The Wachowskis' SPEED RACER (2008, IMAX) and Edgar Wright's HOT FUZZ (2007, REGAL THEATER) were my movie highlights of the week. The latter remains as close to a perfect action/comedy as could ever be made. Characters' names matching their professions, fast-cut editing with purpose, whip-smart dialogue, set-ups leading to payoffs galore, a murderers' row of U.K. thespians (Broadbent, Dalton, Woodward, Coleman, McCann, Freeman, Nighy, etc.) backing up Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's time-tested energy/chemistry, perfect needle-drop tunes (a Wright specialty), and so on. It's unfair to judge Edgar's newest filmography ("Baby Driver," "Last Night in Soho" and "Running Man '24") against "Hot Fuzz," but them's the breaks. ¯\_(ใ)_/¯
One of my biggest movie-going regrets ever was not watching "Speed Racer" on IMAX during its initial (critically/financially disappointing) '08 theatrical run, only finding out later on Blu-ray that this was something special. As multiple sold-out NYC shows during a three-day run at IMAX prove, the film has found its audience. Moments of genuine sincerity and earned pathos between Speed (Emile Hirsch), his parents (John Goodman and Susan Sarandon) and older brother Rex (Scott Porter and Matthew Fox, the latter delivering career-best work IMO) alternate with a young boy (Paul Litt's Spritle) and his chimp stealing candy, impressive-but-dated CG/digital effects of impossible-to-stage racing venues, and corporate intrigue with the racing/industrial complex (personified dead-on by Roger Allam's Royalton) likely to go over the head of most children. The Wachowskis threw the proverbial kitchen sink at this 60's anime live-action adaptation. It might not be perfect (Christina Ricci's Trixie, where are her parents? ๐ฅฐ), but within its cinematic DNA "Speed Racer" nails what it feels like to be a boy obsessed with something that bonds you with your loved ones forever and shapes the man you eventually become. And on a giant IMAX screen with appreciative fans laughing with it at the appropriate times (even Spritle and Chim Chim get some big laughs!), the remastered version looks/sounds exquisite. "The Matrix"? Keep it, it's yours. I'm a "Speed Racer" man. ๐ซก๐
Rewatched NOBODY (2021, 4K UHD) and it was as entertaining as it could be, given it was the OG "John Wick" writer (Derek Kolstad) check marking his previous film's tropes. Bob Odenkirk plays (and acquits himself fine as) the secret badass whose bus brawl brings the wrath of Russian baddie Aleksey Serebryakov on top of his suburban camouflaged world. Nice to see Christopher Lloyd do fine comedic supporting work, but Connie Nielsen and RZA feel wasted in 'meh' roles. 'It's fine.' Say, do you know any Black Russians? ๐๐
Among its credits, BEAST ('26, THEATER) includes 'Russell Crowe's Entourage' for a bunch of folks. ๐ณ That's on top of Crowe's 'AND' acting credit, his co-screenplay writing credit, his producer credit (one of 35! ๐ง) and too-many-to-count make-up, security, driver, etc. assistants. All that for, frankly, a phoned-in performance as the 'Mickey' trainer to Daniel McPherson's MMA-fighting 'Rocky.' A USA/Australia co-production filmed in Bangkok, "Beast" leaves no clichรฉ/trope unused as it leads to an all-or-nothing MMA bout between reluctant family man (bearded dad-bod Daniel) and raging a-hole champ (Bren Foster, who also threw in decent fight choreography for free). Pass. ๐
SALMAKJI: WHISPERING WATER ('26, SOUTH KOREA, THEATER) finds a group of Google Earth-type techies trying to map an area near a lake the locals fear is haunted by ghosts of people who drowned there. Bloodless 'PG-13' supernatural shenanigans ensue. Predictable stuff, but great use of fog and nighttime to create an oppressive mood. ๐ฅถ
FACES OF DEATH ('26, THEATER) is neither terrible nor a hidden gem. It's far beneath the quality l've come to expect from Shudder originals. Dacre Montgomery's online serial killer looks/sounds clichรฉ, but Barbie Ferreira is an atypical (broken?) final girl. It's OK but feels hollow.๐คจ
Thanks, will seek this dude out. A "Speed Racer"/"F1" 4K double bill would be killer, except for the gimped Dolby Atmos track on "F1" 4K disc. ๐๐ซค
Woot! Love the review for Speed Racer. Im so stoked that the cinema community is revisiting that movie and in many cases rediscovering that its one of a kind. The original show was my absolute favorite childhood cartoon. I adore that the Wachowskis took a really basic premise that they too loved and expanded it so creatively and artistically and visually and so forth. I, too, cant WAIT for the 4k.
Kunider, l woke up last night and couldn't go back to sleep. So l watched the Patrick Willem hour-long "Speed Racer" YouTube review you pushed on me. Other than the producer and puppet running play-by-play (a cute way to sneak-in extra bits of commentary that nevertheless got old quickly), it was a fun and nice treat for a diehard fan to see one's opinion validated by like-minded individuals. Thanks for the recommendation. ✌️๐
Yeah, he does bits like that. They sometimes make it hard for newcomers to come into his world, but i love his video essays. I've been following him for years. I particularly love his video on Gonzo Movies (not what you think), from a few years back.
