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Dead of Night (1974)
One Of The Weirdest Movies Ever
The lead actor, Mr. Backus, deserved an Academy Award for 'Leading Actor With the Least Lines' (or 'Best Supporting Actor...'to Marley). He pulled it off brilliantly. Especially considering it was his first (credited) cinematic role. SUPER eerie, this/his character. But equally eerie, and brilliant, is the mere 'concept' of this film....that I still haven't quite 'wrapped my head' around. Was he a zombie?? Was he a sort of Golem? The way he first appeared in the movie he ACTUALLY looked like a wax figure. I thought this ('startler') was a sort of cinematic 'fluke' (the movie has that 'camp' veneer); but the director and movie-maker pulled off the same effect (and spine-tingling A-ffect) later in the movie at 'Doc's' office. Fine performance, I must say, by the actor who played the doctor. I EXPECTED it to be a 'campy' performance, but it was the opposite. DEEP acting skills this man had! That leads me to the main actor, Mr. John Marley. I love this guy. I love/d 'Waltz'. "I'm not a man who can afford to be made to look.... RIDICULOUS". "My 'c/m' friend". Then the screaming with the horse head. I digress cheesily. I had seen him in another movie and know he was more 'avant garde', improv, John Cassavetes 'crew' (other than GF role). So I didn't expect a performance that would warrant him being the 'lead actor' of this or ANY film. I was wrong. His performance is a little bit of ASTOUNDING....especially for the depth of the mere 'idea' and subject matter of a movie like this. Nuanced, inspired acting. My only 'gripe' about his performance is when he had a 'silvery-white 'fro' in a scene (with the 'doc') and it was more wavy a second later....in the same scene. Minor stuff that was more the 'fault' of those behind the 'scene'. Another reviewer commented that the best thing about this movie was the RESPONSES (emph. Not yell) of the people to 'Andy', Backus' character. GREAT writing, GREAT acting, again, 'pulling that off' with the believable responses. This is where Marley and the beautiful young Lady who played the sister (future Ormsby, correct?)....shined. They just made it all convincing. That a man who was LITERALLY dead....could just (re) enter and interact with the living...without even speaking! Again, great performances....even the little KIDS! The film maker captured a convincing 'moment' with this scene with the neighborhood kids and Andy that I would think would be impossible to do! But I'm thinking more in 'today's' modality where this movie (and this bizarre scene!) could NEVER be made in 'our' 'P. C.' constructs. The PINNACLE scene for me (no, not the Michael Jackson 'Thriller' scene in the back seat)....was the walking down the stairs with the black gloves and black sunglasses (to cover up quickly rotting flesh. I'm thinking he must have had kickass cologne to cover up the smell).....AS IF THAT WAS NORMAL OR ACCEPTABLE!?! I truly loved Andy's 'no give two Fs' attitude. "Is this a professional or personal call, doctor" (an extremely few of Andy's utterances)? "Either one, Andy!", 'doc' says. "NEITHER is wanted!". This (weirdly coming down the stairs to go on a date) is now one of my favorite scenes ever! Reminded/s me of 'Devo' and 'Bowie' (in 'Man Who Fell to Earth') and Kraftwerk...ALL in one undead dead man. I saved the Mother for last. It was as if she wished.... WILLED her son, Andy/'Michael', back to life by candlelight. It was clear early on that she was a 'rider'. She's going to do ANY-thing for her son. This was a powerful 'vibe' she (the actress with her performance) gave/conveyed. I actually thought she was going to help Andy CONTINUE to....live?? Exist! With regular injections of fresh blood from 'THEIR' victims (but that didn't happen. 'UN-spoiler alert'). But WHERE did he get the giant syringe?? That's also part of the '-1' rating. I think the transferring of blood from victim to Andy 'vehicle'/process not really being explained left questions/minor 'gaps'. I can see the film makers' dilemma with not wanting Andy to appear as or be thought of as a 'vampire' (though that, technically, is what he was....with the added benefit of being able to go out into the sun). He was....a 'dream'....a 'conjuring' of his 'beckoning' Mother. A deadly nightmare, though, for about 7 or 8 people that he killed or who died because of him. And poor 'Butchy', the family dog (I don't recall any credits for him?). If you haven't seen this movie yet.... SEE it! The mere 'hypothesis', idea (of a man with NO heartbeat existing and 'fooling' everyone....until the pus squirts out of his forehead, that is), ALONE, is worth 'watching and contemplating'. I don't think i have ever seen 'it' conceived in any other movie or 'story' (though some compare to 'The Monkey's Paw'. I more think of the Clairvius Narcisse' 'zombie' case). You won't forget this one! I know I won't. Now "Crack that Whip"!
