film Festival, though, as I'm enjoying both the films and the company.
57. Shakespeare Was a Big George Jones Fan: Cowboy Jack Clement's Home Movies (2005) *** Not a great documentary, but it was fun. Lots of glimpses of people you know and love, like John Prine, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, Charley Pride, Bono, Jerry Lee Lewis, George Jones, Porter Wagoner. That's a whole lot of love, ennit?
58. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) *** Another good movie. Y'know, these movies are a lot darker than I remembered. Not that I actually remembered this one, since I'd never seen it in its entirety before today. I find myself getting really frustrated when the bad guys lie or are mean to Harry and the other kids. Ha ha. I guess that's the trick of it, ennit?
59. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) **** Speaking of dark...man, this movie actually hurt a bit. My first time for this one...in fact, I am pretty sure I hadn't seen a single frame of this one. (I had glimpsed a few bits from Order of the Phoenix when it was on tv.) It's also amazing how much these actors have grown up over the course of the movies. Those were 8 big years, for sure. Anyway, very entrancing movie. I actually made the kids pause it when I went to make them lunch. (I often tell them to let things keep rolling and I will listen to them because I don't really care that much about the show and don't want to prolong the viewing time for myself.)
60. Shitt$ Creek Season One (2015) ** This show is not worth your time. The plot is ludicrous, the acting is way over the top--most egregiously from Catherine O'Hara as Moira Rose, but pretty much every character could be painted with the same brush--and, perhaps worst of all, Chris Elliott plays a major recurring role. Chris may well be a wonderful human being, but his "acting" here is exactly what you would expect: crass, revolting, and often disgusting. I only watched the first episode of the show because my sister asked me if I had seen it. She told me that some of her friends had recommended it and that she tried to watch it but after the first episode she thought it was terrible and had had all she could stands and she couldn't stands no more. So I thought I'd watch the first episode to see if we were simpatico. And? We most definitely were. It was just awful. There was just this one thing.... I found Annie Murphy, who plays Alexis Rose, unbearably attractive. I'm not sure why. She has a very pretty face, but her body doesn't seem to be remarkable. (I always did have a thing for thin girls, though.) Long story short, I watched all of Season One. I can't say that I thought any more of it than I did after the first episode, but I will probably watch some more. Just goes to show you, huh? What? Oh, I don't know. But it sure does show you SOMEthing.
61. Underwater (2020) **** As soon as I saw the trailer for this movie, I had two thoughts: (1) I feel like I have seen this movie before and (2) I really want to see this movie. It's hard for me to get to the theater even in the best of times, though, and of course it's impossible right now (Covid-19 Stay At Home Thing), so I was waiting for it to come out on Redbox. It came out yesterday. I got it yesterday. I watched it yesterday. And? Well, it is what it is. It's an underwater creature feature. Nothing more. That said, I thought it was a great way to spend 95 minutes. And though I've never had any love for Kristen Stewart before--and found her unbearable in Charlie's Angels--I thought she did an awesome job. Speaking of Kristin, she spends a fair amount of this movie clad only in bikini briefs and a bra-like top, but I don't think this movie ever focused on her in a way that exploited her sexuality. If that makes no sense, then I'll just say that I don't think there was a single camera shot that lingered on her ass on her stomach, and the reason she was thus clad is because (1) she was in the bathroom brushing her teeth when the disaster hit and (2) in order to get into the deep sea diving suit, all of the characters had to take off their pants. That said...not only did this movie keep me on the edge of my seat and make me Oh! a few times, but it also surprised me several times. Yep. Good movie. I think I'm going to see if I can find some other stuff by the director, William Eubank.
62. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part I (2010) ****
63. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part II (2011) ****
Yowza. First time for both of these, and it was pretty intense. It's been just long enough since I read the books that I couldn't remember the details of what happened, so it was almost like hearing the story for the first time. And I thought it was most excellent. Thus ends our Harry Potter Film Festival. Anyone up for Fantastic Beasts?
64. The Signal (2014) ** and */2 Maybe even ***, depending on what you're looking for. Because on the one hand, it's a kind of pedestrian science fiction / horror movie, and there are some sizable holes in the plot with a little Deus ex machina on the side. But on the other hand, director William Eubank knows how to make stuff look interesting. He does some very cool stuff both in terms of use of slow motion and in juxtapositioning of scenes. Actually, I think this movie would have worked better for me if I'd turned the sound off and just let it flow over me...maybe with a little Ben Cosgrove on the stereo for a soundtrack.
65. Schitt$ Creek Season 2 (2016) ** It's still a pretty bad show...but Annie Murphy sure does look good in white. And I have to admit that there were a few moments which I actually found amusing. None of which included Chris Elliot, by the way.
66. I forgot to include Les Miserables (2012) in there. Which I watched with Jacqueline a few days ago. And which is still a ***** for me. And which made me cry. Several times. Even though I've seen it on stage four times and watched the movie at least three times (and probably more). It just really gets me, y'know?
67. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) *** Another watched with Jacqueline movie...and the first time I've seen it from start to finish. It was pretty good, I must say. I tried to watch The Aristocats with her, too, but had to stop after about thirty minutes. For some reason Jacqueline feels the need to scream regularly throughout this movie, and I just couldn't take it anymore.
68. Murder on the Orient Express (2017) *** Man, EVERYbody was in this movie. It was good, too. I am particularly indebted to this movie, though, in that I had to break Joe's heart by telling him that things wouldn't be opening up May 1st--which he has been counting on for a month and a half--and after we'd talked, he wanted to watch this movie. And it took his mind off of things for a couple of hours. So here's to that.
69. Yesterday (2019) *** And after Murder OtOE, Joe wanted to watch this. The concept went right past him, but he still enjoyed it. As did I...for the second time.
70. Little Women (2019) ***** My second time out on this one. Still made me cry. And laugh. And want to be a writer again. Someday. When I grow up.
71. The Gentlemen (2019) ** When this movie first started, I was thinking, "This is going to be really good!" But it turned out to be just another one of those movies. Lots of violence, lots of killing, lots of people being really mean. Another two hours I'll never get back.
71. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) Funny...the first time I saw this movie I was unimpressed, the second time I saw it I thought, "I was wrong, this is delightful!" and the third (this) time I saw it I was unimpressed again. So much of this story is sunk into overplayed (and underdone) special effects. Yeah. It's not a good movie.
72. Batman and Bill (2017) **** Wow. I know a fair amount about comic books...but a lot of this was new to me. Go Bill Finger! I could have done without the stupid graphics, but the rest of this documentary was really good.
73. Bakery in Brooklyn (2016) -0 This morning I saw a post from one of my Facebook Friends which said that you could watch Ken Loach films on YouTube for free, and since Friend is Irish and Mr. Loach had done several films on Irish topics, I went looking for him. I didn't find what I was looking for--maybe it's not open to Americans?--but I did out something I hadn't none before: YouTube has a whole section of free movies. Some of which are actually good. As I was browsing, I thought, "I want to watch a movie I know nothing about, just to see if it's good on its own merits." And I saw a listing for Bakery in Brooklyn. And since the last time I was in New York I ate a lovely meal in a Hungarian bakery which was close to Brooklyn (a mere 30 minute drive)...I decided to have a look at it.
And? It was quite bad. So bad that it was hard to see it through to the end. The writing was incredibly stupid. In fact, I think the only thing that kept me going was that one of the actors...Blanca Suárez was quite attractive. Other than that...terrible movie.
74. Daylight (1996) * Just happened upon it and stayed. Not a good movie...not even close. But I like Sylvester Stallone, and I'd never seen this before. Not to mention that I really like Amy Brenneman
(who did a nice job as Janice Licalsi way back when on the first season of NYPD Blue--in fact, after seeing her in this movie I had to go back and re-watch the first episode of NYPD Blue, and now I'm thinking that I might as well go ahead and watch all twelve seasons, right?) Have to admit that I would like to know more about those Sandhog tunnels...assuming that they really did exist, which I think is likely.
75. The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) *** I've got to say...with all respect to Robin Williams...this is a lot funnier than the remake.
76. Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019) *** Pretty weak shit, actually...and the second (this) time around was really not all that enjoyable. But hey, it's Star Wars, so you might as well see it. And there are a few good moments.
77. Watched Saariaho’s L’Amour de Loin (2016 version) last night. It was the first opera I've had a chance to watch in its entirety in awhile, and it was *****...maybe even if you're not an opera kind of person. I'd never heard of it--or of the Finnish composer Kaija Anneli Saariaho--but I loved it, and I want to hear more of her music. It was visually quite striking and unique--with bars of light representing the ocean...and an ocean in motion, but not in a cheesy trying to imitate reality way, more like in a 2001: A Space Odyssey way...if Kubrick had had the proper modern technology. It's a must see. And even though it was a modern opera (it premiered in 2000), it wasn't chock full of atonality and all of that irritating shit that modern composers seem to find de rigueur. If you need another reason to seek it out, then the conductor was a woman, too...and in the commentary they said that this was only the second time in the Met's history that a work by a female composer had been staged.
78. SEAL Team: Season 3 (2019 / 2020) ***** I've gone from sitting beside my son and "watching" this show to telling him "pause it until I get back" this season. This is a truly great show which actually takes chances with characterization and story telling. Hats off to ya, SEAL Team!
79. Just Mercy (2020) ***** Jacqueline put in a request for this one, and I'm glad that she did. It was just as moving as it was the first time. Just as infuriating. Just as powerful.
80. The Opera House (2017) **** and add a * if you're any kind of opera fan. But it's really about much more than opera. It's about poverty and affluence, respect for history and the lack thereof, architecture and art and compromise and...well, pretty much everything. I'm going to watch it again tomorrow morning.
81. I Still Believe (2020) **** I'm not a big fan of Christian dramas (or, more specifically, Christian Romance / Dramas)...but I'm not closed-minded, either...and this was a really good movie. Yes, I did cry. Several times. And btw, K.J. Apa did a superb job. He is so much better than the Archie role in Riverdale...a show which I can't even stand to watch anymore.
82. The Call of the Wild (2020) -0 Well, just looking at the trailer made me think that this was going to be bad, but watching it (Joe wanted to see it) was even worse than I thought it would be. My God...this was a terrible movie. I don't want to go on and on, so I'll just say that (1) the CGI was really bad; at no time was I unaware that I was watching CGI animals; (2) speaking of animals, whoever directed the animation of the animals doesn't seem to know anything about how animals move or behave; (3) downplaying the violence in a story about violence really isn't the best idea; and (4) this movie has almost nothing to do with the book other than the title. Definitely not even worth the $2 it cost via Redbox.
83. Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four (2015) **** A really good documentary. So good that I had to watch...
84. The Fantastic Four (1994)...which I had seen once before. I appreciated it on another level this time, though--not as a throwaway joke, but as a sincere effort on a piddling budget (can you imagine making a superhero movie on a one million dollar budget?) undertaken by people who were serious about getting the story told. And you know...there are some good moments in this film. It really should be released. In the course of hunting this down (it's on YouTube, btw), I also found out that there was a book--Forsaken: The Making and Aftermath of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four by William Nesbitt and Mark Sikes--which I'd like to read. Hopefully for free.
85. The Way Back (2020) ** Ben Affleck did a good job in this, but you've seen this movie before. Many times.
86. Emma (2020) **** Superb, nuanced movie. Made me want to read the book. Going to go find the book right now, matter of fact, and ditch that John Barth shit I've been going on about.
87. Alien (1979) **** There are a couple of shit moments special effects wise, but hell, the movie IS over 40 years old...and you know, the rest of it holds up pretty well. Watched this with Joe, and he was into it. Have to admit that I warned him before any of the seriously gross stuff happened, just to make sure he wasn't scarred by it. Don't think he even thought twice about it, though, actually.
88. Carmen Jones (1954) *** An all black modernized version of Carmen...which includes the original music and a re-vamped libretto. Interesting. A bit too affected to really grip me, but still, an impressive achievement for 2020, much less 1954. Might need an extra * or two just for that aspect of it.
89. Took me some doing, but I finally managed to fire up the old VHS player, and first tape in was...Flash Gordon (1980). It has its faults, of course, but hey, it has its moments, too. And that Ornella Muti...what a hot little 🍅! So let's give it a good *** there.
90. Godspell (1973) *** This could have been a great movie. There are several scenes which are so poignant that my soul stirs and tears come to my eyes. But that's mostly due to the music. The film itself is just a bit too much most of the time. Overly campy, completely negating the story at times. Which is just a shame, because the idea...of telling the Gospel via music...is a good one. I think this is one of the few times when I would have to say that I wish that somebody with some sense would do a remake of this thing. Side note: I have seen this movie before, but this is the first time that I realized that Jesus was played by a 24 year old Victor Garber--in his first film roll. And he was really good...well, as good as he could possibly be given the context, anyway. BTW, this was my second VHS movie since The Resoration.
91. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (1970) *** With Fred Astaire and Mickey Rooney...this was good stuff. Surprisingly, I don't think I've ever seen it before. Or if I have, it was so long ago that I didn't remembered anything about the story. But Jacqueline is in Christmas mode, and that means (1) we break out the VHS tapes and (2) she sings along. And not only does she know every song, she knows most of the dialogue as well. Her brain is an amazing thing. Or place. ANYway...I enjoyed this show.
92. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) **** You'll never guess who chose this one...or via what media? Great show, though. And Burl Ives, man...that's the stuff.
93. The Green Berets (1969) *** Actually watched this one via DVR...though in the meanwhile Jacqueline has watched The Little Drummer Boy and Frosty the Snowman on VHS, still in that Christmas mode. ANYway...this is one of the few...actually, the ONLY...movie I can remember going to see just with my Dad. And, ironically, halfway through the movie we had to leave, as he was having a kidney stone. I eventually saw the whole thing in the old Hollywood Theater in Arbutus, Maryland, but I can't remember if Dad went back with me. I seem to remember my friend Danny Boyd accompanying me, but it's possible I made that up. The movie is not what I'd call good. For one thing, Georgia, where it was filmed, doesn't look a hell of a lot like Viet Nam. But considering the fact that it's a very Pro-US Involvement movie, it has its moments.
94. The Goldfinch (2019) *** I have to say that I thought the actors and director which better than the script of this movie. (I haven't read the book, so I don't know if the problems that I had with the script were Donna Tartt's or Peter Straughan's...but since two other scripts written by Peter were very good movies--Frank and The Snowman--I'm guess he just did what he could with the hand that was dealt him.) BTW, director John Crowley also did HBO's True Detective...at least two seasons of which (1 and 3) were really good, and one of which (3) was brilliant.
95. Lucy in the Sky (2019) *** Wanted to like this movie a lot more. And it had some moments, for sure. But what made it less than enjoyable for me was the unrelenting selfishness of the main character. By the time we hit the halfway mark, I didn't really give a shit what happened to Lucy.
96. Tolkien (2019) **** What a superb movie. Very touching at times--in fact, there were two scenes that literally brought me to tears. I wasn't a big fan of the This Is Where He Got His Ideas stuff, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the movie, either. Nicholas Hoult is the head of Benedict Cumberbatch, so I actually was expecting BC to be in this movie...but this Hoult fellow is quite good, too. This was the beginning of Joe's next Movie Cycle, so from here we go through the three Hobbit movies (I've not seen any of them) to The Lord of the Rings cycle (I've seen all three at least twice, maybe more)...and then, in slightly related news, the plan is to go the The Chronicles of Narnia. (C.S. Lewis was J.R.R. Tolkien's buddy and fellow member of The Inklings.) Apparently we have to watch a cartoon version of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, then the PBS series, then the films (3? 4?) of the latest version. I've seen the PBS way back in the day with Jimmy--have it on VHS--and saw the first one of the new run, but wasn't interested in seeing any more after that, so at least half of it will be new to me.
97. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) **** I was only going to watch this because Joe wanted to, and my memory of seeing it...at least some of it...previously was not good at all. But surprise, surprise, this was actually quite good. I must not have been in a very good mood when I saw in previously. Maybe suffering from LOTR hangover. Anyway...looking forward to the second one tomorrow.
98. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) *** Sorry to say that while this one had some moments, it wasn't as good as the first installment. Largely because there were just a few too many Stupid Movie Moments. Most of which involved the dragon. Why the hell didn't he at least try to burn the dwarves up while he was chasing them around? Sure, he made a couple of passes here and there, but every time he had a clear shot at them he held his fire. And using him to light up the forge...well, that was predictable, stupid, and no even close to believable. So. It was nice to see Evangeline Lilly, of course...even if she did have pointy ears. BTW, what was Legolas's problem? He was PMSing the whole movie.
99. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) *** And sorry to say, but fewer good moments, more stupid movie moments. Sigh. Onward to TLOTR now.
100. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) **** I've seen this a few times, but it's been awhile...and I have to admit I wasn't all that keen to have another go of it, but Joe wanted to do a run through the whole series, so I joined him. And? Well...it was quite a delight. Maybe part of that is the contrast with The Hobbit movies...because this is so much better than they were. Now I'm actually looking forward to the second film. (Which starts tomorrow, of course. Although I did talk Joe into just doing one disc per day, so that's a bit more manageable.)
101. Brooklyn Bridge (1981) *** Not quite as compelling at the other Ken Burns stuff I've seen, but there were definitely some great moments here. I was interested in seeing this because I've been reading (courtesy of ComiXology Unlimited) The Bridge: How the Roeblings Connected Brooklyn to New York by Peter Tomasi. Turns out the aforementioned graphic novel is far superior to the documentary, but that's life sometimes. One plus re: the documentary was not Kurt Vonnegut was one of the voices (reading Mark Twain stuff...maybe other stuff as well). Also, there was a voice credit for Richard Pini. Surely there can't be more than one of them, right?
102. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) **** That Viggo Mortensen was a sexy beast, wasn't he? (I don't mean that in a gay way. Not that there's anything wrong with that.) ANYway...another brilliant movie. The only thing that continues to bother me is what piss poor fighters the Orcs are. I mean...shit, man. Some of them go down when a hobbit throws a rock at their heads. What's up with that shit?
103. Ad Astra (2019) **** A friend of mine told me that he didn't like this movie, and so it went from my Anxious To See It list to my Maybe I won't Bother List. But I still get free HBO, and when it popped up there I decided to have a go at it. And? I think there's something seriously wrong with my friend's powers of judgment. This is a really good movie, and Brad Pitt does a great job. Hell, the opening scene alone...of Roy McBride (Brad) falling off of a space antenna and plunging to earth...is worth the price of admission. Well, more than that, since I didn't pay anything. But you know what I'm talking about. Also nice to see Tommy Lee Jones (as H. Clifford McBride, Roy's dad) and always nice to see Donald Sutherland (who is looking great at 84) and Liv Tyler (how the hell did she get to be 42 year old?). And did I mention that there are killer space monkeys? Well, I shit thee not: there are killer space monkeys. What the fuck more do you want from a movie?
104. Artemis Fowl (2020) * I'm going to have to admit that I dozed off a few times during this movie, but I don't think any power on Earth could have kept my consciousness engaged with this mess. My God...they spent $125 million on this thing? It was just awful. I felt embarrassed for Colin Farrell and Judi Dench, who surely must have taken part in this because the rent was due. As for director Kenneth Branagh...well, just shame on you, Sir Ken. I know that you were limited by the parameters of the book...and I'm guessing that that made it impossible to make a decent movie out of this...but for fuck's sake, there are hundreds of other young adult fantasy novels out there. And you chose to do this?
105. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) **** Yep, it was all good. I probably wouldn't have re-watched this series if not for Joe's prodding, so I'm glad that he did that. I had forgotten how much I liked this series...and how good Viggo Mortensen is in it. Definitely worth doing.
106. I Know This Much Is True (2020) **** Wow. Mark Ruffalo was absolutely brilliant in this. Some of the stuff was pretty hard to take...cutting off a hand, beating up a woman, terrorizing children, brutality...but in this case it was actually worth it. Amazing show. I will never talk shit about Wally Lamb again. Not that I ever did before, but just sayin'.
107. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1988) *** Almost three hours' worth of Narnia action...with some of the worst special effects ever put on screen...including (I shit thee not) drawn creatures and a big stuffed lion. Which does, admittedly, have its own sort of charm...but it was hard for me to hang in there on this one. And I doubt that it will be any easier when we watch the other two parts of this series. Sigh. Speaking of, we tried to go VHS Theatre on this episode, but the old tapes were just too worn out, raked with tracking lines and even shuddering to a stop, and the sound was so muddy you needed a boot jack to make any sense of it at all. Fortunately, YouTube came to the rescue...the entire thing was posted there...for free!
108. Prince Caspian/The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989) ** The vhs of this one was in a little better shape than the first, but we opted for YouTube again. And?
109. The Silver Chair (1990) ** Another YouTube viewing. Thanks, YouTube, you made my kids happy for about three hours. As for me? Too much screaming, too many bad special effects, too many obnoxious little boys. Glad this series is over...and hope that the more modern ones are less painful, since it looks like I'm going to have to watch all of them, too. At least they pooped out after the third one, so there's some blessing in that.
110. Three Christs (2017) ***** This is the first movie I've rented for myself in a long time...and it was really good. Richard Gere does a great job as Dr. Stone, the psychiatrist, and Peter Dinklage,
Walton Goggins, and Bradley Whitford were superb as the three Christs. And of course I fell in love with Charlotte Hope's Becky. Part of my love for this movie is no doubt the mental hospital setting, as, for whatever reason, I am always a sucker for that scenario. And the theological aspect of it attracted me...though, to be honest, there was very little of that in the movie, actually. And the story doesn't go the way you think it will, and there are some tearful moments along the way, for sure, but I think what really emerges is the undeniable fact that there are some people who really want to help other people...whose devotion to kindness is extraordinary. I need those stories. The fact that it is a true one makes it even more necessary.
111. Midway (2019) ***** Awesome movie.
112. My Spy (2020) *** Some stupidity here and there, but quite a few laugh out loud moments, too. I'd say go for it. Especially if you have Amazon Prime, since it's free there.
113. One Million Years B.C. (1966) ** Well, what can I say? It's been awhile since I've seen Raquel Welch in a deerskin bikini. And that, of course, was well worth the time, but this movie is so bad...from the primitive (no pun intended) special effects to the complete lack of plot and the almost complete lack of dialogue...it's just awful. Still...I wouldn't mind seeing another Raquel Welch movie!
114. Devs (2020) **** Got to this via a friend's recommendation...but since that friend and I rarely agree on anything with respect to movies, tv shows, books, or movies, I was not all that anxious to get to it. Still, a friend is a friend, and so on a slow night I checked out the first episode. I wasn't captivated, but it did have a very interesting Jesus Moment...so I kept at it over the next few days. And it definitely got more and more interesting. It even ended well (only 8 episodes). Pretty sure there ain't gonna be no rematch, but...yeah. Well worth doing.
115. Doctor Sleep (2019) *** Had no interest in this movie, even though I am a pretty big Stephen King fan and had read the book. Well, actually there's no even though about that...it was because of those things that I didn't have any interest in seeing it. But Joe wanted to see it, and it was on HBO, so I sat down with him to check it out. And? Well. I was most impressed. I am not a horror movie fan, but there were some good moments in this one, for sure. And Rebecca Ferguson as Rosie the Hat...¡muy caliente! So something for everyone, then.
116. The Shining (1980) ** You know...I really don't like Jack Nicholson. For one thing, he just always seems to be playing Jack Nicholson. For another thing, he is so limited in his range...including range of motion as well as emotion...that I often feel like I'm watching the same movie I've seen before. But even setting that aside, I think The Shining is a bad movie. The book is so much richer...and so much more frightening...that it really isn't even the same thing. It's hard to believe that Stanley Kubrick had anything to do with this thing.
117. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) * Joe's next film series kick is, alas, The Pirates of the Caribbean. I saw this one when it came out and thought it was awful, and re-watching it now has not made me think better of it. It's just such shit. I wish I had those hours back, but hey, at least I got some couch time with my son.
118. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) -0 This one made the first one look like Citizen Kane. Holy shit. They spent $225 million to make this thing, and it earned $1,066,179,725 at the box office, making it the 34th highest grossing film worldwide of all time. (And 27th in the USofA.) Unfuckingbelievable. I don't think I can watch anymore of these movies. I'm going to have to resort to sneaking a read in while I sit with Joe, as I want to keep him company, but my brain can't handle this bullshit anymore.
P.S. I have to admit that the Davy Jones character did look pretty good. I guess that's worth a billion dollars, isn't it?
119. Well, I tried to watch Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
(2007) with Joe...but I just couldn't take it. I had to just pretend to watch it while sitting at the computer...occasionally interjecting comments so he wouldn't feel deserted. God, what an insipid, worthless movie. So of course it made almost a billion dollars at the box office. Later on, though, Jacqueline wanted to see Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019 ) again, and I watched that with her. And it had a lot of really dopey moments, but you know...I enjoyed this movie. At least it had a good heart, you know? I'd give it a solid ***. And in case I forgot to mention it last time out, that Isabela Moner is a cute little thing. I'll bet she is going to be a knockout when she gets a few more years on her.
120. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) ** Had to watch this one, as it wasn't available on Disney +, so I had to pay for it from Amazon. And surprise, it didn't suck nearly as much as the other three movies. Not that I'd call it good, because it wasn't, but at least it was watchable. I didn't care for the misogynistic interpretation of mermaids, though.
121. Infinite Potential: The Life and Ideas of David Bohm (2020) ***** Happened upon this by accident. Ir DID I? Anyway, it was pretty fascinating. Kind of like What the Bleep Do We Know? minus the mumbo jumbo. (Not to say that I didn't like the mumbo jumbo...because I did. It's just not in this movie. Knowhatimsayin?)
122. Twilight (2008) ** Yep, I did watch this. Not my choice...and there certainly were some godawful moments...most of them involving truly awful special effects...but Kristen Stewart did a good job, and I thought the story was okay.
123. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) ** That's right, the saga continues. Joe likes these series. And this was actually maybe slightly better than the first. Guess what I'll be watching next?
124. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)
125. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011)
126. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012) Oh...Remy Malick showed up. Other than that...pretty much ** for me. The special effects never improve over the four years that they spent making this movie, and that was always distracting. Especially the fast motion moving, which just seemed really stupid. But the story never became so awful that I couldn't stand watching it, which is something, I suppose. My main thought while sitting through this series, though, was "Robert Pattinson is way too skinny to play Batman." We'll see, I suppose.
127. Snowpiercer (2020) * I am amazed that Jennifer Connelly and
Daveed Diggs are featured players in this show. It is virtually non-stop bad...from the absolutely ridiculous premise (why would it make sense to put the few surviving members of humanity on a train and run it non-stop (almost...it stopped for a bit on the final episode of the season) around the world?...to the nasty violence (which includes a young woman who cuts the dicks off of men before they are murdered). It's just an awful show masquerading as an allegory. And a bad allegory at that. I really hope that this thing gets cancelled so that I won't have to put up with it for another minute...but Joe is a fan, so if I have to, I will. Sigh. The things we do for the love of our children.
128. Johnny Tremain (1957) *** Not a great movie by any means, but there were many things that I liked about it. A movie about when Americans were the good guys, the idealists, the people who were willing to suffer without whining about it. Those were the days, my friend. Unfortunately, the movie took great liberties (pun intended) with the story from the novel, and none of those changes were good...but they were obviously done to streamline the plot, and that's understandable. (Especially so as the budget was $700,000!) The only "star" here was Sebastian Cabot...Mr. French from Family Affair...and here he plays a pain in the ass Brit. He's also unrecognizable without his beard, but that voice is unmistakable. (BaGHEER-A!) So if you need a dose of American idealism, this is worth 80 minutes of your time.
129. Soylent Green (1973) ** Of course I knew the "surprise" ending--is it possible to avoid it?--but I don't think I've ever watched this movie before. It was okay, I suppose. Charlton Heston is a little hard to bear, and I don't know how I'm supposed to sympathize with a character who smacks women around and forces one to have sex with him. (Of course, she is okay with it and even wants him to stay with her later. FF'S.) The biggest surprise of the movie was that Tom Robinson (Brock Peters) played the police captain, and Dick Van Patten had a bit part as the guy in the suicide parlor. I guess he hadn't really made it by 1973...and he was no spring chicken even then.
130. The Architect (2006) ** I think this movie had good intentions. The basic plot premise--that a woman who lives in public housing is trying to get the buildings demolished, as they have become unliveable, and goes to the architect who designed them to try to get his help. It also has some decent folks in it, including Viola Davis, Isabella Rossellini, and a very cute seventeen year old Hayden Panettiere. But things just kind of fell apart along the way, and it ended up being well worth missing. But that's okay, because I only watched it because I wanted to see Lauren Hodges in action. You had to play close attention to the screen to catch her, though, as she was only in two scenes: on in which she fixes herself up in the bathroom, and the other in which she tends bar. This woman has been on the screen for 23 years...9 of them by the time of this movie...but she just hasn't really broken through. Which is a real shame, as she is quite good.
131. Harriet (2019) ***** I didn't really want to see this movie. It fell into the (1) heard that story too often and (2) don't want to see the horrors replayed again categories. But I saw it listed on HBO and thought that Joe would want to see it...and maybe Jacqueline, too, since she had gone to the theater to see it (back in the day when we did that sort of thing) and had to leave before the end. But I sat down with Joe, planning to get a little sneak reading in...and I was almost instantly kidnapped by this movie. I don't know how historically accurate it is, but it was just a stunning movie. Made me cry several times...and not just at the horrors of slavery. Made me wonder (for the 3,027th time this week) what the fuck is wrong with people. It's a must see.
132. Knucklehead (2015) ***** Happened upon this pretty much by accident. I was pursuing The Complete Filmography of Lauren Hodges, and she had a part in this, and it was available (on tubi, btw). And it was one of the best movies about a special needs adult that I've ever seen. Alfre Woodard plays a nasty, alcoholic mother if that adds to the incentive to watch it.
133. Broadway's Finest (2012) -0 This was another movie I watched in pursuit of The Complete Filmography of Lauren Hodges...and the only reason I continued to watch it after the first few minutes was because I wanted to see her. This was one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my life. It is not hyperbole to say that there was not a single scene which I actually believed in...including, alas, the five short scenes in which Lauren Hodges appeared. The only good news is that this wasn't the last Lauren Hodges show I saw, because I would hate for this to be the last taste of New that I had in my mouth. (That said, I will add that she wasn't nearly as terrible as everything else in this movie, but it definitely wasn't up to her usual level of excellence.)
134. The Adjustment Bureau (2011) ** I'm a big Philip K. Dick fan, but I didn't think a whole hell of a lot of this movie. I don't think I've read the story, but if the movie stuck to it, then I don't want to. It was a silly version of Dick's basic distrust in what we call reality. Big surprise, I watched this because Lauren Hodges is in it. And by in it, I mean for less than one minute total of onscreen time (split between two short scenes), and she uttered one line of dialogue. And this was after Rubicon, so there's just no fuckin' excuse to relegate her to the back of the room that way. Unless maybe it was shot before Rubicon was released, which is possible, I suppose. Still...Lauren could have done the Emily Blunt part (female lead) a lot better than EB...and I say that as one who is awfully fond of Ms. Blunt, too, not a hater. Sigh.
