A Simple Favor - Dope

A little campy at times but with solid performances by Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively.

Burnt Offerings (1976) steamed on Prime - 4/5

Great 70's haunted house story. Family rents out a huge summer home and the house seems to thrive on their pain and suffering. Combining some elements of The Shining and typical haunted house flicks paired with some cinematography that reminded me of Psycho, I loved it. Solid acting from everyone, including a supporting role by Burgess Meredith.

The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) streamed on Prime - 2.5/5

I did enjoy this movie though I have to give it a lower rating based on some poor production quality. The story is in 1800's England, a small village seems to have a resurgence of witchcraft troubling it's townspeople and turning the teenagers into murderers. Featuring a super hot 20 something Linda Hayden in a pretty hot nude scene. The acting is okay and sometimes good, the atmosphere is great and kept me around throughout the film. I wouldn't highly recommend it unless you have a thing for 70's English horror like I do.

The Endless (2017) streamed on Netflix - 2/5

I was really looking forward to this movie, the premise seemed interesting enough. However it was over from the beginning. Spoilers ahead. The first 10 minutes of the film just reeked of back actor written script with way too much exposition to the point it seemed like the movie was going to be a docudrama and then after two direct address monologue interviews that whole storytelling style was dropped into a narrative and never resurfaced back into the docu-style.

We learn of two brothers who had escaped a "UFO death cult" 10 year prior and want to go back to make sure they didn't make a mistake in leaving. The movie picks up upon the brothers arrival to the camp, in the middle of nowhere. The community seems harmless and healthy, peaceful and loving, perhaps they did make a mistake. That is until we discover a menacing force that seems to keep those inside a certain geographic measurement trapped into certain time loops. It does get very muddled and confusing but the arch of the story is clear. This movie to me reeked of amateur filmaking with a decent investor.

Blade Runner 2049 - 8/10.

I'm not into sci-fi at all but this was solid. Amazing how actors can change. Gosling went from an annoying fuck to a good, respectable actor.

Moviepass #91 White Boy Rick 5/10 Probably Matthew McConaughey worst movie I've seen. Saw a review that the true story had a lot more too it than made the movie which seems right

A Simple Favor-8/10
Funny, sexy, cute, smart, thrilling. I loved it. Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively are fire together. And Henry Golding might end up being a star. He's so damn likeable.

The Predator-2/10
Fuck me was this boring. The action sequences were meh. The Predator dogs, as mentioned, are useless. The plot itself is the opposite of what made the original so great. Overly complicated, not funny, the characters were dumb, the ending was dumb, etc. Twas awful.

Black Klansman-8/10
May have posted this once but oh well. It was really good. Entire cast is stellar. Little heavy handed at the end, and more than few obvious nods to the current climate. But overall a great movie. Loved it.

PS I'm loving my amc stubs pass. I've seen 5 or 6 movies so far, in wonderful leather recliners.

Cheers. I am enjoying the service as well. While they don't have a lot of indie titles near me, I enjoy their Bollywood releases.

I also am enjoying the amc stubs pass

crickey

You're creepy when you use words like that.

Wish you'd step out of Polish-land for once in your life...

Damn, how American you are!

I imagine you dressed in USA#1 gear from head to toe, alonng with those funny little flags and all.

*Crikey

I spelled it incorrectly on purpose.

*Something about the '80s calling and how they want you move on already*

Hereditary - Holy fucking shit!

I'd love to discuss it length if you've seen it. Cheers.

I saw it the other day. Really really good.

I'm too busy playing criket to care.

Post KOTF cock-canvas.

This is the lap of honour.

Triggered

Jack Reacher - 7.5/10

Surprisingly good and Tom Cruise was great in it.

Assassination Nation - 7/10

I could see it gaining some cult status over time

Jack Reacher 2 - 8/10

Stellar.

The girl on the train - 8/10

Really good. Negative points for Emily Blunt's victim face.