Elvis & Nixon (2016)
HOW Can Mediocre (at LEAST Looking!) People Even PLAY Elvis???
OK, this is kind of unfair; but I'm 5 minutes into this movie and I ALREADY have a MAJOR problem with it! ENOUGH to only 'give' it a '5'....for the five minutes I've begrudgingly, at this point, 'invested'. Listen (whoever....especially would-be 'movie makers' or visual 'story-tellers')....you simply CAN-NOT just get ANY 'ole' actor to play ELVIS!! As I recently 'pointed out' in a recent Elvis movie review I did (for 'Elvis and the Colonel: The Untold Story')....where the actor was SO HORRENDOUS, especially in his depiction of Elvis in his later life, that WHOEVER 'green lit' THAT....should maybe 'suffer the fate' of one of Elvis's many TVs...if this person/these people have'nt already 'left us'!), Elvis Presley was one of THE most BEAUTIFUL people in the history of EARTH (male or female)....so it is an IMMEDIATE insult and unforgiveable 'faux pas' to see THIS actor, though he was GREAT as 'Zod' (though nowhere NEAR as 'earthshaking' and IN-comparable or 'replaceable' in the role as 'Stamp'!) play ELVIS (BIG letters....like in the background on the '68 special')! It is a TRAVESTY that such a decidedly 'mediocre' and almost seemingly-'lanky' like 'Jughead' from the 'Archie's' actor....is playing the King! ALMOST, so far, as bad as the actor that played Elvis in 'Elvis and the Colonel' (as I'm ass-u-ming that the actor in 'Elvis & Nixon'.... OK, 'Shannon'.... I said/typed his name....has the superior acting 'chops' to do SOME-THING here!)....in which the only redeeming quality was the performance of Beau Bridges. Ok, OK...I can overlook the height 'problems'....as Elvis was not as tall (and gangily-lanky) as this guy (Elvis and Nixon were about the same, 6'0, height). I can overlook the attention to detail NOT being appreciated (as I KNOW Elvis didn't walk into an airport to buy his own ticket....and, IF he did.... NO-ONE.... ESPECIALLY a young female in HIS city....would have been ABLE to 'contain' themselves/herself SO coolly. Umm...did you SEE how Elvis WALKED (in real life)? An EVENT unto it-SELF! Remember, at this time Elvis was at the HEIGHT of his ETERNAL 'Adonis'/Narcissus' (though a HUMBLE 'one')/'TALOS'....'stature'! This (walking like a commoner, LITTERALLY, into ANY public place without being flanked by 'the Mafia'....as THAT is what happens when plebians encounter a LIVING GOD) COULDN'T have occurred.... ESPECIALLY in Memphis! But....'poetic license'. I 'GET' it. But I CAN'T 'take' it! Apparently the other 'Nixon/Elvis' movie, that I was unaware of that came out in 1997, is a more 'fan favorite'....as it is rated higher than this movie. Of COURSE I will 'seek it out' and watch it next....as 'we' ALL know that ANY-THING 'Elvis' is a must-watch/must-listen for those of us who are NOT....'fans'....but LIFELONG ADMIRERES of, DEDICATED to our 'beloved King'. At LEAST 'that' actor (in '97') is better-looking....hmph hmph....and probably closer to Elvis's actual height. I can EVEN 'get over' Spacey playing NIXON! As Nixon turned out to not be such a 'savory' character, EITHER (though he was a brilliant mind when it came to 'detente' and had some other, 'admirable' and endearing/redeeming characteristics....especially the 'double peace sign'....thingy....and apparently NOT being a reprobate pervert). And I MUST give a 'nod' to Austin Butler (maybe I'll get around to reviewing THAT....'triumph'....as I was CERTAIN he'd win the/ELVIS'S deserved Oscar, as SURELY Elvis would have 'vouched' for the performance as Priscilla and Lisa-Marie did....and his A-MA-ZING portrayal (they ROBBED Butler AND Elvis!! No disrespect to Frasier, but the prosthetic fat and SURELY tasty pizza made his role more 'easy')! Without HIM (Butler) I wouldn't be in my own (as I grew UP with and LOVED Elvis....but in the 'whirlwind' of my mundane life.... I seemed to have had forgotten.... PLEASE forgive me!!...about 'our guy'!), SECOND....personal 'Elvis Aaron (as I've since learned that Elvis WANTED the 'double 'A' spelling!) Presley revival! And I will NEVER 'deviate' from him AGAIN! And/SO I CAN'T allow the WANTON treatment of his image....just like I can't allow myself to LEAVE this world without 'acquiring' one of his BELTS! NO! NO! Elvis is a SAINT to me....and MUST be protected! So I will TRY to watch this movie with SOME degree of 'suspension of disbelief'. But THAT'S the thing! Elvis, the "Prince from Another Planet"....was SO unbelievable....and STILL is....that I don't NEED the 'suspension' from ANY other source....but him! LONG LIVE THE KING! Say it! "Long live the king". I SAID SAY IT!! "LONG LIVE THE KING!". Thaaaat's it!