135. The Exhibitionists (2012) -0 Another Lauren Hodges movie. And oh, my, what a horrid movie this was. My heart goes out to Lauren with sincere sympathy. How bad was it? Well, I'm actually going to try to say, simply in the hopes that I can spare you the pain of losing 90 minutes of your life to this film. Here's the basic plot: a guy and his sister are caught fucking in the basement by their mother. She hangs herself. The guy goes into the priesthood to toe for his sins. This is all backstory. At the start of the actual movie, the priest runs away from his monastery and arrives at the house his sister shares with a filmmaker. He wants to make a film about the priest. And then...well, just the highlights. There's a woman who taps her ashes into the open mouth of a young woman. And then she puts the young woman into a dog collar and attaches a leash. The film maker guy gives a pistol a blow job. Several of the characters drink something that looks like blood, and then spend the rest of the movie with Joker mouths. Had enough? Yeah, me, too. The funny thing is that for all its pretense at being On The Edge of Porn, there's actually no nudity in the whole movie. It gets close with a shot from behind scene where you get a pretty good view of one breast, but no nipple, so it doesn't count, right? At any rate, if you think you want to see this for titillation, walk on by, because you are not going to find it here. The only reason to watch this movie is for Lauren Hodges, and to be honest, although she doesn't do anything that is TOO humiliating, it's just not a good role to see her in.
136. The Swamp (2020) **** Well...when I saw that Matt Gaetz was going to be featured in this documentary, I was ready to sit back and loathe him. And when I saw that Thomas Massie would be in there, too, I was figuring on a regular feast of scorn. (I didn't know the third featured congressman, Ken Buck, though.) But you know...this really wasn't that kind of documentary. Despite my dislike for the Republican perspective...and for two of these fellows specifically...I have to admit that neither one of them seemed like idiots in this thing. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say there were a few moments when I admired them. Didn't see that coming at all. I thought that Gaetz was just a preening asshole who specialized in spectacle for the sake of spectacle (like storming the skiff), and that Massie was a dumbass who said that political science wasn't "real" science. Anyway, it's worth having a look at. I know it's more fun to just hate these rat bastards, but hatred doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere, so it might be time to try a different approach.
137. Hanna Season One (2019) **** I took a look at the first episode of this show just because. I'd seen the movie...or part of it, anyway, I really don't remember...and thought it was okay, but didn't really think the series would be my cup of tea. But I was wrong. I was real wrong. This show is most excellent. Esme Creed-Miles is superb as Hanna, and every other cast member is at least excellent. I am ready for Season Two.
138. The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) **** I hadn't really intended to watch this movie...though I'd heard about it when it first came out...and though I admire some of Miloš Forman's work immensely (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, Goya's Ghosts, some parts of Hair). But you know...Larry Flynt. And Hustler. I've seen a few of those, I'll confess, but it's never really been my idea of a real good time. And Woody Harrelson is not my favorite actor...though of course he's done some excellent work. But I was browsing through tubi and there it was, and I didn't have much of anything on my schedule, so.... And then there was Courtney Love...who I am not fond of. But I didn't actually recognize her right off, so my first impression was actually, "Oh, wow, that girl is really hot." So by the time I realized it was Ms. Love, I was already inclined to disregard my previous opinion. (Even though she was not nearly as hot as I thought from that first scene where she is doing her strip tease routine.) Anyway...I ended up watching the whole thing. And you know...it's not only a good movie, it's also a pretty important movie, and it raises some damned good questions about pornography and obscenity and free speech and Christianity and lots of other things. I'd have to say that this is very close to being a must see movie. Maybe close enough to round up.
139. Magic Camp (2020) *
140. The One and Only Ivan (2020) * Wow. Bryan Cranston was actually in this.
141. Hanna Season Two (2020) **** I don't want to wait a year for Season Three, man.
142. Rubicon (2010) ***** Wow, has it really been ten years since this show was on television? Hard to believe. Also hard to believe that a show this good couldn't generate enough interest to get a second season made. Where are Amazon and Netflix when you really need them, anyway? Anyway...this is one of my all time favorite shows. It's intelligent, the actors are great, and it only uses sex and violence when necessary...which is why there's very little of either one of them. I guess we've answered the question as to why it didn't make it to a second season, then, eh?
143. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) ** Yeah, it's pretty bad. But it does have some moments. This one was for Joe, of course.
144. Honeyland (2019) ***** An astonishing, heart-breaking film. I can;t even beign to imagine being strong enough to live this kind of life. It's a reminder of how spoiled I am an an American...even one who is clinging to the bottom of the Middle Class. Compared to this Macedonian beekeeper, I am living like a king. No hyperbole.
145. The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019) *** Well...it had some moments, but not nearly enough of them. Have to admit that it's the first time I ever thought Dakota Johnson looked hot, though. Maybe because she wasn't trying so hard?
146. The New Mutants (2020) **** Funny, I wasn't interested in this at all...and that's saying something, as I think I've seen every major super hero movie released in the past ten or fifteen years (maybe more...I mean, we're talking the Matt Salinger Captain America and the Roger Corman Fantastic Four here, kids)...but this one just didn't interest me at all. Add in the fact that we are currently in the midst of a global pandemic...and that I'd read bad reviews of the movie and saw that is has lost about $90 million as of this writing. Yeah. But Joe really wanted to see it, so I looked until I found a lightly populated showing (actually it was just Joe and me in the theater, so it couldn't have been less populated) and I settled back and steeled myself to endure 90 minutes of what I anticipated would feel like five or six hours. But from the get go I was swept up in this thing. In fact, I didn't even look at my watch until 45 minutes in...and when I looked, it was because I wanted it to last longer. This movie just gets pretty much everything right. It is also pretty fuckin' scary for a PG-13, so I am really glad that I told Jacqueline that she wouldn't like it. (She is not a fan of horror or violence.) As for me, though...this was so brilliant that I already want to see it again. Yep. Come on, Redbox, don't make me wait too long.
147. Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991) * Everything really is relative: this one makes the first movie look like a masterpiece. A very long 94 minutes...and that's with me only paying a little bit of attention--which is all I could afford.
144. Honeyland (2019) ***** An astonishing, heart-breaking film. I can;t even beign to imagine being strong enough to live this kind of life. It's a reminder of how spoiled I am an an American...even one who is clinging to the bottom of the Middle Class. Compared to this Macedonian beekeeper, I am living like a king. No hyperbole.
145. The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019) *** Well...it had some moments, but not nearly enough of them. Have to admit that it's the first time I ever thought Dakota Johnson looked hot, though. Maybe because she wasn't trying so hard?
146. The New Mutants (2020) **** Funny, I wasn't interested in this at all...and that's saying something, as I think I've seen every major super hero movie released in the past ten or fifteen years (maybe more...I mean, we're talking the Matt Salinger Captain America and the Roger Corman Fantastic Four here, kids)...but this one just didn't interest me at all. Add in the fact that we are currently in the midst of a global pandemic...and that I'd read bad reviews of the movie and saw that is has lost about $90 million as of this writing. Yeah. But Joe really wanted to see it, so I looked until I found a lightly populated showing (actually it was just Joe and me in the theater, so it couldn't have been less populated) and I settled back and steeled myself to endure 90 minutes of what I anticipated would feel like five or six hours. But from the get go I was swept up in this thing. In fact, I didn't even look at my watch until 45 minutes in...and when I looked, it was because I wanted it to last longer. This movie just gets pretty much everything right. It is also pretty fuckin' scary for a PG-13, so I am really glad that I told Jacqueline that she wouldn't like it. (She is not a fan of horror or violence.) As for me, though...this was so brilliant that I already want to see it again. Yep. Come on, Redbox, don't make me wait too long.
147. Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991) * Everything really is relative: this one makes the first movie look like a masterpiece. A very long 94 minutes...and that's with me only paying a little bit of attention--which is all I could afford.
148. The Burnt Orange Heresay (2019) *** Funny. I read the novel this movie was based on...and not all that long ago (2016)...but watching this there was not a single moment when I thought, "Oh, I remember this." But the movie was good enough for me to want to go back and have another read. Speaking of the movie...the lead man, Claes Bang, playing James Figueras, was good. I have to admit that I kept thinking of him as a second rate Pierce Brosnan, but that might say more about my love for PB than any fault in CB. The lead woman, Elizabeth Debicki, playing Berenice Hollis, was also good. Hot in a not quite normal way. I was a little embarrassed for her for the nude scenes, though. It was completely unnecessary, and not really all that enjoyable, either. But the real treat of this movie was Donald Sutherland. 85 years old (well, 84 here, I suppose) and still kicking ass. Donald just has an ease about him...as if pretending to be a reclusive painter was just second nature for him. Pretty much the opposite of Mick Jagger's performance. Mick wasn't bad bad, but everything about him seemed forced and phony. If bringing him in was a ploy to jack up the box office, it didn't work--according to IMDb, the movie grossed a mere $491,817 worldwide. That wouldn't even pay for the crew lunches. Which is a shame, because there was some very interesting stuff at the heart of this thing. The bizarre distortion of values in the art world, the relationship between the critic and art, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I think it's worth watching. Matter of fact, I think I'm going to watch it again with the director's commentary turned on. After I rest up.
