Change Your Image
adamwarlock
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againReviews
Secret Invasion (2023)
Grumpy old man saves Earth in as boring a way as possible
Weakest MCU show yet. This idea should have been an Avengers film like it was in the comics. Fury insisting that the Avengers weren't needed is ludicrous. He's supposed to be the master planner, not the do it yourself guy. Supporting characters were dull except maybe the British intel lady. Villain was dull. Fury did let them down, he couldn't foresee a bad reaction to not keeping his promise? All the stuff with Russia seems odd given the current situation, I guess they wrote it before the invasion of Ukraine but did they film it that long ago? Marvel really needs to do better than this. Really on a down slide here. I doubt I needed to watch this before seeing The Marvels.
Gomudeppô (1962)
Itami's attempt at the New Wave
Most know of Itami for his quirky 80s comedies but he was an actor for many years and this was his directing debut 20 years earlier. A 30 minute short which seems very influenced by the French New Wave. A group of young Japanese hang out together and mostly have fun. They shot rubber band guns at targets, read every sign they can see from a train, try to learn French, imagine a fancy house has 2 beautiful sisters inside. All guys with one girlfriend in tow. One owns a small shop. That's about it. Filmed in black and white, cinema verite style. Fun and irreverent. I guess a look at the new generation of Japanese in the early 60s. The war is long over, the society now affords young men with some money to be indulgent. The shop owner talks about being an illegal cab driver but that's about it for money problems. The girlfriend is unsatisfied by her inattentive boyfriend. That's about it for conflict. So some may find this boring or brilliant depending on your cinematic knowledge.
The Quiller Memorandum (1966)
A Cold War thriller without the Cold War
I find this film odd that it takes place in West Berlin but they simply call it Berlin. The East-West split is never mentioned nor the idea of communists nearby. Maybe it was a given with audiences then but never even see the Wall. Nazis are the bad guys here, a secret organization of them. I know many a film had the idea of ex-Nazis out there planning a comeback but I think the real history is that they were hiding and trying not to be caught. And given that we never hear of their plans or what they want to achieve, they might as well be communists. This is more a film about being a spy, not knowing who to trust, losing your identity. We don't get to know the hero, why does an American work for British intelligence? Why does Quiller avoid the man who is supposed to be on his side? We never see that he can't trust him. There are some fine actors here but I fear they are wasted. Harold Pinter wrote the screenplay and it has his style of dialogue where people don't come out and say what they mean. But I had higher hopes here. Max von Sydow is good as the villain, Alec Guiness good as Quiller's control. Interesting but slight.
Fuzz (1972)
A Boston film that should be a New York film
Based on a series of novels set in New York but they filmed this in Boston. Yet no one in the film tries a Boston accent. The attitudes of the characters seems more New York than Boston. Several plots run through the film and all run into each other at the end in a big coincidence and letdown. Raquel Welch seems to be in her own film. She hated Reynolds and didn't do any scenes with him. If they were trying for a woman cop proves herself to her peers, they fell flat. Seems like a lazy film that they didn't know what it was. A comedy, a thriller, a drama? We don't get to know the characters well. We have street level crime but then we have a super villain master mind killing Boston's leadership. The last shot of the film is pure horror movie. Very disappointing.
Trudno byt bogom (2013)
3 hours of my life wasted
This film is highly praised by critics and I know they love anything different from the norm but what the heck are they thinking? This film is a bore. Far too long, so many scenes of people crowed into a room walking around each other and saying lines at random. There's water dripping from the roof and stuff hanging from the ceiling. Each scene means nothing, you can't follow any plot. It's supposed to be some kind of sci-fi story but it's mostly just look how gross Medieval times were. Everyone is dirty, there's snot, spit, piss, poop and blood in just about every scene. If the main character is an Earth man trying to help these people, he fails on all counts. Doesn't even try. What was the point? I read a plot description and I didn't see any of the events described there. They wander around, talk and yell at each other. I can't tell who's on who's side. If the film were half the length, maybe it would be OK but at 3 hours it's a tedious chore.
Acht Stunden sind kein Tag (1972)
positive Fassbinder?