Elvis and the Colonel: The Untold Story (1993)
HORRIBLE Depiction of Elvis!
If it weren't for the INCREDIBLE and UNDERRATED actor, Beau Bridges....whom I actually like JUST as much if not MORE than his incredible actor brother, Jeff.... I would NOT have liked this movie AT ALL! EVERYONE knows that Elvis Presley was one of the MOST BEAUTIFUL people (man OR woman) in HISTORY! EVEN in his later days....he was STILL a well-groomed and UNIQUE-looking, handsome man....though far (yet NOT so far....as he looked awesome as late as the end of '76) removed from his earlier days where he was a beyond reproach 'GOD'! But in THIS movie....they made the King look HORRIFIC in his later days....as the actor that played him couldn't hold a CANDLE to the CANDLE illuminating Elvis! It almost made me laugh, but I RESPECT and LOVE Elvis SO/TOO much to even laugh at the IDEA of Elvis! Beau Bridges is just good to great in ANYTHING he's in....so his portrayal of the Colonel was pretty interesting, at LEAST. This movie, to its credit, made me research Colonel Tom Parker more in depth (and I found out some pretty rotten things about him....though WITHOUT the Colonel....there probably would NOT have been the UNPARRALLELLED phenomenon that was/IS Elvis Aron.... NOT 'Aaron', which is STILL a mystery to me that that misspelling is/was on his burial stone/site....as Jesse, his brother that passed shortly before him, had the middle name 'Garon'.... Presley)! So, YES, the portrayal of Elvis and the way they had the actor narrate the movie is a WASH. BRIDGES is what made this movie watchable....and the MYSTIQUE of Elvis....as we (DIE hard Elvis admirers.... BEYOND mere 'fans') know that ANY-THING about Elvis is a must-watch/listen! One of the AMAZING things about Elvis is that we NEVER see, comprehend or can consume the ENTIRETY of what he was/STILL is! So....watch this movie to gain some new insights on Elvis....and the performance of Beau Bridges. THAT'S it! I am 'leaving the building'. After all....in the END....it's ALL...about the KING! Elvis FOREVER!
Blood Sacrifice (2021)
One Of Those Rare, Addictive Movies
I love this movie. I've watched it like 5 times. It flows VERY smoothly and the acting performances are actually incredible. Haven't figured out if it is the acting, the humorous scenes or the deft handling of the complex subject matter. To flow as well as it does it had to be masterfully-written. My favorite characters are 'Gunz' and 'Trusted'. De'aundre Bonds and Samuel Monroe Jr., respectively (two actors that were in 'Tales From the Hood'), are EXCELLENT in this movie. Gunz is NO joke and Trusted is very loyal and actually funny in how he responds to his brother, 'Liquid' (the actor is not credited here and that's unfortunate because he was ALSO.... VERY amusing in his character. Very likeable.). Of course you have your veterans who were great; the incredible Glenn Plummer (ALSO not mentioned/credited here and THAT'S a crime! You would THINK he would be a BILLIONAIRE as many movies as he's been in and working on now. What a career!) and Omar Gooding. The performances by the other actors were quite good as well. But, overall, this movie just works. It is thought-provoking (as to the veracity of these things ACTUALLY happening in the industry) and extremely entertaining. I'm certain I will be watching it multiple times again in future, GOD (the 'good' one) willing.
No Turning Back (2019)
I just don't GET People? Wonderful Movie!