I'll check more of P.W.'s videos later. But right now my cup of YouTubers l follow regularly is rather full. This dude better be consistently good to (eventually) earn my sub. ๐คจ๐
He's worth it. He did a video on mate paintings background in movies. Another on trains. Two videos about music biopics. Another one about the movie Grand Prix that was very good. The one about Indian (from india) movie was pretty awesome too.
The one that caught my eye for future viewing was something about flying in movies through the years. Putting Kiki in the thumbnail for that video guarantees I'll come back to click it. ๐ค๐ฅน
Read or Not 2 - Here I Come (2026): It's fine, kills are cool, I had fun. The casting is great, but how dare they dispatch Kevin Durand that early?
Companion (2025): As advertised by everybody around here, it's very good. Gotta love the "friends in a cabin, and chaos ensues" type of movie. I love douche Jack Quaid. I knew absolutely zero things on the movie, other than "it's good", so yeah... If you've seen it, you know what I mean.
Shadow (2018): If you've seen a Zhang Yimou film, you know what to expect. Beautiful cinematography, slow pace, longing dialogues. Some fight scenes, but not as extravagant as other of his movies. I guess he wanted a break from The Great Wall (which I like, but was panned by everybody).
Point Blank (1967: Just out on glorious 4k from Criterion. Steven Soderberg is a big fan of this movie, and you can see that love in the movie The Limey, plus he recorded a commentary with John Boorman. My favorite trivia for this movie is this: Lee Marvin called a meeting at the studio with the bigwigs to confirm that he had final approval over the script, casting, and more. They said yes, and he replied, "I defer those approvals to John", and then he walked out of the meeting.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985): I don't know if it's a hot take, but I prefer MM3 over MM1. It's silly and weird, and it's 2 movies, but that's why I like it. It starts as a Mad Max movie, then turn into Hook somehow. I guess George Miller missed his kids. We still can't skip the crazy-over-the-top chase sequence to close the movie. Always the best part.
Evil Dead (2013): You see, it's a metaphor for trauma. Once you get past the intro, they discover the thing, and get into the k1ll1ings, the real fun starts. Jane Levy is awesome too. Not my first watch, but last time was a long time ago. And yes, I got the Shout 4k set (Steelbook not less), because my OCD dumbass had to have everything with the title Evil Dead on 4k. The lack of new extras from the old blu-ray is disappointing though.
Evil Dead Rise (2023): Why the heck not. I've never seen it and it was right next to the other one on Amazon. And I splurged for the new Arrow edition, because that's how I roll, go big and go broke. Another usual slow opening, introduce everybody and their trauma, then it gets good. They even manage a r@pe tree equivalent (without the r@pe), even if they're in a building. I like the 'stuck in a building' subgenre of movie, whether it's horror, or action.
The newest "Evil Dead" entries are a mystery to me. I know I saw the '13 "ED" remake, but l don't remember any of it. ๐ณ๐ฒ Waiting for a good 4K sale to snatch both "ED '13" (Shout!) and "ED Rise" (Arrow) together. ๐
I have "Point Blank" on Warner BD, don't feel the need to upgrade to 4K. Lee Marvin, the oldest-looking 43-year old hitman in 1967 movies (he looks 60+). ๐ฑ
"Read or Not 2 - Here I Come (2026)" Never seen that one, hate reading! ๐ Only seen the more fun "READY or Not..." bloody flicks. ๐๐ฅฐ
Oh, l get it now zillagord. You want hardcore horror in your "ED" ("Evil Dead," not "Erectyle Dysfunction" ๐ฑ๐), so the two comedic ones are out and the OG + 2010's newer remakes are of one mindset: pure horror. Got it! ๐๐ค
J.M., you're onto my game. I love ED2 and Army of Darkness, but my heart pumps more hurriedly for all-out horror. That being said, I thought ED Rise was merely passable (and I really wanted to like it). Hoping the 2026 EDition gets the series back on terrifying track.
The Thing (2011 Blu). Hrmm. I loathed this initially as i felt it an unnecessary cgi fest and hold the original so dearly. Watched it again and warmed up a little (pun intended). And this 3rd watch? I kinda liked it? (SLIGHT SPOILER AHEAD) Originally i think they intentionally didnt market it as a prequel which i respect. However that fact becomes evident relatively quickly. And watching so close to the original i do appreciate the few threads they worked hard to tie together. The characters are all borning and dispensable and the original's sense of dread/mystery/tone is missing but its still an entertaining monster movie with lots of goopy action.
RED SONJA (2025) I actually liked this! You could argue there are too many side characters and not enough of Sonja being awesome, but to me this was a fun throwback to the low budget sword n’ sorcery flicks of days gone by.
CLUE (1985) Communism is a red herring.
DUST BUNNY (2025) I wondered how this movie would pull off its outlandish premise. The answer is to overstuff the whole thing with so much quirky/whimsical fantasy/fairy tale B.S. so that there are no rules. I like quirky, but there’s such a thing as too quirky.
THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (1970) Because sometimes, you just gotta Hammer.