P.S. The director's commentary had some moments, but all in all wasn't really worth the time. Oh, well.
149. The King of Staten Island (2020) **** I really liked this movie a lot. In fact, even though it wasn't short (2 hours and 18 minutes), I wanted more, so I watched the "alternate endings that didn't work," the deleted scenes, the gag reel, and the behind the scenes featurette. It wasn't a perfect movie by any means. For instance, I could have done without the Boxing For Tips bits, which I did not find believable and which just struck me as mean. And I still don't know why the movie had this title, since I don't think there was a single reference to that in the movie. Not even in the deleted scenes. But Pete Davidson...oh, yeah, that guy was good. And the movie was really funny at times...and it had a good heart, you know? That means a lot in this day of mean spiritedness and viciousness. You should watch this one, I think.
150. Tenet (2020) ** Ah, Christopher Nolan. When I took a look at his filmography, I was surprised that he didn't have all that many major films--
2020 Tenet
2017 Dunkirk
2014 Interstellar
2012 The Dark Knight Rises
2010 Inception
2008 The Dark Knight
2006 The Prestige
2005 Batman Begins
2002 Insomnia
2000 Memento
1998 Following
--and even more surprised that I had seen all but two of them.
(Those being the first, Following...and judging by it's budget--$6,000--and box office haul--$48,482--I'm not the only one who missed that one...and his third, Insomnia.) Of the 9 I have seen, I thought that three of them were brilliant (The Prestige, Inception, and Dunkirk), two of them were interesting (Memento and Interstellar). I didn't care for his take on Batman, but hey...they are what they are. And as for this Tenet...I was interested, for sure. The trailers looked great. I wouldn't have gone to the theater for it if not for the tragic desperation of my youngest son, Joe. But even so, I was excited about seeing it. But turns out it's just a very long spy movie. And like most spy movies, I just got lost along the way, and had very little idea why anyone was doing anything they were doing. Of course, that was complicated by the fact that some of the characters were moving backwards in time. But all in all...it was a rambling mess so far as I could tell. It looked good, and the car chases were exciting, but in the end, so what? I'd wait for Redbox if I were you.
151. I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020) **** I will need to see this another time or two to really figure out what I think about it, but I do know that I liked it. It was weird, for sure, but not in the usual Charlie Kaufman weird way. Whatever that means. Anyway...more on that next time around. One thing: there was a brief mention of Oklahoma! in this movie, and for some reason I felt compelled to pick that up from the library. So...
152. Oklahoma! (1999) **** And even though I'm not all that into musicals, I was prepared to enjoy this, as I am quite a Hugh Jackman fan. And Hugh was quite good, but turns out there was another element in the mix that I enjoyed even more:
That's Vicki Simon as Ado Annie Carnes...and I was just entranced. So much so that I think I will watch the second disc of this set...and might even watch the movie itself again...and I plan to watch the 1955 version of the movie as well, in part to see how Gloria Grahame does in the role of Ado Annie. (Pretty sure she can't compete with Vicki S., but we'll see.) But also because I just really enjoyed this show, and would like to see the classic version. And guess what? The LFPL is going to come through for me on this, so I don't even have to pay for it. Thanks, LFPL.
153. Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) *** Well...the acting was way over the top...I mean, not that far removed from silent movie histrionics at times...and the fight sequences were ineptly filmed, but at times this thing still worked, and I think that was almost completely due to Paul Newman. And this was only his second big screen role. Pretty clear that Sylvester Stallone was a fan of either it or of the real Rocky Graziano's story--I mean, Rocky's real name was Rocky Barbella. Come on, now.
154. The Day the Sun Danced: The True Story Of Fatima (2002) *** This was pretty good...though a little "foreign"...you know, in that slightly skewed vibe you get even when the characters are doing normal things. There were also some moments of threatened violence which surprised me...like an official threatening to boil children in oil. Yikes. Pretty interesting in the bigger premise, though, and did make me want to know more about the Fatima incident. (This was a Jacqueline choice, of course.)
155. Great Performances: Now Hear This: Haydn: King Of Strings (2020) ***** Fantastic show about drilling down on Haydn's string quartets. As soon as this show was over I was online seeing how much I would have to pay for a Complete Works of Haydn set. (About $150, as it turns out, which is not bad at all for 160 cds, but with me I never know if it's just a passing fancy or not, so I'm going to let it rest in my basket and see how I feel in a few weeks.)
156. The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner (2008) **** Was this my first Bulgarian movie? I'm not sure. But I liked it a lot. Long story (which I won't tell) as to how I ended up here, but it was a very interesting story which focused on the relationship between a man and his grandson, who had suffered memory loss in a horrific car crash. It was a bit foreign in that way that only foreign movies are (to an American...or to this American...anyway), and that was part of its charm. There were also some interesting camera techniques. If you're interested, you can find it (for free!) on Vimeo, but nowhere else than I could find.
157. Dune (1984) ** Granted, 33 year-old Sting does look pretty good in his little metal speedo, but other than that...this is a pretty awful movie. The whisper-y spoken thoughts, the horrible special effects, the super-corny ending, the way over the top bad guy stuff...it's just not worth your time. I think Joe enjoyed it, so at least there's that.
158. The Invisible Man (2020) *** I have to admit that I wasn't expecting much out of this...just saw it was on HBO and thought Joe might be into it. But it turned out to be a pretty good little thrill ride. And the "effect" music was quite effective. There were some Stupid Movie Moments, for sure...but they didn't really get in the way of the ride for me. I wouldn't have felt bad if I'd paid $2 to rent it from Redbox. How's THAT for high praise?
159. Doll Face (1945) ** I happened upon this movie and just kind of stuck with it, and it actually had some moments. Unfortunately, those moments were hard to hang onto as some serious misogyny was going on. Way beyond what I can quietly endure. For instance, the lead male character tells a friend that a woman is like a rug because you have to beat them regularly. Fuck. There's no actual physical violence against women, but words are plenty bad enough.
160. Enemy at the Gates (2001) **** Superb movie about the Battle of Stalingrad. I kind of liked it that they didn't have the Russian characters speak English with a Russian accent, but why did they have British accents? (Other than the obvious, of course.) Doesn't matter. This was a great movie. Free on Amazon Prime.
161. 1942 Stalingrad—Hitler’s Ambitions Crushed (2014) *** This was one of the Great Courses videos...which usually aren't so great...but this one was at least okay. Lots of footage which I presume is authentic.
162. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) * This was an amazingly bad movie. It may have been the worst directed movie I've ever seen...just atrociously bad cuts, especially in the fight scenes, but other spots as well. For some reason, the director thought it would be a good idea to zoom in and out repeatedly. Which just makes you feel a little dizzy and obscures the action that it's attempting to reveal. And the schmaltz...oh, man. This made any other James Bond movie look like picture of the year.
163. Hmmm. I guess I forgot to note that I watched The Boys Season 1 (2019) Well...much to my surprise...and despite some rather hideous violence...I thought it was really good. So good that I just finished watching...
164. The Boys Season 2 (2020). And I would rate them both ****. I do wish that they offered a PG-13 edition, as I am very tired of watching people's heads explode (which happens with astonishing regularity), but everything else about this series is quite good. Not to mention that its emerging themes of white nationalism and government malfeasance seem ripped from today's headlines...despite the fact that the comic book series that this show is based on appeared long before Trump's ascendancy (October 2006 – November 2012). So there's that.
165. Dune (2000) Well, spit in my ear and call me a Great Lake, but this mini-series revamp...which I was expecting to be absolute shit...was actually a whole hell of a lot better than the David Lynch movie. Alec Newman did a great job as Paul Atreides / Muad'Dib, and Barbora Kodetová made a super hot Chani. Oh, yeah...William Hurt was pretty okay, too. I guess this was before he entered his My Every Word Is Full of Shit phase. (And to think how I used to love him....)
