I used to laugh at zombie movies because of the idiotic actions of the survivors. “Nobody would be that stupid”, I would sneer.
Covid, and especially the refusal of the vaccine, has taught me better.
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You’re right though, the survivors would never be that stupid, that’s why they’re survivors to that point.
Working title for new film idea: “The Eternal Enlightenment of the Post-Zombie Apocalypse”.
L’Avventura (1960) - The only word I can think of to describe it is hypnotic. It was impossible to look away. Not much happened here narratively, but it said so much with the impossibly stunning imagery. And Monica Vitti was just too goddamn beautiful. Her skin was FLAWLESS. Legendary Italian goddess.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) - This adaptation of John le Carré’s novel … is fucking brutal. Not much else to add other than that the twists and turns were pure genius from beginning to end and that Richard Burton was a force of nature. It makes Hitchcock’s happy ending-thrillers look like children’s theatre in comparison, including the ones I really love like Notorious.
I agree with you there. I liked some of the others apart from MI2, which I thought was over-stylized in a way I don’t want in an MI movie. This one was just non-stop from the get-go. Most action movies blow their wad about midway through the movie IMHO, but this just kept upping itself without ever getting tiresome.
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I finally got around to watching Nobody because some of the John Wick crew were involved.
It was pretty awesome, with some truly brutal melee combat. The bus and home invasion scenes were incredible, and I have watched some breakdowns of these online, one by an MMA expert and another by a doctor.
Some of the humor in the movie, particularly regarding the timing of bad guys croaking, had me rolling. The movie pulled off being gritty and funny pretty well.
The only thing I didn’t like about it, without spoiling anything for those that haven’t seen it, was that the tone was off in the finale thanks to someone that really had no business being there.
There were some brilliant moments throughout, with one spectacular headshot in particular that had me laughing myself silly.
I am not partial to gory violence in movies, and although there was some here, it happened so fast and/or was out of frame in such a way that I didn’t feel it at all. It was like that with John Wick, too.
Watching Bram Stoker’s Dracula which I have seen several times before, but which is soon to leave Netflix Taiwan so one more time for the road.
Reeves and Ryder aren’t great in this, it is true. But Gary Oldman is awesome and Anthony Hopkins is always a treat. Music, story, and of course direction are top notch. If you haven’t seen it, it holds up really well almost 30 years later. Check it out.
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Been on the foreign horror film algorythm lately.
Russian: Evil Boy. Not bad. Some gooood cinematic newness. The upside down shots in particular. Story is a mix of Damien of Omen fame and a Dean Koontz novel.
Italian: The Classic Horror Movie. Takes the piss out of itself. Funny and weird and the Irish guy bouncing between bad British and American accents is like Taiwan TV star funny. In one seen, he uses all three accents.
I had such a crush on Winona Ryder circa early 1990s, that I can almost overlook her poor acting.
As for Reeves, I like him a lot in a bunch of things, but this was miscasting on an epic level. Although his faux British accent veers into the “so bad it’s good” territory at times.
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She was hot. She’s still hot.
shoulda been johnny depp
edit: @DrewC , or this: https://screenrant.com/keanu-reeves-acting-secret-weapon-bram-stokers-dracula/
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Is there a way to see a list of movies that are soon to leave? I know if I select a movie that’s leaving, it’ll tell me, but it’d be useful to get a list of imminent departures, like you can see recently added.
not that i know of. i scroll though and add movies to my list sometimes, and then when i scroll through my list i look for movies that are leaving soon.
but i have seen ‘leaving soon’ as one of their categories sometimes and this is annoying because every time i want a 90 minute movie that category isn’t available. i wish they would give a list of all of their categories rather than randomly showing them
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If you search for 90-minute movies, it’ll give you a list. Same with recently added. But I haven’t figured out a “leaving soon” search that works.
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Agreed, so much thought went into wilfully retro special fx. RLM did a superb retrospect look at it last month, well worth a look if you are a fan:
i can’t spend 40 minutes watching people talking about a movie i’ve seen many times, that will cut into my arguing-with-strangers-on-the-internet time. try and convince me otherwise.
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Netflix sends an email with a list monthly.
Caught Black Widow. 6/10 from me. The actress playing her sister would have made an infinitely better BW, Scarlett can’t carry a movie for me. Her stumpy running in action always makes me laugh. The plot was cool but that’s it.
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I did that for the LOTR extended versions. I forgot most of it all by now, but absolutely nothing is stopping me from revisiting director’s commentary.
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Yesterday:
Nobody – very forgettable with a decent fight or two
The Wicker Man (70s version) – I accidentally read a spoiler beforehand so that didn’t help, but the “omg you don’t believe in Jebus!” shit got old. I’ll have to watch the Nic Cage version, I heard it’s his craziest performance
Somewhat off-topic, but this seems the best thread to post in: iTunes Canada currently has all Criterion movies on sale for CAD$4.99. I think iTunes USA has a similar deal; no idea about iTunes Taiwan. Anyway, may be worth a look for some.
Sadly, the iTunes versions are just the films - none of the extra features. A decade ago I’d thought we’d wind up with more special features at this point, but nope, those are basically disappearing. And Criterion’s iTunes selection is only a small slice of their total catalog.
Pig
Nicolas Cage, totally nothing like what it may seem to be or not seem to be, turns into really good movie, interesting story on multiple levels, should win best screenplay or something, keeps you guessing totally throughout movie.