PRETTY LETHAL (2026) You'd think that “ballerinas vs. gangsters” would be at least cheesy fun, but this movie just feels mean and ugly, even when it’s trying to be funny. I recommend 2024’s ABIGAIL instead.
FANTASTIC PLANET (1973) Finally, a movie that’s completely normal.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1990) I forgot how much of this takes place with everyone staying at that farmhouse. It’s the long dark night of the turtle soul.
NOBODY (2021) Yet another “hitman comes out or retirement” action/thriller. It doesn’t have much new to say, but it’s functional. A fight scene set on a bus was especially good.
THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (1987) Two words: Cello case.
How can "Red Sonja" be considered low-budget when some of those sets (thousand-candle room, the flooded chamber, rotating wheel entry, etc.) and matte paintings (giant mastodon skeleton bridge) clearly cost a metric ton of $$$ to make? The walls/tunnels when the actors are crawling on their bellies to simulate going up are efficient low-budget techniques, but most of "RJ" looks anything but cheap. ๐ฎ๐จ
"The Living Daylights." Three simple words: Best... Bond... evah! ๐ค
"Dust Bunny." Funny unrelated story to the actual movie, which l liked way more than you, but whatever. ๐↔️๐↕️ At the 42nd St. AMC near Times Square there are rows of poster displays on walls in every floor promoting upcoming releases. On the first floor (technically third) in front of theaters 4 and 5, among the displayed posters of unreleased movies, there's a "Dust Bunny" poster. It was there weeks before the movie came out in late '25, but it hasn't been replaced since its week-long engagement ended. I finally asked the manager, and she told me the key hole for the display's broken and the only way to open it would be to break the glass. So until they fix that display key hole, a poster for "Dust Bunny" hangs in perpetuity at AMC Times Square in NYC. ๐๐ค
What? Not again! ๐ณ๐ญ MY BRAIN WON'T LET ME ACCEPT THERE IS ANY OTHER "RED SONJA" BESIDES THE '85 VERSION. ๐ซฃ๐ I'm dumber than a "Battlefield Earth" movie producer. ๐ค๐ฐ
I just walked away from buying a bunch of 4K discs for cheap (including the "Creepshows" we talked about last week) after staring at them for an hour because I'm trying to not spend dough on more movies that'll sit unwatched until June. ๐๐ Maybe the trauma of denying myself shopping therapy traumatized me into not seeing '2025' next to Mac's "Red Sonja." Or maybe I'm just a f***ing idiot. ๐๐ช
My only recent physical media purchases were a stack of DVDs and blu-rays from the Salvation Army store. Not having time for movies and an already large stack of unwatched discs has discouraged me from participating in the numerous sales this year. Plus expenses that I know are coming up shortly.
Welcome to America/The World 2026, Casual.๐ช As Kunider says often, though, food is overrated. Go hungry and buy discs, it'll even out in the end... somehow. ๐คฅ๐คฅ๐คฅ
Wow, some quality heavy-hitters there! ๐ณ "Possession" is amazing, a hard-to-categorize pic that's equal parts horror, artistic statement and international darling. I ❤️ it. "Ran" is a late career Kurosawa stone-cold classic, the more polished 'yang' to his "Kagemusha" 'yin' five years prior. "Code of Silence" is partly a Chuck Norris action flick, but mostly an Andrew Davis-directed loving homage to Chicago cop culture. Gotta love Dennis Farina. ๐ฅฐ "Gods of Egypt" is a guilty pleasure, an excuse for good actors to go full ham and get paid to do/say ridiculous stuff. In 3D some of the cheapo effects actually look cool. And "Red" is... Bruce Willis not quite in paycheck mode, but close. ๐ซค๐ข
I walked into a theatrical screening of "Possession" at NYC's Film Forum approx. 17 or so years ago without knowing anything about it. It felt like a train ran over me, stopped, ran over me in reverse, then a third time moving forward again... and l loved every minute of it. ๐ฅฐ๐ Made me an Andrzej ลปuลawski and Isabelle Adjani fan for life. Watched the former's entire filmography chasing the "Possession" dragon (a few of his Poland films came close, but none matched it), and many of the latter's work is great but never approaches what she and Sam Neil did together. What a movie, what a rush! ๐ค๐
Best of the rest of Andrzej ลปuลawski's filmography besides "Possession" (his undisputed masterpiece), IMHO: "She-Shaman/Szamanka," "The Third Part of the Night," "That Most Important Thing: Love," "The Devil" and "On the Silver Globe." As long as you don't try to measure their artistic merits against "Possession," all these are extraordinary, well-acted dramatic features. ๐๐ง
Oh yeah, forgot to specify that i got the super-duper-expansive Second Sight 4k boxset. I have hours and hours of reading and watching extras. Maybe i'll understand what was happening at the end with all that ๐
I have the Blu-Ray encoded by David McKenzie for Mondo Vision. Good enough for me, l don't rewatch "Possession" too often to keep it fresh every infrequent rewatch. ๐
With work winding down, I have had more time and energy to devote to movies.
Last week I got to a few retro screenings.
At The Gap Theatre I re-watched Russ Meyer's VIXEN (1968) for the first time in many years. It is strange to think that Meyer was on the verge of getting a Hollywood contract because of the film's success, but the Meyer template for his peak period is thoroughly on display in Vixen. Themes and imagery would be reworked for the next decade of his career.