I REALLY liked this movie. I think many are giving it bad reviews because they expected to see CGI Mars scenes or whatever. About a half hour into this movie you can detect that there would most likely be no CGI space scenes or anything in that direction. But what you DO get is a loving family going through what will be a REAL phenomenon for some people one day soon. It is VERY compelling and this movie really addresses the issues that will stress whatever families that happen to become what will be SAVIORS of the human race. Astounding subject matter. The acting in this movie is STELLAR. Every character was totally believable in their roles. I regret that the main character didn't get to go on the journey. But his family's response is TOTALLY understandable. Who would 'green light' NEVER seeing their loved one again? WHAT would YOU do to keep your loved one in your life forever? Again, it was a wonderful movie HIGHLY undeserving of the critical skewering it is getting here because people expected another 'Voyage To Mars'. Where this movie lacks in CGI....it MORE than makes up for in REAL issues a very loving family (much like this fictional one) WILL face in our not-so-distant future. In fact something similar is probably happening like it NOW!
The Golden Child (1986)
This Movie Displays Just How NATURALLY Funny Eddie Murphy Was/IS.
This movie just has some HILARIOUS parts. You know how athletes are SO good...SO talented that they make it look easy? THAT'S the case with Eddie Murphy as a comedic actor in this movie. There are parts that are simply incomparable-hilarious. Yes, it does look like they made the movie in a weekend...allowing Murphy to (obviously) Ad Lib in many parts. But THAT'S what makes this movie magical. It's SO fun to watch and SO funny...even when it's corny. THIS was Murphy at his apex...in a not-so-apex movie. For the sheer funniness of it and underrated aspect of Eddie Murphy just being a VERY good, NATURAL actor that makes it look EASY (I feel WILL win an Oscar one day if/when given the right role...it's kind of amazing he hasn't won one yet)...I give this movie a HIGH 8.
Fehér isten (2014)
WHY and HOW did this movie receive awards??
This movie was pretty pointless. Acting, mediocre. Story, pointless. Movie, pointless. The ONLY reason I can fathom it got any awards is for the performance of the DOGS! I mean that...literally. Disconnected movie. And WHY the title?? The movie didn't seem to know what it wanted to be...a 'Ben' type of movie where the rat takes over...the Pied Piper of Hamlin where music tames the savage beast...or even some kind of statement of the wrongs of animal cruelty or Planet Of the Apes scenario with dogs instead of "monkeys" ( which the Chimpanzees didn't like being called). It was just a poor excuse for a movie. Never delved into why the dogs followed Hagen, the chief canine. Never delved into why all the dogs were somehow rabid (was it the nasty water they drank??). It just made no sense at all.
White Dog (1982)
This Movie...A Patent Joke On Its Face.
I'm only giving this movie 3 stars because I basically like the 3 stars that were in it and enjoyed their performances...from the mild but REALLY "Kristy McNichol" Kristy McNichol performance...to the emotion-on-queue Paul Winfield one...to the UNDER-cast, almost anachronistic Burl Ives one. The rest of the movie...the entire PREMISE of it...garbage. And let me tell ya why! First off...it's real simple: bad dog (of any color or race!) bites someone to the point it draws blood...dead dog. Simple...end of day...end of story. Yet in THIS movie the dog has some kind of 'white privilege'! It gets away with biting people in a bloody frenzy...to outright mauling a man to death...IN A CHURCH...and they STILL want to reform this maniac dog...he's REALLY f'd in the head! All of that is enough to sink this movie into a ridiculous, farcical mound...but it fails on another level. It TOTALLY insults black people and makes them look like completely appeasing, happenstance inconsequential entities that just HAPPEN to exist in a bilaterally-symmetrical world...meaningless. The dog attacks and kills one (1) black man (no one sees this, mind you...OK...understandable)...fine, I get it so far (other than Kristy's bland acting...apparently presented to us in this film off the back of the ratings of 'Family'...or 'Little Darlings' happening to do well??). But black person attacked number two (2)...in plain sight of MANY people...blood drawn from mangled back and, later revealed, arm of a young, female (though black...that nullifies any other descriptor/characteristic) actress...and black person attacked number three (3) in plain sight of the dynamic trio of McNichol, Winfield and Ives?? I mean...DEAD dog!! HOW is this animal STILL alive?? Now attacked black being number four (4)...dead number two (2)...is a DOOZIE!! WHY, you ask? Because attacked/dead black person number 4/2...is killed IN A CHURCH!! This event (apparent aftermath) was also witnessed by someone...the person compelled and COMMITTED to curing the white dog (Winfield). Now I come to the main part of why and how this movie was