166. Children of Dune (2003) *** Not as good as the first round, but it did have some moments, for sure. And it was kind of cool to see young (24!) James McAvoy working it out. I'd have to say that this is worth seeing, actually.
167. Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) ***** Yep, it still works for me.
168. Elona Holmes (2020) **** I'm not sure how I happened upon this movie, but (1) it was superb and (2) Millie Bobby Brown, the star, was about as cute as it is possible for a human being to be and (3) I was astounded to see that Henry Cavill did a very good job of being Sherlock Holmes and (4) I think director Harry Bradbeer is a fucking genius, and I am now going to try to see as many of his films as I can possibly see. (And I think I'm going to start with Dickensian (2015 - 2016), which I'd been wanting to see anyway. Oh--hey, it looks like all of his other work has been for tv. So Elona was his first movie movie? Wow. Very exciting.
169. Dr. No (1962) ** Well...it was better than On Her Majesty's Secret Service, for sure. But it was still pretty weak sauce. Poor Ursula Andress...I don't think she exhaled once in this movie. But for the most part this was just bad, with undertones of racism and overtones of misogyny. If not for Joe's interest, I might have tapped out at this point. Instead, we soldiered on...
169. From Russia With Love (1963) ** I think this might have been slightly better than Dr. No. But it was still pretty wretched, for all of the reasons you've heard before. Bond is still slapping his women around. For fuck's sake.
170. Goldfinger (1964) *** I think this is the movie when all of the Bond elements really clicked into place. The music snapped in, the plot was a little more complex, all of that. Which is not to say that it was a good movie...and of course the misogyny was still there--including Bond putting his hand on a woman's face and shoving her down, and the famous (and much despised by me) trope of fighting with a woman and forcing her to kiss him...then having her be overcome with passion and submitting to him. For fuck's sake. Interesting coincidence: I had just read an obituary for Margaret Nolan, who is the golden girl during the title sequence and who has a small part in the movie itself in the morning, and in the afternoon Joe asked if we could watch Goldfinger.
171. The Booksellers (2020) **** and ***** if you love books and / or odd people. Interesting coincidence: at the beginning of the documentary (and a time or two later on as well) there is mention of James Bond's Casino Royale. Joe decided yesterday (before I started watching this documentary) that he wanted to watch the 1967 Casino Royale today...even though it is NOT the next movie in the sequence. I think that one definitely counts as a glitch in the matrix.
172. Casino Royale (1967) -0 Funny, after the first ten minutes or so of this movie I thought, "You know, this is dopey as hell, but it's actually pretty good." Ten minutes later I was really wanting it to end, as it went from mildly amusing to just incredibly stupid. And it just got worse. I would have turned it off, but Joe wanted to see it, and I wanted to keep him company. It was rough, though.
173. Casion Royale (1954) ** Kind of boring...and the changes made to the core story (Bond as an American, for instance) were off-putting, but hey, it was a live show, so that was kind of interesting in and of itself. Also, this was the first ever adaptation of Bond to a screen--albeit a small screen in this case.
174. Thunderball (1965) ** Wow...if I didn't know better, I'd think that this was the 10th Bond film. It just felt so tired, so turgid. They even recycled music from previous films. And they spent way too much time underwater. Underwater : Thunderball as Skiing : On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The women were more attractive than previously, but they were still subjected to relentless shitty treatment, so it was even hard to enjoy that aspect of the movie. I think I officially despise Sean Connery at this point.
175. You Only Live Twice (1967) *
176. Diamonds Are Forever (1971) * Oh, man, Joe wanted to watch two Bond films today, and even worse...it was these two. They were not good. Even worse, they shared several key elements, so it was kind of like watching the same bad movie twice in a row. This series was definitely on the downhill slide at this point.
177. Never Say Never Again (1983) ** This was not nearly as bad as I expected it to be. I don't know that that makes it worth seeing, but it was certainly better than the original version (Thunderball)...and the only Bond movie that I thought was better than it was Goldfinger.
178. Live and Let Die (1973) -0 A wretched, racist movie.
179. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) * Not as bad as Live and Let Die, but pretty close. I guess the idea was to inject a little humor into the series, to lighten things up, but unfortunately the writer / director / whoever didn't have a very good sense of humor. It pretty much all boils up from cruelty, racism, and misogyny. Not my preferred mix.
180. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) * I am so ready to be done with Roger Moore. Four films to go.
181. Moonraker (1979) * Yep. It was shit. I have a vague memory of seeing this in the theater. Since I was still in the army when it was released (June 29), I suspect that I saw it on base. Man, those were the days. Movies cost one dollar. There were at least two theaters on base, too. And you could smoke. Mmm-hmm.
182. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020) *** I actually wasn't intending to watch this movie. After all, I'd walked out of the theater on the first movie after ten minutes or so, absolutely appalled by the depravity of its humor. But I saw a couple of clips from the trailer and it was on Amazon for free, so.... And though there were some moments wherein I thought I was going to need to check out, not only do I make it all the way through, I actually thought it was funny at times. Either it was a better movie than the first one or I'm a worse person, I guess.
183. For Your Eyes Only (1981) * I don't even want to talk about it.
184. Octopussy (1983) -0
185. A View to A Kill (1985) -0And the irony is that For Your Eyes Only was brilliant compared to 184 and 185. (I can't even bring myself to retype the names of those movies.)
186. 13th (2016) ***** If you think #BlackLivesMatter, then you should watch this documentary. If you don't think #BlackLivesMatter, then you really have to watch this documentary if you want to continue to claim that you are a human being.
187. The Living Daylights (1987) *** Well...it's still just a stupid James Bond movie, of course, but Timothy Dalton is several cuts above any of the boys who preceded him in the role, and there is far less stupid shit than in the previous movies. I wish he had made more in the series...but the good news is (1) there is another one and (2) up next is Pierce Brosnan, who might be the best Bond of all.
188. License to Kill (1989) * My God...after the promise of TLD, how could the Bond folks go so wrong? This was just a wretched movie.
189. Fatima (2020) ***** What an incredible, moving, film. I spent a fair amount of time either crying or trying not to cry, but because my heart was so touched. It was also a lot rougher than I expected from a "religious movie," with a few scenes which were quite discomfiting...e.g. horrors of war and a glimpse of hell. But it all ends well.
190. GoldenEye (1995) *
191. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) *
192. The World Is Not Enough (1999) * You know what else is enough? Mmm-hmm. I have to admit, though, that Denise Richards is a lot hotter than I thought she was.
193. Die Another Day (2002) * The only good thing I have to say about this movie is that it was the last Pierce Brosnan.
194. Skyfall (2012) *** Yep. Surprised me, too. I feel like I can go on. For one more movie, anyway.
195. Spectre (2015) * Oh, my. I remembered not liking this movie very much when I saw it before, but I couldn't remember why. But it's all vivid now. Sheesh, they must have decided to go back to the old scrapbook for this one...to pull out most of the stupid things that were featured in the old Bond movies. What a terrible waste of time. What a terrible waste of Léa Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, and Dave Bautista...all of whom I like a lot. And yes, why not add in a heaping helping of cruelty as well? Oh, I am not looking forward to the next one of this series, for sure.
196. Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997) * This movie came really close to Eroding My I.Q. status. Almost nothing in it makes sense from the halfway point to the end. It relies on so many coincidences that it beggars the imagination, for one thing. Just fucking awful, and I want my two hours back. I wanted to see this because it was partially shot in Greenland, and I watched a featurette which leaned on this heavily, but I don't know why they bothered. The only shots which really showed that it was Greenland were helicopter fly overs, and the majority of that footage was used while the credits rolled at the end. The other stuff could easily have been shot anywhere during the winter...or on a soundstage, for that matter. Just absolute bullshit. There was one good line, though: "The only thing that makes me truly happy is mathematics."