Last Sunday I was at The Gap for an afternoon of Japanese blind swordswoman films. THE CRIMSON BAT series (1969-70) is four films featuring Oichi, The Crimson Bat. Despite being a fan of these kind of Japanese genre films, I had not even heard of these before. She basically is a female Zatoichi. The first film is undoubtedly the best, opening with a girl being abandoned by her mother in the woods. Worse yet, a lightning strike destroys her eyesight. She grows up to deal with numerous heartaches and disappoints, but she also is taught the art of sword fighting. The first film ends up being an engaging revenge melodrama, and the sequels vary in quality. The later ones shift more to spaghetti western plots.
The last screening to mention is my first visit to the Mahoning Drive-In of the season. The trippy and sexy 1968 sci-fi flick BARBARELLA is still odd after nearly six decades since its release. Jane Fonda plays the innocence angle of the main character well, and the 1960s aesthetics remain enjoyable to look at. The conclusion of the film was interrupted by a thunderstorm, which did not ruin the experience at all.
It was more than a triple feature, J.M. All four Crimson Bat films were shown last weekend. The prints for the first two were in Japanese, and the final two were shown in a Chinese dub.
Blu-rays of the Severin releases of Supervixens and The Beyond the Valley of the Supervixens (a blind buy for me) are in my collection. A bootleg DVD of Vixen has been part of it for a well over a decade, and I think I will stick with that. Vixen is just an "okay" movie for me.
For this week, I have seen a bunch of films I found on streaming where I am pet sitting.
With access to Netflix, I decided to re-visit K-Pop Demon Hunters. Watching it on a big screen is definitely more enjoyable, but KPDH became the success it is through the modern miracle of streaming. Though the animation style definitely grew on me, some of the abrupt storytelling remains an issue. In any case, it is a fun film and that rare thing, a satisfying modern musical.
I am starting to see the KPDH merch and branding a lot more now. Visiting the local Asian store, I found images of Rumi and the girls on bags of shrimp crackers. (Zoey eats them in the plane).
Looking at Roku options, I found a several films that I knew would not be too demanding. CALIGULA AND MESSALINA (1981) is Italian trash that has half its running time taken from the sword-and-sandal films of the 1960s. The contrast between the new scenes and the borrowed shots is hard to ignore. It does not help, either, that the bulk of the original footage shot focuses on titillation. Overall, boring and poorly made. Makes one appreciate the Tinto Brass film a lot more.
I was surprised to find some Hong Kong 1990s skinimax films available on Roku. E-R-O-T-I-C GHOST STORY II focuses on a l-u-s--t-f-u-l demon named Wu-tung who demands monthly virgins from a nearby village. This demon is played by the great Anthony Wong, who brings a lot of energy to the role. His performance and an interesting visual style put the film above the average late-nite skin movie experience. It is not afraid to get weird.
Ohio! ๐ค
ReplyDeleteThe Wachowskis' SPEED RACER (2008, IMAX) and Edgar Wright's HOT FUZZ (2007, REGAL THEATER) were my movie highlights of the week. The latter remains as close to a perfect action/comedy as could ever be made. Characters' names matching their professions, fast-cut editing with purpose, whip-smart dialogue, set-ups leading to payoffs galore, a murderers' row of U.K. thespians (Broadbent, Dalton, Woodward, Coleman, McCann, Freeman, Nighy, etc.) backing up Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's time-tested energy/chemistry, perfect needle-drop tunes (a Wright specialty), and so on. It's unfair to judge Edgar's newest filmography ("Baby Driver," "Last Night in Soho" and "Running Man '24") against "Hot Fuzz," but them's the breaks. ¯\_(ใ)_/¯
One of my biggest movie-going regrets ever was not watching "Speed Racer" on IMAX during its initial (critically/financially disappointing) '08 theatrical run, only finding out later on Blu-ray that this was something special. As multiple sold-out NYC shows during a three-day run at IMAX prove, the film has found its audience. Moments of genuine sincerity and earned pathos between Speed (Emile Hirsch), his parents (John Goodman and Susan Sarandon) and older brother Rex (Scott Porter and Matthew Fox, the latter delivering career-best work IMO) alternate with a young boy (Paul Litt's Spritle) and his chimp stealing candy, impressive-but-dated CG/digital effects of impossible-to-stage racing venues, and corporate intrigue with the racing/industrial complex (personified dead-on by Roger Allam's Royalton) likely to go over the head of most children. The Wachowskis threw the proverbial kitchen sink at this 60's anime live-action adaptation. It might not be perfect (Christina Ricci's Trixie, where are her parents? ๐ฅฐ), but within its cinematic DNA "Speed Racer" nails what it feels like to be a boy obsessed with something that bonds you with your loved ones forever and shapes the man you eventually become. And on a giant IMAX screen with appreciative fans laughing with it at the appropriate times (even Spritle and Chim Chim get some big laughs!), the remastered version looks/sounds exquisite. "The Matrix"? Keep it, it's yours. I'm a "Speed Racer" man. ๐ซก๐