What a shock. A mini-series from Fassbinder with many of his usual acting troupe but no murders, no sexual deviance, no head cases, no over the top acting, no cruelty. In fact, it's quite a happy and positive series that shows how people can come together and overcome problems at work and home. Yes, there's a racist in the factory and a nasty father who slaps his kid but they get put in their place and goodness prevails. It's a commitment, about 8 hours altogether. But worth it for the look at working class people in West Germany in the early 70s. Lots of smoking and drinking. Lots of ugly 70s fashion. But Grandma knows best and the guys at the factory will figure a way to get their rights without a strike. A pleasant surprise.
Lovecraft Country (2020)
Where's the Lovecraft?
I'm not ripping on this show as "too woke" or anything. I just don't see the Lovecraft ideas in this and feel the name shouldn't be in the title. Where are the Elder Gods? Where is C'thullu? Where is the cosmic horror beyond human understanding? This is just magic and horror of the common variety and has nothing to do with Lovecraft. Yes, he was a racist but his stories have something you don't find elsewhere and I'd say he barely mentions blacks at all in his stories. There's more racism against Jews, Italians and Irish there. I'm not against the black cast or in showing black history as a horror story in and of itself. The show seemed to drag at points and had too much driving to far off cities as happening in 10 minutes or so. Too many arguing scenes followed by every one united again. Some call this a Jim Crow era show but most of the show takes place in the North. Yes, there was de facto Jim Crow in the North but I object to Massachusetts townie cops acting like Mississippi cops. Most small towns in Massachusetts then had no black people at all in the 50s. To see some passing through might make someone nervous but not to the point of murder. I also object to the Korean War scene where US troops murder a group of Korean nurses because they think one of them is a spy. US troops did some war atrocities in Korea but this is some Nazi stuff. The Korean lady really had nothing to do with the plot and could have been dropped. There isn't one nice white person in the show and to end it with all white people lose magic seems potentially racist to me. Who supported the Civil Rights Movement? Who voted for the Voting Rights Act? Only black people? Really let down by the show, has some good moments and acting but over all blows it.
The Octagon (1980)
great ending, way too long
Even for a 104 minute film, it's 20-30 minutes too long. There's way too much talking, unnecessary sub plots and characters, Chuck hesitating to go into action. There's a few quick fights here and there but not enough to keep one interested. This is one of the first movies to feature Ninjas. The climax is pretty good by 80s standards but getting there takes forever. Chuck also has an echoy inner monologue that's distracting and kind of funny. I don't get what Lee Van Cleef was doing here except to make action films fans say "hey, it's Lee Van Cleef."
Marketa Lazarová (1967)
a slog to get thru
Best Czech film ever? No, that would be Closely Watched Trains. Now, the cinematography is amazing, fluid camera work that feels like a dream. But it's too long, too many characters, too many off screen people talking and you lose track of what's going on fast. I even stopped the film, read a synopsis and returned and still was lost. The main characters all seem pretty awful and I didn't know why I should care about them. I suppose it immerses you into the setting where a modern person couldn't understand the motives of Medieval people. I just needed a more coherent story and a shorter run time. Late in the film, a battle is about to begin. Then they cut and it's over and some people who were surrounded somehow got away. Ugh.
Paris nous appartient (1961)
New wave letdown
Rivette is perhaps the least known of the 5 Cahiers directors of the New Wave. I've only seen The Nun before and I enjoyed it. This first feature was disappointing to me. Great location work and photography but way too long. Basically a pretty, naive girl gets involved with a bunch of pretentious a-holes who suggest a suicide was a murder and she tries to play amateur detective. Not in the sense an American film like this would. It's mostly her confronting different people who tell her enough to keep her interested but no evidence is found. The film mentions creeping fascism in the forms of McCarthyism in the US and the Franco regime in Spain. But is it all just paranoia? By the end, I could care less and it turned out to be much ado over nothing (Shakespeare). I don't get what this film was trying to achieve. I assume Rivete was a leftist so is he criticizing them or supporting them? Might have been better with the running time cut and a new ending. This isn't The 400 Blows or breathless or even Le Beau Surge.
Born to Be Bad (1950)
Titles: helpful or deceiving
All I knew going in was the title and that Nick ray directed. So I assumed a film noir with a heck of a femme fatale. Apparently there were 2 other titles this film went by that are not as salacious sounding. So, not the film I had imagined, OK. A social climber who tricks people but has it all fall apart but she comes through it all right. No murders or crimes here, just scheming. Good performances, plenty of rich people's houses and events. I had trouble at first keeping up with who was related to who. Robert Ryan is at his usual macho best but not to the point of killing someone. I guess Ray did more straight drama and romance, I thought he was more gritty all the time. Surprising.