Cinemia #3 Assassination Nation 6.5/10 although to be fair the last 25 minutes was crazy doesn't make up for the rest of it being awful

Moviepass #92 The Predator 8/10 enjoyed it a lot more than I anticipated

Old time Saturday night double feature

You didn't rate anything. Just stated what movies you've seen.

I watched Way Of The Dragon tonight. Easily one of the worst Kung Fu movies I have ever seen. It would be funny to watch with a friend or two I think but my God was it poor. The audio is insane. The gangsters all looked like misshapen daytime drinkers that stepped out of the pub and were swiftly carried off into a terrible film to act as kick and nunchuck fodder for Bruce Lee. I was appalled by the Western baddies and the "good guy" karate guys were as wet as get out. I've seen some soppy looking bad guys in old Kung Fu movies before but they were micro budget affairs. This was crap. I like Bruce Lee less because of this terrible film.

No rating.

Cause I haven't seen them yet just a placeholder

The Predator is prob the worst movie I've seen all year. If I had actually paid to see it I would've hated it even more.

Why? Was it that important for post 10236 to be yours?

Fahrenheit 11/9 - 7/10

Michael Moore's latest documentary. Not as focused as some of his previous work but still got his message of the politics of fear and the politics of profits over people across. Goes after Trump but also Obama, Hillary and Michigan Governor R. Snyder as well.

The Station Agent - 4/4

A misanthropic man - who's grievance against the world around him is founded in society's treatment of his dwarfism - moves out to a derelict Railway station he has inherited, in search of seclusion.

I have spoken before about my love for films about deficient people and my love for films about the exploration of interpersonal relationships and the camaraderie of flawed people, and The Station Agent is a perfect example of one.
A blend of slow pace, realistically tempered and constructed dialogue and focused and relatable character portrayals - this is a triumph of complete film making.
Peter Dinklage is phenomenal in the lead, surely a role that brought him acclaim and increased attention as a performer.
Patricia Clarkson and Bobby Cannavale provide the necessary drag and push that the story needs to get anywhere. Clarkson is the drag, Cannavale is the push and they provide perspective on Dinklage's situation.

This is a lovely film. I'll watch this again knowing it will provoke important questions about the nature of wallowing in misery and how that can be escaped when there is something positive to reach out to.

The Conjuring 2 7.3/10

I prefer it to the original.

Very well articulated. Peter Dinklage embodies the soul of the character that he depicts in the film.

Santa Sangre (1989) streamed on Prime - 4/5

This movie is insane, some spoilers ahead...

This is about a circus family in Mexico. The father cheats on his wife with a hot lady covered in tattoo's so she burns his dick off with acid so he cuts her arms off while their son watches. He's already watched his beloved Elephant pass away and just after his mother is cut up by his father he see's his father stumble dickless onto the street naked and cut his own throat and then watches helplessly as his childhood love, a mute girl is taken away by the tattoo lady his father was having an affair with. He spends several years in an Asylum until one day they take some of the patients to a movie. But for some reason this kid ends up doing a coke with a bunch of guys who have down syndrome and then he gets reunited with his armless mother who he thought was dead. He begins to act as her arms, literally, standing behind her as she tells him what to do acting as her arms, and then they french kiss at one point.

I won't tell any more, it's just fucking insane. You should see this. I debate on giving this the full five stars but there are some production elements that are a little bit off even for 89 that could have been better. Still, fucking insane. On the same shelf as Eraserhead.

The Wicker Man (1973) streamed on Shudder - 5/5

This is a fantastic film. Edward Woodward is a Scottish police officer investigating the disappearance of a little girl on a private Scottish island known for their delicious fruits and vegetables. Upon arriving to the island he notices a strange obsession with sexuality that is very uncomfortable to him and his Christianity. Realizing there is more to the disappearance than originally thought, he is introduced to the Lord of the island played by Christopher Lee. Amazing performance by both actors. Lot's of hot nudity here. The officer suspects there may be some kind of sex cult and attempts to leave but of course they will not let him. I know there is a remake of this movie but they are worlds apart. This is a fantastic film, I can't believe I'd never seen it. Not really a "horror" movie, more like a cult thriller.