Rewatched NOBODY (2021, 4K UHD) and it was as entertaining as it could be, given it was the OG "John Wick" writer (Derek Kolstad) check marking his previous film's tropes. Bob Odenkirk plays (and acquits himself fine as) the secret badass whose bus brawl brings the wrath of Russian baddie Aleksey Serebryakov on top of his suburban camouflaged world. Nice to see Christopher Lloyd do fine comedic supporting work, but Connie Nielsen and RZA feel wasted in 'meh' roles. 'It's fine.' Say, do you know any Black Russians? ๐๐
Among its credits, BEAST ('26, THEATER) includes 'Russell Crowe's Entourage' for a bunch of folks. ๐ณ That's on top of Crowe's 'AND' acting credit, his co-screenplay writing credit, his producer credit (one of 35! ๐ง) and too-many-to-count make-up, security, driver, etc. assistants. All that for, frankly, a phoned-in performance as the 'Mickey' trainer to Daniel McPherson's MMA-fighting 'Rocky.' A USA/Australia co-production filmed in Bangkok, "Beast" leaves no clichรฉ/trope unused as it leads to an all-or-nothing MMA bout between reluctant family man (bearded dad-bod Daniel) and raging a-hole champ (Bren Foster, who also threw in decent fight choreography for free). Pass. ๐
SALMAKJI: WHISPERING WATER ('26, SOUTH KOREA, THEATER) finds a group of Google Earth-type techies trying to map an area near a lake the locals fear is haunted by ghosts of people who drowned there. Bloodless 'PG-13' supernatural shenanigans ensue. Predictable stuff, but great use of fog and nighttime to create an oppressive mood. ๐ฅถ
FACES OF DEATH ('26, THEATER) is neither terrible nor a hidden gem. It's far beneath the quality l've come to expect from Shudder originals. Dacre Montgomery's online serial killer looks/sounds clichรฉ, but Barbie Ferreira is an atypical (broken?) final girl. It's OK but feels hollow.๐คจ
Youtuber Patrick Willem made a whole video about Speed Racer and how awesome it is. The 4k is coming out later this year, can't wait
DeleteThanks, will seek this dude out. A "Speed Racer"/"F1" 4K double bill would be killer, except for the gimped Dolby Atmos track on "F1" 4K disc. ๐๐ซค
DeleteWoot! Love the review for Speed Racer. Im so stoked that the cinema community is revisiting that movie and in many cases rediscovering that its one of a kind. The original show was my absolute favorite childhood cartoon. I adore that the Wachowskis took a really basic premise that they too loved and expanded it so creatively and artistically and visually and so forth. I, too, cant WAIT for the 4k.
DeleteWhy didn't you guys see "Speed Racer" on IMAX? Was it not playing on IMAX Mon.-Wed. this past week? ๐ค๐
DeleteIf it was playing, i was not aware of it. I don't check theaters listing very often, only when i want to see a particular movie
DeleteKUNIDER!!! ๐ซฃ๐↔️
DeleteI'm a physical media guy, what can i say ๐
DeleteIt doesn't get more physical than moving your butt to a movie theater and parking it in front of a big screen! ๐๐
DeleteKunider, l woke up last night and couldn't go back to sleep. So l watched the Patrick Willem hour-long "Speed Racer" YouTube review you pushed on me. Other than the producer and puppet running play-by-play (a cute way to sneak-in extra bits of commentary that nevertheless got old quickly), it was a fun and nice treat for a diehard fan to see one's opinion validated by like-minded individuals. Thanks for the recommendation. ✌️๐
DeleteYeah, he does bits like that. They sometimes make it hard for newcomers to come into his world, but i love his video essays. I've been following him for years. I particularly love his video on Gonzo Movies (not what you think), from a few years back.
DeleteI'll check more of P.W.'s videos later. But right now my cup of YouTubers l follow regularly is rather full. This dude better be consistently good to (eventually) earn my sub. ๐คจ๐
DeleteHe's worth it. He did a video on mate paintings background in movies. Another on trains. Two videos about music biopics. Another one about the movie Grand Prix that was very good. The one about Indian (from india) movie was pretty awesome too.
DeleteI could list them all day long, they're all good.
The one that caught my eye for future viewing was something about flying in movies through the years. Putting Kiki in the thumbnail for that video guarantees I'll come back to click it. ๐ค๐ฅน
DeleteRead or Not 2 - Here I Come (2026): It's fine, kills are cool, I had fun. The casting is great, but how dare they dispatch Kevin Durand that early?
ReplyDeleteCompanion (2025): As advertised by everybody around here, it's very good. Gotta love the "friends in a cabin, and chaos ensues" type of movie. I love douche Jack Quaid. I knew absolutely zero things on the movie, other than "it's good", so yeah... If you've seen it, you know what I mean.
Shadow (2018): If you've seen a Zhang Yimou film, you know what to expect. Beautiful cinematography, slow pace, longing dialogues. Some fight scenes, but not as extravagant as other of his movies. I guess he wanted a break from The Great Wall (which I like, but was panned by everybody).