Suspiria (2018)
Can someone explain this to me?
I liked it enough for a 6 cause of a good cast, being well shot and atmosphere (didn't even realize that was Swinton as the old man). Started good but the ending was huh? They did a twist that I wasn't expecting but not one I wanted either. One has to pay attention to the over dubbed dialogue. What the horror here has to do with the Holocaust, terrorism and fundamentalist religion is beyond me. Some thing about women, power and motherhood? I didn't get the film Mother! until I read up on it and then kind of liked it, this doesn't seem like an explanation will save it. Either make it horror or make it a drama, this didn't move me at all.
Samson (1961)
A fair effort from Wajda about the Holocaust
We follow a Jewish man in Warsaw just before and during WW2. He is jailed before the war for defending himself from an anti-semetic mob. The prisoners all escape as Warsaw is about to fall to the Germans. Then, he's in the ghetto, escapes and hides throughout the city. He wishes to return to the ghetto to share his people's fate rather than hide. He doesn't have the physical strength of his Biblical namesake but emotional strength. The film has kind of an unconvincing climax, needed a better fake explosion. Overall a good effort but not a home run for poland's greatest director.
Story of Science Fiction (2018)
Good for the newbie
I found some of this interesting, some of it a set up for Cameron's Avatar sequels. They concentrate on movies & TV shows from the last 40 years and very little on the literature that bore science-fiction as a genre. This is the tip of the iceberg and showing older movies with effects that the younger generation can't take cause it "looks bad" are out except for some quick clips. Some nice philosophical discussions with directors, writers and actors.
La mort en direct (1980)
foresees reality TV but disappoints
Great cast and a great idea but ultimately doesn't do the job. In a future that looks like 1979 Scotland, a TV show wants to chronicle a dying woman's final days because death is now rare among all but the elderly thanks to modern medicine (we used to have faith in that). Besides the eye cameras in Harvey Kietel's eyes and a computer the heroine uses to co-write trashy novels, not much of the future is seen on screen. Why is a French director filming in the UK with American & Austrian leads? The film takes it's sweet time, basically the first half to get to Kietel filming the woman as she goes on the run. The idea is ahead of it's time with reality TV and media manipulation. But the pace is slow, the visuals bleak and colorless. The conclusion wasn't satisfying to me at all. A misfire.
Kurutta ippêji (1926)
fascinating but tough going
I saw the 1 hour version shown on TCM. I'll like to see the 78 minute restoration as this version has no inter titles, no translation of signs and missing a third of the film. Now, back then a benshi would live narrate so there wouldn't be titles but do they have a copy of what the benshi said during the film (if anything)? I would read a synopsis before watching as it makes things clearer. The plot is hard to follow, some of it is from the POV of crazy people or the dream of the protagonist. Well worth watching but more for admiration than enjoyment.
The Boy Friend (1971)
A Russell film you can show your Mom
For once, it seems, Russell tones down the sexuality and violence and makes an ode to musicals and the theater. It is still full of his indulgences, Felliniesque numbers that go on and on. That's my problem with the film, too long. Cut it by a half hour or more. It's so obvious our heroine is going to make good by the end that there's no suspense or real drama. Too many characters who are mostly back stabbing jerks. Twiggy and Tommy Tune come off well.
Second-Hand Hearts (1980)
Ashby's decline begins
Hal Ashby's 70s movies are fantastic films with quirky characters and oddball plots. I had always read he lost it in the 80s and died somewhat young due to drug abuse. This film was shot in 1979 but not released until 1981 and then only in limited release. The critics were not kind and it was forgotten. And deservedly so. Why? Ashby had made losers lovable in his previous films but Robert Blake can't pull it off. Far too broad for Ashby's low key approach. Barbra Harris does a bit better but talks non-stop. Scenes drag on and on. I lost what plot there was in the dialogue (who's funeral were they at at one point?). Unlikable and going nowhere. Plus, Blake draws the ire of some Mexican-Americans he accuses of trying to run him over, not sure if this is supposed to be funny. Worse, there seems to be an incident of child molestation here that is mentioned and then forgotten since the boy in question doesn't talk and can't tell anyone about it and seems no worse for ware afterwards. Why is that scene even there for? Ick.
