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Post by Merv on Apr 16, 2024 9:47:38 GMT 1
I have a lot of movies on my watchlist but I cannot decide if I want to watch another western or days of thunder or maybe even Roadhouse the original All good choices.
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Post by Jayman on Apr 16, 2024 17:27:21 GMT 1
I have a lot of movies on my watchlist but I cannot decide if I want to watch another western or days of thunder or maybe even Roadhouse the original All good choices. thanks, I ended up not watching a movie but hopefully tonight!
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Post by AQUA CAT! on Apr 17, 2024 18:51:11 GMT 1
Late Night with the Devil (2024)
Cool. I really liked it. It's brand spanking new, so spoilers.
{Late Night with the Devil}
It has a lot of layers and at the same time feels breezy and brief. There's an exposition dump at the beginning about the journey of a late-nite host whose quirky style and charisma helps America forget about it's uniquely 1970's anxieties. The host, played by David Dastmalchian, competes with Johnny Carson for the late night TV spot, but cannot quite seem to overtake Carson in the ratings. Later, his wife passes away from cancer. Having her on his show produces one of his highest ever ratings and shares, but not enough to overtake Carson. Then she dies, prompting a hiatus. Upon returning from Hiatus, the show slips in the ratings, and the crew pull together a last-ditch effort to save the series by planning a Halloween themed episode on Halloween, 1977, at the beginning of Sweeps Week, where the guest lineup includes a fortune-telling, a parapsychologist and her child patient, and a skeptic. This is all clarified before the film really begins. These are the stakes, and the ensuing movie is a recovered broadcast of that airing complete with what occurs onset during commercial breaks.
Without going into too much details because there's Wikipedia for that, the parapsychologist is goaded into a demonstration with her child-patient, the sole survivor of a fire that destroyed a cult to which she belonged and was presumably being groomed for human sacrifice. The demonstration goes totally wonky live on air and shit hits the fan.
First, props to and for David Dastmalchian. I think he was a very good choice for the role. His grandiose ambitions are sympathetic and so is he, despite the lengths he'll go through to get on top. He never quite reaches the personality of megalomaniac, but he is willing to exploit and put his own personal traumas and offenses on the back burner for ratings. He was a good casting choice because he usually plays characters crippled by low confidence and who have difficulty speaking, in my experience. If the name doesn't ring a bell, he was the Joker's underling in The Dark Knight disguised as a police officer but whose badge read "Rachel Dawes". This is the film that says he's come a long way. He speaks with eloquence and confidence.
What's interesting about the movie because its feast for the senses is its fork in the road where it could have ended. Bear with me, but I find many movies could end on a particularly note, and not doing so results in the movie that could have been if it ended and the other movie it becomes by keeping going. There was a pivotal moment towards the end where it could have ended and been done with, but it continued past that threshold. That's where it got interesting. Had it ended at the first cue where it could have ended, it would have been a very succinct and engaging movie. However, it went beyond that threshold, and there it became a little confused. It felt worth it in the end because the action panned away from a horror sequence of unreality back into reality where something else horrible happened and that closed the movie.
So, I'm on the fence about whether I prefer the ending that could have been if the film were cut short, or if I prefer the ending that went off the rails and looped back to reality and the tragedy that ensued while we, the viewer, were treated to the fantasy sequence. So, in my opinion there's two endings to choose from, and while I prefer the first one, the second one was worth it because of how it panned out of the fantasy sequence and back into reality to reveal the host stabbing the child-patient guest to death. All in all, I really liked it. It's creative and engaging. I was unsure how well it stuck the landing at the end, but I totally dug it and recommend it. See it in theaters while you have the chance. If you can't, see it eventually anyways. It's a nice little movie.
satlp
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Post by primemcgee on Apr 18, 2024 8:21:53 GMT 1
PRINCE VALIANT - 1954 - repeat--The knight action is this is really high quality although the accents of much of the cast are grating. Robert Wagner might look goofy in his wig but he displays quite the athleticism and the sword duel between him and James Mason is effectively staged. The frequent mention of Christianity seems rather forced though. Some feel it should have been more humorous but I like the fact that it is played straight (despite the accents wrecking the mood).
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Post by primemcgee on Apr 19, 2024 7:12:56 GMT 1
SOMEONE IS BLEEDING aka ICY BREASTS - 1974 - A tv writer picks up a woman he sees walking on the beach and despite his obnoxious behavior she invites him to her mansion where we learn she has various minders including a lawyer (Alain Delon) who is in love with her despite being married. As it turns out--the actress was paired with Delon off screen and much like how Charles Bronson insisted his wife get a part in film--that seems to be the case here. But even devoted husband Charlie didn't expect the Mrs to be the star--and that is what we have to endure--and she simply is not cast right for this. It is a slow movie and hardly feels like a thriller or mystery--but as it was based on a Richard Matheson story--I was curious. Maybe I shouldn't have been.