Point Blank (1967: Just out on glorious 4k from Criterion. Steven Soderberg is a big fan of this movie, and you can see that love in the movie The Limey, plus he recorded a commentary with John Boorman. My favorite trivia for this movie is this: Lee Marvin called a meeting at the studio with the bigwigs to confirm that he had final approval over the script, casting, and more. They said yes, and he replied, "I defer those approvals to John", and then he walked out of the meeting.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985): I don't know if it's a hot take, but I prefer MM3 over MM1. It's silly and weird, and it's 2 movies, but that's why I like it. It starts as a Mad Max movie, then turn into Hook somehow. I guess George Miller missed his kids. We still can't skip the crazy-over-the-top chase sequence to close the movie. Always the best part.
Evil Dead (2013): You see, it's a metaphor for trauma. Once you get past the intro, they discover the thing, and get into the k1ll1ings, the real fun starts. Jane Levy is awesome too. Not my first watch, but last time was a long time ago. And yes, I got the Shout 4k set (Steelbook not less), because my OCD dumbass had to have everything with the title Evil Dead on 4k. The lack of new extras from the old blu-ray is disappointing though.
Evil Dead Rise (2023): Why the heck not. I've never seen it and it was right next to the other one on Amazon. And I splurged for the new Arrow edition, because that's how I roll, go big and go broke. Another usual slow opening, introduce everybody and their trauma, then it gets good. They even manage a r@pe tree equivalent (without the r@pe), even if they're in a building. I like the 'stuck in a building' subgenre of movie, whether it's horror, or action.
The newest "Evil Dead" entries are a mystery to me. I know I saw the '13 "ED" remake, but l don't remember any of it. ๐ณ๐ฒ Waiting for a good 4K sale to snatch both "ED '13" (Shout!) and "ED Rise" (Arrow) together. ๐
DeleteI have "Point Blank" on Warner BD, don't feel the need to upgrade to 4K. Lee Marvin, the oldest-looking 43-year old hitman in 1967 movies (he looks 60+). ๐ฑ
"Read or Not 2 - Here I Come (2026)" Never seen that one, hate reading! ๐ Only seen the more fun "READY or Not..." bloody flicks. ๐๐ฅฐ
Shame on me. I shall sacrifice a 100 goats and a 100 bulls to appease the Gods
DeleteED13 is worth the price of admission just for the blood rain sequence at the end. The rest of the movie is cool too
DeleteOMG.....i LOVE that Point Blank story about final approval! Brilliant!!
Delete"Ill bet you're a big Lee Marvin fan." -Mr Blonde
Lee Marvin's the man! ✊️๐
DeleteEvil Dead 2013 is the least fun and most vicious film in the series, and I loved it! My second favorite after the OG ED.
DeleteMore than OG "ED2" and "Army of Darkness"??!! ๐ณ๐ฎ
DeleteArmy of Darkness almost doesn't count as an ED movie, but it's excellent
DeleteED 2 is wonderful, but it's more of a cartoon than a horror movie, more fun than frightening.
DeleteOh, l get it now zillagord. You want hardcore horror in your "ED" ("Evil Dead," not "Erectyle Dysfunction" ๐ฑ๐), so the two comedic ones are out and the OG + 2010's newer remakes are of one mindset: pure horror. Got it! ๐๐ค
DeleteJ.M., you're onto my game. I love ED2 and Army of Darkness, but my heart pumps more hurriedly for all-out horror. That being said, I thought ED Rise was merely passable (and I really wanted to like it). Hoping the 2026 EDition gets the series back on terrifying track.
DeleteWe all know there's a new ED coming out this year. But i just discovered the dude who did Last Stop in Yuma County is doing an ED, Scheduled for 2028
DeleteHowdy Team F This!
ReplyDeleteThe Thing (1982 4k). Perfect movie. That is all.
The Thing (2011 Blu). Hrmm. I loathed this initially as i felt it an unnecessary cgi fest and hold the original so dearly. Watched it again and warmed up a little (pun intended). And this 3rd watch? I kinda liked it? (SLIGHT SPOILER AHEAD) Originally i think they intentionally didnt market it as a prequel which i respect. However that fact becomes evident relatively quickly. And watching so close to the original i do appreciate the few threads they worked hard to tie together. The characters are all borning and dispensable and the original's sense of dread/mystery/tone is missing but its still an entertaining monster movie with lots of goopy action.
I always liked 2011, while also recognizing the flaws.
Delete1982, I really hope Shout or Arrow do a proper 4k at some point. The one that exist is fine, but there's toom for improvement.
totally agree with you! Shout/Arrow rule these days with 4k releases! (mmmmmmm Hard Boiled)
DeleteMary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton make 2011 "Thing" tolerable. ๐คจ๐
DeleteThey do help a lot
DeleteRED SONJA (2025)
ReplyDeleteI actually liked this! You could argue there are too many side characters and not enough of Sonja being awesome, but to me this was a fun throwback to the low budget sword n’ sorcery flicks of days gone by.
CLUE (1985)
Communism is a red herring.
DUST BUNNY (2025)
I wondered how this movie would pull off its outlandish premise. The answer is to overstuff the whole thing with so much quirky/whimsical fantasy/fairy tale B.S. so that there are no rules. I like quirky, but there’s such a thing as too quirky.
THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (1970)
Because sometimes, you just gotta Hammer.