Does Edward Woodward punch a woman in the face while wearing a bear suit?

No, there are people in costumes but it's a lot different than the Cage movie.

I can't stop thinking about The Wicker Man, so damn good.

Spring (2014) steamed on Shudder - 3.5/5

Slik has been suggesting this to me for a few weeks now so I gave it a go. This is like the Lost in Translation of horror films. Slightly understated at times in a very lovely way, but laced with certain elements of the supernatural and horror that keep it within that genre and unlike any other horror films you've seen. I don't want to spoil the story because a lot of the enjoyment I had was knowing very little about the happenings that were before me. But I will say this is a lovely horror film, strong acting and concept. As far as the script goes there are some times where I didn't like the dialogue, very similar feelings with The Endless. They have great concept ideas but the dialogue is a little too expository for my liking, meaning the writers is too obvious when telling the story through the dialogue. Again less so in Spring than The Endless.

Upgrade- 8/10

The Babysitter - 6/10

It was kinda funny at some parts, but not nearly as scary (or funny) as I think it was trying to be. I wasn't angry for having watched it, but I'm pretty sure I won't be doing so again. It's nice if you kinda want something in the background while you do something else.

Lizzie - An interesting take on the actual trials (also boobies)

THAT IS NOT A RATING

Farenheit 11/9 - 3.8/5

Typical Michael Moore stuff. Seemed kindof disjointed, but he seems a bit more balanced this time than in the passed, he rips on the Dems too.

Mandy (2018) rented on HUDU - 4.5/5

I just watched this last night and I'm sure I will watch it again at some point because I really liked it. I LOVED the way aesthetic of this film from the lighting, the depth of the film, may have been digital but very much looked like film, the costumes, set design, special FX, everything reeked of high budget late 70's horror. I would also compare the gore to a Cronenberg style, certain elements looked like old school special fx which are dearly missed for me. Screw CGI. I'd rather see a high quality maniquin get burned instead of a CG rendering. Cage was really great, all the actors were great. The NIC CAGE moment is f'n hilarious. He's really funny when he wants to be. This is a special film, one of the best revenge films I can remember. The cult leader Jerimiah is horrifying, I hated him. I also read on IMDB the actor who plays him is an actual cult leader, creepy. If had one gripe it would be the showdown scenes were too highly choreographed, I'd rather have seen a sloppy brawl of sorts, that lowered the rating for me.

Death Wish - 2.5/4

Bruce Willis in a remade bloody revenge thriller directed by Eli Roth.
Sometimes negative hype really helps a bad movie to a half decent score. I saw what Eli Roth tried to do with this, trick us into thinking it was punch-porn masquerading as a family movie when in actual fact it's not nearly as brutal as you would imagine and aside from the ludicrously amped up soundtrack I feel it was restrained and well made for what it is.
The bad guys are cartoonishly destructive, the protagonist is relentlessly lucky and the tone of the action is dangerously close to comical in some moments.
The opening to the film is cloying and sickly but from the assault onwards it becomes a much more worthwhile film, a film that owes everything to the performance of Vincent D'Onofrio who provides some immense talent and legitimacy to a movie that seems quite nice, maybe too nice for Eli Roth to be at the helm of.

Politically it's a pro gun movie, anybody denying that is off their head. The gun fights are soundtracked so it's suitably removed from sincerity that it should be a fun movie to wind down a night out with or when your expectations are so low that it can only impress you.

I liked this film but I will probably mock it a lot from now on. It was very confused but rather sweet in a way.

Small Foot - 7.5/10

It was cute

Hell Fest - 7/10

It was a definite throwback to 80's slashers. Performances were solid from the cast, one of who was intentionally annoying beyond comprehension. Good kill scenes. I'd give it a 7/10 because it's not re-writing the genre, just throwing back to it in a efficient manner.

Disobedience - There's a certain trend that these films are following nowadays. Women being oppressed, having gay experiences, and liberating themselves at the cost of everyone around them. The patting on the back needs to be curbed just a little bit.