197. Bill and Ted Face the Music (2020) -0 Yowza. I am so glad that I was able to put Joe off until this came out on Redbox. I don't mind wasting $2, but any more than that and I'd have been upset. This movie wasn't just bad, it was pathetic. So sad to see Keanu Reeves, whom I've often admired, doing shit like this. And it's stunning that the guys who wrote the first (and most excellent) movie couldn't come up with anything better than this.
198. Mulan (2020) *** But I much prefer the cartoon version, which had more heart, more soul, more dragon, more songs. Actually this version had neither songs nor dragon. But yeah...this was more like watching a good kung fu movies...which isn't bad, of course, but it a far cry from great. And I think the cartoon version was great. Just sayin', sir.
199. The New Mutants (2020) **** Holds up well for a second viewing. In fact, I enjoyed it even more, because this time around I knew who Anya Taylor-Joy was...and since I'd seen her in Emma and The Queen's Gambit (about to watch the final episode of that one), I was able to appreciate her performance in TNM even more. That gal becomes a different person, doesn't she?
200. The New Mutants (2020) **** Third viewing is good, too, although this time was with the commentary track on...and this was a very different kind of commentary track, as it is just a conversation between Josh Boone (director) and Bill Sienkiewicz (!). Josh is a bit too interrupt-y, but his love for Bill Sienkiewicz and his knowledge of comic books made for a heady mixture. Highly recommended for comic book nerds!
201. The Queen's Gambit (2020) **** A most excellent 6 1/2 hour movie. Made me want to play chess again...even though I'm not very good. Also, another really impressive performance by Anya Taylor-Joy. She is amazing.
202. Bombshell (2019) *** I wasn't actually interested in seeing this movie, but it was on, and hey, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie, and
Nicole Kidman...right? And I was surprised to find out that it was a compelling story about men abusing women. To be honest, though, it's all a bit disorienting. You watch this movie and you're appalled by what is going on, but you have to admit that at least one of the reasons you're watching it is because you find the three lead women to be attractive, and they have honed their looks to be as attractive as possible. It makes me feel like we'd be better off if we all just dressed in baggy jumpsuits.
Nicole Kidman...right? And I was surprised to find out that it was a compelling story about men abusing women. To be honest, though, it's all a bit disorienting. You watch this movie and you're appalled by what is going on, but you have to admit that at least one of the reasons you're watching it is because you find the three lead women to be attractive, and they have honed their looks to be as attractive as possible. It makes me feel like we'd be better off if we all just dressed in baggy jumpsuits.
203. Captain Marvel (2019) ** I started watching this because I was drunk and wanted to watch some science fiction, and I finished it off a couple of days later...but you know, this movie just doesn't work for me. For a lot of reasons, but I think the main one is that Brie Larson is just terrible. Her acting is completing flat throughout...as if she's heavily medicated...and the haughtiness of her character is just really off-putting. I guess Nick Fury's eye story is pretty funny in the Didn't See That Coming (literally) way, but that's really about it. And I don't think Jude Law should ever wear a superhero suit again. He just looked silly.
204. Fargo: Season 4 (2020) **** Another truly excellent season. Chris Rock did a great job as a tough guy, and it was quite a surprise to see Andrew Bird here, as I had only known him as a musician prior to this. He did a great job, too. I would never have suspected that he was a musician from his performance here...which I mean as a compliment. Note to all Fargo fans: don't be too quick with the stop button at the end of the final episode. There's a scene after the first few credits which will absolutely capture your imagination...and will make you really anxious for the next season. (As if you aren't already.)
205. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) **** I wouldn't say this is a must-see, though of course it is a classic and well worth your time and all of that. And it certainly does give you some things to think about. Actually, since I just finished reading The Weirdest Sci-Fi Comic Ever Made: Understanding Jack Kirby's 2001: A Space Odyssey by Julian Darius (which was really good), I have even more things to think about, many of them involving HAL. But you know...I know this is not a thing to say, but...it's just a very slow movie, you know? (And this is coming from a guy who loves Béla Tarr and has seen all of his movies.) In fact, as I was watching (third time, I think; might be more), I started thinking, In a way, this is just a series of music videos intermittently interrupted by dialogue. Well. I've got more to say about this movie, but I think that's going to happen elsewhere. For now...yep, worth seeing. It's on HBO Max if you swing from that tree.
206. The Unknown Soldier (2017) **** Happened upon this movie by a circuitous route...and it was quite magnificent. One of the best "war" movies I've ever seen...mostly because it just went for the honesty of the way human beings act when they're in extreme conditions. Highly recommended, for sure.
207. 2001: The Making of a Myth (2001) **** Interesting. Could've used more, though, as this was only an hour long. This movie popped up in my You'd Probably Like list, and it made me glad that Amazon has these prediction algorithms, because I didn't know this documentary existed but by golly, I sure did want to see it and did like it. Documentaries like this help me to appreciate things about a movie that I might not have noticed at all. For instance, turns out that the floating pen scene...which is pretty brief...turned out to be a lot of work and took some inventiveness to get onto the screen. More, please.
208. The Mandalorian Season 2 (2020) *** You know, I got pretty tired of this show after the first couple of season two. It seemed like it was very forced, like there was a story (getting the Baby Yoda to the Jedi) that was interesting, but instead of telling that story, they just kept doing side stories that were stupid and improbable...gratuitous adventures. But this and that, so I ended up sticking with it. And then the last few minutes of that season finale. Well. THAT was worth doing, wasn't it. In fact, I'd even add a * just for those last few minutes of the last episode. BTW, there's also an extra scene after the credits, so stick around for that.
209. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2009) **** The only thing that keeps me from rating this as a must see is the extremity of the violence, which I think could be too much for some people. But if you can handle that, this is an amazing movie. Brutal, but honest, too. And Michael Nyqvist as Mikael Blomkvist & Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander are just amazing. I've seen this movie at least a couple of times before, but I've been reading so much Nordic Noir lately (mostly Christoffer Petersen) that I felt it calling to me, and once I started watching it there was no stopping. In fact, I'm going to have to go ahead and watch the two sequels as well now. And I might even have to watch the re-do with Daniel Craig after that. It's funny (but not ha ha funny) that when I first started watching, the sub-titles felt a little intrusive, but after awhile I seriously forgot I was reading them. In fact, I really could have sworn that the movie was dubbed. THAT's how entrancing this thing is. Yep. Okay. Got more movies to watch. And I'll probably going to need to get to reading the books pretty soon, too.
210. Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) -0...but before we get to that, this: a person I know (more than an acquaintance, less than a friend) told me that she decided not to see this movie at the theater because it was so old. You know...like 36 years old. Sheesh. Anyway, this movie was just awful. There was almost no scene which seemed believable (in a people don't act that way way, not in a that couldn't happen way, because obviously...). It also managed to be way too preachy...and just plain stupid. I mean, the first one wasn't very good, but it looks like a masterpiece next to this one. I want my 2 hours back. At least I already had HBO Max, so I didn't actually have to pay for it.
211. News of the World (2020) *** First time back in the theater in a long time...since The New Mutants, which was what...August? Jacqueline really wanted to see this, though, and she really doesn't ask for much, so I obsessively checked the seating chart until I found a lightly populated showing, we donned our masks, and we sat in the second row. Nobody ever sits in those front two rows these days, so I figure that's the safest place to be. Besides, I think there were only 4 other people in the theater. And the movie...well. It had some truly great moments, and both Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel did good jobs. But there were parts of it that stretched my credulity way beyond the breaking point, and unfortunately those moments scooped out a lot of the emotional appeal that the movie had going for it. I think it's worth a Redbox rental, but not worth the expense (both that it was that much, just sayin', sir) or the possible danger of going to the theater right now.
212. Ulysses' Gaze (1995) ***** Third time for me...and once I started watching I fully remembered just how great this movie is. Harvey Keitel is absofuckinglutely brilliant. And this movie is so disturbing...without really having too much disturbing stuff onscreen. Definitely one of my all time favorite movies.
213. Deadpool (2016) **** Didn't really mean to watch this. I've seen it often enough already, to be honest. But it was near the beginning when I chanced upon it on Fx, so I started it over from the start, and then ended up watching the whole thing. It is so inappropriate. Virtually every minute. But it is also very funny and clever as well.
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