PRETTY LETHAL (2026)
You'd think that “ballerinas vs. gangsters” would be at least cheesy fun, but this movie just feels mean and ugly, even when it’s trying to be funny. I recommend 2024’s ABIGAIL instead.
FANTASTIC PLANET (1973)
Finally, a movie that’s completely normal.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1990)
I forgot how much of this takes place with everyone staying at that farmhouse. It’s the long dark night of the turtle soul.
NOBODY (2021)
Yet another “hitman comes out or retirement” action/thriller. It doesn’t have much new to say, but it’s functional. A fight scene set on a bus was especially good.
THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (1987)
Two words: Cello case.
How can "Red Sonja" be considered low-budget when some of those sets (thousand-candle room, the flooded chamber, rotating wheel entry, etc.) and matte paintings (giant mastodon skeleton bridge) clearly cost a metric ton of $$$ to make? The walls/tunnels when the actors are crawling on their bellies to simulate going up are efficient low-budget techniques, but most of "RJ" looks anything but cheap. ๐ฎ๐จ
Delete"The Living Daylights." Three simple words: Best... Bond... evah! ๐ค
"Dust Bunny." Funny unrelated story to the actual movie, which l liked way more than you, but whatever. ๐↔️๐↕️ At the 42nd St. AMC near Times Square there are rows of poster displays on walls in every floor promoting upcoming releases. On the first floor (technically third) in front of theaters 4 and 5, among the displayed posters of unreleased movies, there's a "Dust Bunny" poster. It was there weeks before the movie came out in late '25, but it hasn't been replaced since its week-long engagement ended. I finally asked the manager, and she told me the key hole for the display's broken and the only way to open it would be to break the glass. So until they fix that display key hole, a poster for "Dust Bunny" hangs in perpetuity at AMC Times Square in NYC. ๐๐ค
See you next Wednesday. ๐
Red Sonja budget, they saved of the actors salary. There's no AAA actor in this ๐
DeleteBudget was apparently 15-17M
You're saying the lead couple from OG "Conan the Barbarian," Ernie Reyes Jr., Bluto from "Popeye" and Sly Stallone's ex work cheap? No way! ๐๐
DeleteWe're talking about RS 2025 ๐
DeleteWhat? Not again! ๐ณ๐ญ MY BRAIN WON'T LET ME ACCEPT THERE IS ANY OTHER "RED SONJA" BESIDES THE '85 VERSION. ๐ซฃ๐ I'm dumber than a "Battlefield Earth" movie producer. ๐ค๐ฐ
DeleteThat's very funny, I actually laughed when i read your reply ๐คฃ๐
DeleteI just walked away from buying a bunch of 4K discs for cheap (including the "Creepshows" we talked about last week) after staring at them for an hour because I'm trying to not spend dough on more movies that'll sit unwatched until June. ๐๐ Maybe the trauma of denying myself shopping therapy traumatized me into not seeing '2025' next to Mac's "Red Sonja." Or maybe I'm just a f***ing idiot. ๐๐ช
DeleteTrauma ๐คฃ
DeleteMy only recent physical media purchases were a stack of DVDs and blu-rays from the Salvation Army store. Not having time for movies and an already large stack of unwatched discs has discouraged me from participating in the numerous sales this year. Plus expenses that I know are coming up shortly.
DeleteWelcome to America/The World 2026, Casual.๐ช As Kunider says often, though, food is overrated. Go hungry and buy discs, it'll even out in the end... somehow. ๐คฅ๐คฅ๐คฅ
DeleteA few quickfire that i watched while doing overtime today, then some friends came over to watch more. Guess which is which...
ReplyDeleteRed (2010): the red wave continues. It must be my thousandth viewing
Gods of Egypt (2016): still awesome
Code of Silence (1985): I recently got a Chuck Norris 5-movie-pack, I started with this one today. Fun times.
Possession (1981): That was something else. First time watch, and went in almost completely cold. I was not prepared for this.
Ran (1985): Arguably one of the most beautiful Kurosawa films. Every shot is beautiful and could be in a frame.
Wow, some quality heavy-hitters there! ๐ณ "Possession" is amazing, a hard-to-categorize pic that's equal parts horror, artistic statement and international darling. I ❤️ it. "Ran" is a late career Kurosawa stone-cold classic, the more polished 'yang' to his "Kagemusha" 'yin' five years prior. "Code of Silence" is partly a Chuck Norris action flick, but mostly an Andrew Davis-directed loving homage to Chicago cop culture. Gotta love Dennis Farina. ๐ฅฐ "Gods of Egypt" is a guilty pleasure, an excuse for good actors to go full ham and get paid to do/say ridiculous stuff. In 3D some of the cheapo effects actually look cool. And "Red" is... Bruce Willis not quite in paycheck mode, but close. ๐ซค๐ข
DeleteKagemusha is not his best, butnI kinda love it anyway
DeleteNothing can prepare one for Possession. Top ten flick over here.