Like every low budget horror movie it's got Tony Todd!

Read the synopsis. This movie must be boring as fuck. It surely sucks.

The House With a Clock in its Walls-7/10

Fun surface level kiddie horror type with some silly slapstick gags. The tone was kinda jumpy. It's really interesting on the surfaced but doesn't really delve into anything. Considering the target audience I understand
It was fun.

Once Upon a Time in the West - 4.5/5

I want to see this.

Just re-watched Super for the first time in about five years. That's a great, great film. I love it as much as I love any other film. It's funny, angry, brutal and about as realistic a look at the sort of loon who would pull on the cape as there ever has been.

James Gunn at his very finest, which is basically always.

I remember watching the end of Super and thinking that it was both great but also a bummer

The ending is excellent. Best speech ever.

I hope James Gunn can be involved in Guardians 3 again. He's simply too nice and too talented to punish for making dirty jokes years ago when guys like Polanski walk free in France.

Plus his apology was erudite, sincere and comparatively he's obviously one of the extremely unlucky ones. I was furious about the whole thing at the time because the tweets were so grim but a public dialogue about it should have come before any recrimination.

Tangled-10/10

Seen it a few times, but Disney has this dream big princess thing and this was playing in theaters this week. So I took my daughter.

Love this movie so much. It's funny, cute, romantic, great songs and characters. Feel like maybe it doesn't get enough love in Disney lore. But it's phenomenal.

EDIT: I hope one day to find a girl who looks at me the way Rapunzel looks at Eugene

Sir, we expect you to turn in your Man Card within 30 days of receiving this notice.

Yeah, we've progressed a bit since the '80s.

It takes a real man to raise a child

Sinemia #4 last Monday I saw hell Fest - 5/10 completely fell flat based on a pretty good premise. 1 out of like 5 kills was good and the ending I suppose was meant to be shocking but it was too obvious.

Moviepass #93 later tonight - A Star is Bo...rn 9/10 with the only nitpick being Sam Elliot is 74 and too old to be Bradley Coopers brother.

Watching "Casshern" tonight. I have seen the cover before and it always intrigues me, I always hold it and read the back, and I inevitably put it down again because it's like £6 even second hand. Today I thought "What the Hell?" and bought it because it was down to £0.50

Hopefully it doesn't suck ass but all I know is that it has something to do with androids.

I also picked up Mississippi Grind, The Life Aquatic, Mulholland Falls, Night Of The Living Dead, The Cell, Unleashed, Reign Over Me, A History Of Violence, Youth In Revolt and Gentleman Bronco's for a grand total of £5.

I have seen all of them besides Mississippi Grind but I just can't stop myself buying them.

20 minutes in and I can tell I'm watching good sci fi.

I'm a bit concerned with the subtitles. I keep having to rewind to make sure I didn't miss anything on screen. There is an awful lot going on in the film so being fluent in Japanese would be an advantage so you don't have to keep rushing through the text.

Man this film is completely bonkers. I love it. It's like watching futuristic Japanese Frankenstein through a kaleidoscope.

Casshern was nuts. Crazy Jap steampunk sci fi with an irremediably bleak plot and atmosphere. I will write up a proper review for this because I have never seen anything like it before aesthetically. It's mad shit baby.

Venom - 6.5/10


When Venom was onscreen I was very entertained. He was funny. I enjoyed the Venom-Tom Hardy dynamic. When Venom wasn't on screen I wasn't crazy about stuff. Not as bad as reviews would lead you to believe, it's much better than Fantastic Four/Affleck Daredevil.

Good show, I can now watch it with my head held high.
Is Predator also not as bad as they say?

No predator was fucking atrocious. It's a cluster fuck.

The Nun-5/10

I've never seen the conjuring films but I don't feel that's needed after seeing this.

It was just ok. The story on its surface is more interesting than the movie itself is. I found it far more interesting when the character were investigating the situation.

The scares are your typical jump scares. The mood of the film itself wasn't tense. Gorilla Monsoon would be disappointed, as a knife wasn't needed to cut the tension.