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Post by Jayman on Apr 19, 2024 18:45:37 GMT 1
Hour of the gun with James garner and Jason Robards. Kind of a sequel to gunfight at the ok coral but way better in my opinion.
Also watched Days of Thunder and loved it
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Post by Indiana Jones on Apr 19, 2024 21:17:12 GMT 1
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Post by taylorfirst1 on Apr 21, 2024 0:19:07 GMT 1
"Abigail" 2024 thumbs up
"The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" 2024 thumbs up
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Post by primemcgee on Apr 21, 2024 8:11:05 GMT 1
MY FRIENDS NEED KILLING - 1976 - Zero budget war thriller about a Vietnam vet who cracks up from memories of the atrocities committed by his unit so he goes around killing them. The lack of production values actually helps make it feel more intimate and creepy because the acting is good. In one particularly disturbing scene he shoots a guy in the hand and leg and then rapes his wife--and she is completely convincing. It sounds like an absurd exploitation but the performances are completely sincere. The finale is suspenseful but severely undermined by a terrible choice of music for characters urgently traveling to prevent a horrible outcome for a pregnant woman at the mercy of the killer. They chose a piece that sounds like funky muzak that you would hear in a 1970s department store. Still, the ending is haunting. An interesting curio of 1970s ultra cheapie filmmaking.
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Post by taylorfirst1 on Apr 22, 2024 14:31:28 GMT 1
"The Wild One" 1953 thumbs up
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Post by Indiana Jones on Apr 22, 2024 21:05:33 GMT 1
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Post by Jayman on Apr 22, 2024 22:42:21 GMT 1
The Big Trees (1952) Kirk Douglas. I enjoyed this movie very much. What I have noticed is that Kirk Douglas' frequently plays unlikable characters in some of the westerns he was in.
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Post by primemcgee on Apr 23, 2024 7:06:08 GMT 1
THE BAT PEOPLE 1974 - Stewart Moss, a poor man's Anthony Perkins or Bradford Dillman, is bitten by a bat and then starts to have hallucinations and fears he is turning into one. Middling horror film to be honest--the makeup by Stan Winston is not much of a help. But I like to watch it every so often when I want some early 70s stock bat footage used in repetitive fashion.
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Post by Indiana Jones on Apr 23, 2024 18:46:01 GMT 1
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Post by primemcgee on Apr 25, 2024 8:08:58 GMT 1
I'LL SEE YOU IN HELL - 1960 -- A variation on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre with John Drew Barrymore as Dobbs, being haunted by the death of a fellow diamond thief and losing his mind from it. Twist ending (although influenced by TTOTSM).
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Post by Jayman on Apr 25, 2024 20:34:21 GMT 1
Support your local gunfighter. It was ok. James Garner's character was basically a con man so there was really no character in this movie that I could get behind.
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Post by Indiana Jones on Apr 26, 2024 2:31:20 GMT 1
Revisiting an old favorite. Perfectly re-watchable.
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Post by primemcgee on Apr 28, 2024 8:11:54 GMT 1
THE BEAST MUST DIE 1974 - 50th anniversary viewing.
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Post by taylorfirst1 on Apr 28, 2024 23:41:25 GMT 1
"Rebel Moon Part 2 the Scar Giver" 2024 thumbs up
"The Terror Within" 1989 thumbs down. I wish MST3K or Rifftrax could get their hands on this one.
"Only the Valiant" 1951 thumbs up
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Post by Indiana Jones on Apr 29, 2024 22:58:06 GMT 1
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Post by Indiana Jones on May 1, 2024 17:55:49 GMT 1
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Post by Jayman on May 1, 2024 19:59:46 GMT 1
Roadhouse. The real one from the 80's. I love this movie!!! My favorite part:
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Post by taylorfirst1 on May 1, 2024 20:05:36 GMT 1
Roadhouse. The real one from the 80's. I love this movie!!! My favorite part: You always have to love the classics.
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Post by Jayman on May 1, 2024 20:11:22 GMT 1
Roadhouse. The real one from the 80's. I love this movie!!! My favorite part: You always have to love the classics. Yes! Especially since I am usually not interested in anything new that comes out
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Post by taylorfirst1 on May 1, 2024 20:14:39 GMT 1
Rewatched "Star Trek the Motion Picture" 1979 in preparation for this weekend's review on the POC.
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Post by Jayman on May 1, 2024 20:23:47 GMT 1
Rewatched "Star Trek the Motion Picture" 1979 in preparation for this weekend's review on the POC. I feel like I should rewatch the movie first before I watch the podcast. But I am not ready to watch it yet is the problem.
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Post by primemcgee on May 2, 2024 6:56:31 GMT 1
THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA - 1973 - Superior to AD 72 in most ways, with a plot that manages to merge science fiction with supernatural horror without negating the latter (since most often, if something supernatural is working alongside science fiction, then the SF is used to explain the supernatural as something based in science--which is not the case here). I don't watch this one often but it is a decent ending for the Hammer ones (if we ignore Seven Golden Vampires).
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