DeleteI walked into a theatrical screening of "Possession" at NYC's Film Forum approx. 17 or so years ago without knowing anything about it. It felt like a train ran over me, stopped, ran over me in reverse, then a third time moving forward again... and l loved every minute of it. ๐ฅฐ๐ Made me an Andrzej ลปuลawski and Isabelle Adjani fan for life. Watched the former's entire filmography chasing the "Possession" dragon (a few of his Poland films came close, but none matched it), and many of the latter's work is great but never approaches what she and Sam Neil did together. What a movie, what a rush! ๐ค๐
DeleteI saw Silver Globe a couple of years ago, but it was the only movie of his i ever saw. Nothing can prepare you for Possession
DeleteBest of the rest of Andrzej ลปuลawski's filmography besides "Possession" (his undisputed masterpiece), IMHO: "She-Shaman/Szamanka," "The Third Part of the Night," "That Most Important Thing: Love," "The Devil" and "On the Silver Globe." As long as you don't try to measure their artistic merits against "Possession," all these are extraordinary, well-acted dramatic features. ๐๐ง
DeleteOh yeah, forgot to specify that i got the super-duper-expansive Second Sight 4k boxset. I have hours and hours of reading and watching extras. Maybe i'll understand what was happening at the end with all that ๐
DeleteI have the Blu-Ray encoded by David McKenzie for Mondo Vision. Good enough for me, l don't rewatch "Possession" too often to keep it fresh every infrequent rewatch. ๐
DeleteWith work winding down, I have had more time and energy to devote to movies.
ReplyDeleteLast week I got to a few retro screenings.
At The Gap Theatre I re-watched Russ Meyer's VIXEN (1968) for the first time in many years. It is strange to think that Meyer was on the verge of getting a Hollywood contract because of the film's success, but the Meyer template for his peak period is thoroughly on display in Vixen. Themes and imagery would be reworked for the next decade of his career.
Last Sunday I was at The Gap for an afternoon of Japanese blind swordswoman films. THE CRIMSON BAT series (1969-70) is four films featuring Oichi, The Crimson Bat. Despite being a fan of these kind of Japanese genre films, I had not even heard of these before. She basically is a female Zatoichi. The first film is undoubtedly the best, opening with a girl being abandoned by her mother in the woods. Worse yet, a lightning strike destroys her eyesight. She grows up to deal with numerous heartaches and disappoints, but she also is taught the art of sword fighting. The first film ends up being an engaging revenge melodrama, and the sequels vary in quality. The later ones shift more to spaghetti western plots.
The last screening to mention is my first visit to the Mahoning Drive-In of the season. The trippy and sexy 1968 sci-fi flick BARBARELLA is still odd after nearly six decades since its release. Jane Fonda plays the innocence angle of the main character well, and the 1960s aesthetics remain enjoyable to look at. The conclusion of the film was interrupted by a thunderstorm, which did not ruin the experience at all.
Great untelated-to-one-another triple feature. ๐ซต๐ค
DeleteIt was more than a triple feature, J.M. All four Crimson Bat films were shown last weekend. The prints for the first two were in Japanese, and the final two were shown in a Chinese dub.
DeleteI almost bought the Vixen's 4k a few times, but I always resisted. It's been so long since I saw them
DeleteI almost bought the Vixen's 4k a few times, but I always resisted. It's been so long since I saw them
DeleteMy bad, Casual. A f@ursome and a tw@s@me add up to a great hexagon feature. ๐๐ฎ๐จ
DeleteNo problem, J.M.
DeleteBlu-rays of the Severin releases of Supervixens and The Beyond the Valley of the Supervixens (a blind buy for me) are in my collection. A bootleg DVD of Vixen has been part of it for a well over a decade, and I think I will stick with that. Vixen is just an "okay" movie for me.
For this week, I have seen a bunch of films I found on streaming where I am pet sitting.
ReplyDeleteWith access to Netflix, I decided to re-visit K-Pop Demon Hunters. Watching it on a big screen is definitely more enjoyable, but KPDH became the success it is through the modern miracle of streaming. Though the animation style definitely grew on me, some of the abrupt storytelling remains an issue. In any case, it is a fun film and that rare thing, a satisfying modern musical.
I am starting to see the KPDH merch and branding a lot more now. Visiting the local Asian store, I found images of Rumi and the girls on bags of shrimp crackers. (Zoey eats them in the plane).
Looking at Roku options, I found a several films that I knew would not be too demanding. CALIGULA AND MESSALINA (1981) is Italian trash that has half its running time taken from the sword-and-sandal films of the 1960s. The contrast between the new scenes and the borrowed shots is hard to ignore. It does not help, either, that the bulk of the original footage shot focuses on titillation. Overall, boring and poorly made. Makes one appreciate the Tinto Brass film a lot more.
I was surprised to find some Hong Kong 1990s skinimax films available on Roku. E-R-O-T-I-C GHOST STORY II focuses on a l-u-s--t-f-u-l demon named Wu-tung who demands monthly virgins from a nearby village. This demon is played by the great Anthony Wong, who brings a lot of energy to the role. His performance and an interesting visual style put the film above the average late-nite skin movie experience. It is not afraid to get weird.
What does the pet think of these flicks? Paws up/down? ๐ถ๐น
DeleteThe pets were asleep by the time I watched those. The cat was awake part of the night but only interested in going outside.
DeleteYou should rent/stream "Strays" and force them to watch. You know, for shits and giggles. ๐๐น
Delete