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MrAriston
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An error has ocurred. Please try againBest Bond Girls: (1962)Ursula Andress; (1964) Honor Blackman; (1965)Luciana Paluzzi; (1973)Jane Seymour; (1974)Britt Ekland; (1977)Barbara Bach & Caroline Munro; (1981)Carole Bouquet; (1987) Maryam d’Abo; (1995)Famke Janssen; (1999)Sophie Marceau; (2002)Rosamund Pike; (2006)Eva Green; (2012) Bérénice Marlohe; (2021) Ana de Armas
Reviews
Road House (2024)
A Gentle Brawling Western in the Keys
The gist: This is a worthy reboot of a memorable classic from the 1980s that appropriately updates the details to current times.
However, Swayze's version of Dalton was a Kung Fu philosopher who had it all together, whereas Gyllenhaal's portrayal is of a down-in-the-dumps disgraced warrior and a polite beast of a man. Nonetheless, the integrity of the lead character Dalton is maintained; he's smart, tough, cool as a cucumber, pithy, and lethal when necessary. There was wondrous innovation in the fight scenes, too. Filmed in a visceral way that heightens the realism of action sequences. Hats off to the collaboration between special effects and stuntmen.
Kudos to the debut of the big bad villain Conor McGregor, whom I've never heard of but is now seared into my mental film bank of onerous villains. His character was beyond bonkers, chaos incarnate, and downright scary! Daniela Melchior was lovely but miscast. Billy Magnussen, as always, was delightfully consistent in being his serious, smiley self.
Finally, let's give a strong standing ovation to Jake Gyllenhaal's award-worthy performance. It's obvious he prepped intensely for the physical demands of the role and delivered another quality performance with an understated panache.
The Godfather Part III (1990)
The Original is Better than Coda Recut
The gist: "Coda" felt like a made-for-TV release of the film. The original beginning and end are superior to the bland versions in "Coda." It also cut all of the church scenes, which were essential to the spirit of the film.
Many dislike "The Godfather III," but a few appreciate it as a masterpiece of late '80s/early '90s cinema and a satisfying end to the Michael Corleone story. It earned seven Oscar nominations. Andy Garcia gave a tour de force performance, earning him a Best Supporting Actor nomination, and yet the Oscar-worthy performance by Pacino was overlooked by the Academy.
The director, Francis Ford Coppola, released a recut with a new title, "Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone," which is what Coppola originally wanted to title it. Aptly so, since "coda" in Italian means epilogue, and this film was not trying to be like the first two, any more than an epilogue of a book tries to recapture the entirety of the story.