It's a solid waste of time of nothing else.

Wha...?

You never heard Gorilla Monsoon say "you can cut the tension with a knife"?

Ahh damn spelling error

Watching Mississippi Grind.

Captain Marvel appears to be in assuredly safe hands.

I like Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn in this. They both look like they are at ease in conversational roles and I love the feeling of inclusion that the film gives me. It feels like I'm around two new friends. I had never even heard the title before yesterday when I bought it. Maybe it didn't get a wide release here.

I should also say that

No matter what happens it has me stopping to wonder and that's often a good sign of replay value.

The Purge 7/10

Casshern - 3.5/4

Futuristic Japanese Frankenstein with an apocalyptic steam punk aesthetic, some high speed manga-style action sequences and an unforgettable combination of near-blinding imagery rushing past in every frame. It's a grim and dark account of an absurdly short sighted approach to the extension of human life which results in an unexpected and unlikely disaster, ultimately revealing a disgraceful series of covered-up corruptions in the state. There are several things that happen in this film which could have completely derailed it had they not been taken so incredibly seriously. This is as straight as it comes and I have to say I think this is where Snowpiercer went badly wrong. This has the same sort of feel as Snowpiercer, a superior visual style and the honest commitment to deadpan that a cast needs to convey the movie universe as a reality.

I was completely immersed, especially since it took me about five hours to watch. I rewatched any scene which I felt was too action packed to take in both the dialogue and the action so I put in the time for this film and I can't say I regret it at all.

It's a story of coping with death at it's heart and it deals with the fantastical aspects brilliantly as it juxtaposes the serious drama in a more romantic light compared to the plummeting tone of the main arc of the story. In fact there was a moment in this film which was a culmination of a genius technique used numerous times in the duration which involving splitting or following the imagery that you think you see along with what is actually happening. That's not a great way to say it but it's ethereal and hearteningly beautiful in a much needed moment of honest philosophical purity that completely blew me away. I think it represented two separate plains of existence and it added real gravitas to the already weighty vibe.

I'm going to get some more Japanese and South Korean films. I have been slacking off lately.

The Purge: Anarchy 7/10

Venom - 2/5

The Purge: Election Year 7/10

Spotlight - 8.5/10

Good film about sexual assault. Good acting, very well made.

Rift (Rökkur) - 8/10

I watched on Shudder. Fantastic cinematography. The narrative won't be for everyone but I dug it.

Where/how are you watching these movies?

Venom - Disheartening

The parts with Venom and Eddie Brock were amusing. Very underwhelming overall. Feel like Sony interfered a bit too much.

o_O

I watched The Purge and Election Year on Netflix, and I rented Anarchy off Prime.

I just watched Clown (on Netflix. That shit was intense. 4/5.

Rewatching "They Came Together". If you love parody films and to get drunk, you're in for a good time.

A Star is Born-10/10

Easily my favorite movie all year. Songs, cast, story etc were all great. Might need to see it again just to go on the ride. Cooper and Gaga have mad chemistry

Venom-5/10
It was....boring. Characters weren't interesting. The main conflict was boring. The main villain was boring. The climax was a cgi cluster fuck. It just wasn't good.

The back and forth between Hardy and the symbiote were mildly amusing. But everything is rushed into, with convenient scenarios to get Brock into Venom mode.

Even the action sets were meh. It just boring. It's not terrible. It's just terribly passable.

Sinemia #5 Venom 6/10 it was ok
Moviepass #94 Bad Times at the El Royale 7/10 there are some twists but I really found the ending (last part/Major twist reveal) to just not be that great. Could have also been shorter. But it kinda felt like a Tarantino movie and the acting was for the most part all positive..

No one in here with me for El Royale

I might end up watching it soon.

Upgrade - Modern Sci-Fi masterpiece

Picked up some films I have never seen today.

The Thirteenth Floor and Shiri look interesting.

A Simple Favor - 7.5/10. Kinda fun, but started out a bit shaky.