D-Day: The Lost Evidence (2004)
pretty good for the History Channel
This special and the ongoing shows that followed have done an excellent job detailing WW2 battles. I especially enjoy the ones about the Pacific campaign as those are so often lumped together & not examined one by one. Via the old aerial photographs, one gets a better sense of the lay of the land in these battles which is sometimes hard to visualize when simply reading about them. Includes achieve footage, interviews with those who were there & historians and some fairly good recreation footage (at least they get uniforms & weapons right). Plus they don't do such long recaps when returning from commercial, a big pet peeve of mine with the History Channel.
Space: 1999 (1975)
not so bad...
I saw this show in syndication in America at the age of 7 or 8. I already liked Star Trek re-runs so I hooked into this show too. The serious acting and creepy music and spooky sets made me think I was watching a REALLY IMPORTANT SHOW. Looking back I see its not a classic but I still like it.
Sure, Moonbase Alpha couldn't survive being hurdled through space. And they must be going faster than light as they past through solar system after solar system so fast. The Moon never gets pulled into another planet's or sun's orbit. The base never runs out of people, ships or supplies. All valid points, many other old sci-fi shows work with bad science or a bad premise.
The first season is my favorite. I like the 2001-ish mood. I like the philosophizing, mostly Koeing preventing his crew from going to a falase paradise. I like the sets and FX (still look good today unlike UFO which is so dated). The acting is bland but not so bad, at least they aren't over acting. I love the title sequence with the "this episode" part. Probably I imagined an episode 10 times better from the quick clips. I like the fact that most plots aren't about the Alphans triumphing over evil, its more about survival. The endings were often dark, sometimes the Alphans were in the wrong. This impressed me as a kid, Babylon 5 took these sorts of stories one better.
Season two went for more action and sillier plots. Somehow, the Alphans get new uniforms, a new control center and new personel!! Mya was a neat character but most season two episodes are lame. The acting was more personable, even ending eps with the 70s required group laughter. The 2 parter with the false Earthmen showing up was good.
I saw this in one survey listed as the all time worst SF show. This same survey had the Wild, Wild West and Lost in Space in the top 20!!! this wouldn't make my top 10 but I like it well enough and its nostalgic for me.
Game of Death (1978)
shameless
Bruce Lee had been working on a film called "Game of Death" when he was offered "Enter the Dragon". He went off to do that and planned to return to finish Game just after. Unfortunately, this never happened. The film with that title that was released uses a little of the footage Lee shot with scenes from other Lee films and new footage in which a Lee stand in wears dark sunglasses! They even use a life-sized Lee cardboard cutout in one scene!
And worst of all, they use footage of Lee's actual funeral to further the plot which has Lee fake his death in order to find out who wanted him dead or some such nonesense. Kung Fu flicks got lame in the late 70s, anything with some fighting in it was released to try and make a buck before the craze died out. Lee's completed films, although simplistic, are o much higher quality. The fights are "realistic", no jumping 20 feet in the air or ripping out someones eyeballs with your fingers.
Even the 2 fights filmed by Lee that are seen here are cut down from what was shot. A recent documentary called "Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey" put together the 20 minute or so sequence of the climatic battle the real "Game of Death" was to be. I noticed some other quick shots shown during the documentary of non-fighting scenes but apparently not much was shot and some of it was even lost. Basically, the climax involved Lee having to enter a five floor pagoda. On each floor is a different martial arts master that Lee must fight to get to the next level (sounds like the influence of the video game Kung Fu Master). He is being coerced to do this as his sister and brother are held hostage. Two other men accompany him, they work for the kidnappers. The top of the pagoda has some kind of great prize, never really said what it was. Only floors 3 to 5 exist. The top floor features Kareem Abdul Jabar in an excellent fight seriously edited in the released version. Try to find this documentary to see what could have been. See this if you can't find it but just fast forward to the couple of fights featuring the actual Lee. The Lee/Chuck Norris fight can be seen in "Return of the Dragon". Basically the only real Lee films are "Fists of Fury", "The Chinese Connection", "Return of the Dragon" and "Enter the Dragon". The rest are shameless rip-offs using old footage or stand-ins or a guy calling himself Bruce Li.