pathetic and an insult to black people. The head of the now criminal group that allowed the dog to live was Paul Winfield (with Ives and McNichol complicit in a clandestine cabal...knowing FULL well what they were doing...while dining on savory lamb chops)...the black man who saw, with his own eyes, attacked/dead black person number 4/2 viciously killed by this dog to the point where ole' faithful n' emotional Winfield was able to shed a tear...from BOTH eyes...yet STILL wanted to cure this animal...ostensibly to prevent such an animal from existing again. PLEASE tell me how one could ever prevent white dogs or black dogs from existing...and WHY would we ever want to "cure" such an animal that has MURDERED people?? Yet Mr. Winfield's and Mr. Ives's and Ms. McNichol's characters (though, credit to her, McNichol's character FINALLY realized the dog needed a bullet after black man number 4/2) STILL...STILL want to cure this beast (McNichol, seemingly coerced, may get a lesser sentence when the real world swings around). The message I got from this movie...is not ONLY do black lives NOT matter...but they apparently just disappear after they die in this movie (when not gleeful they have actor's guild insurance...oh...no problem with the gashes on the back seemingly requiring stitches and a hospital stay where several bouquets of flowers have been delivered...though this, black person attacked number two (2) WAS under the impression the dog had been "gotten rid of"...which to me would have inferred a final trip to the pound). Black man dies in a fiery collision with a paint store after being chewed driving and screaming by a racist, paratroop-jumping attack dog...knowing when to bail EXACTLY at the right time. Black man gets mauled to death in a church...dog gets cheeseburger. Um...one question...WHERE ARE THE DETECTIVES??? The movie TOTALLY ignores this and makes it look like these black men that were murdered in such dramatic fashions and in such odd, highly-notable settings (a church and a blown-up paint store) were totally expendable, unimportant phenomena...just moving creatures that happen to have two arms and two legs and a head. And Winfield's character MUST have actually tampered with evidence at a crime scene and moved the dead, black body from the church...ALL to rehabilitate a poor canine traumatized by a white supremacist as a puppy. Um...DEAD DOG! So Winfield is basically accessory to a murder (remember...the dog should have LONG SINCE been dead when it escaped from his care and murdered yet another person...Winfield MUST have later cleaned up...but WHERE did he take the body? Oh, I forgot...dead, black bodies just disappear in this movie/movie's world!)...and, btw, what was this a ghost town...nobody on the street but one black man in a business suit (doing what??) who runs in a church with no parishioners or pastor? Crazy. Well...long story short we cure the dog now. Only one problem...he's Damien Omen K-9 now. He doesn't know who NOT to attack...and is FINALLY killed by black man/Winfield...but ONLY when he (crazy dog was never even given a name...maybe THAT'S why he was wacko) attacks white man/Ives. Black man degraded throughout the entire movie...but STILL loyal enough to protect white man. Where have we seen THIS narrative before? This movie was just SO wrong on SO many levels. I saw it as a child and didn't realize the nonsense I was watching. It just couldn't have been made better because the ENTIRE premise of trying to save a murderous dog to prevent one from ever existing again (an impossibility) just makes no sense in ANY dimension...MAYBE one where time goes backward...whereby the dog could have been trained in the future not to kill the people it did/does/would have in the past...WHATEVER...but...not like this (in my female 'Matrix' victim's voice)...not like this. Oh and I would LOVE to see a 'White Dog II'...where they start to investigate the murders! Winfield's character better PRAY they didn't/don't have luminol back then!! ALL three of you are going to JAIL!! Dead Movie!
The Take (1974)
This is actually a VERY unique movie!
I'm giving this movie a high/er mark because it is VERY unique! In fact I'd give it higher than an 8, but everything MUST have a flaw...the '8' is actually like a '10'...or '11' on an amplifier...or "ludicrous speed", heh heh! Billy Dee's character is a VERY confident, effective yet crooked cop. Imagine that...a character like that...in 1974! He REALLY is the star of the movie and takes no shorts! But, surprisingly, he also prevails in the end! Amazing! It would seem that, in those times especially, white audiences would have wanted to see this black character fall in the end. He's a bad guy...who prevails in the end! Not even white characters did this often back then! Billy is VERY smooth in this movie...a testament to how big a star he was/IS...and I'm CERTAIN this role helped him Land the 'Lando' character a relative few years later...because, again, it is such a RARE character...to even have existed in movie history...and, I can't emphasize enough, at THAT time in our, American history! You get the feeling this movie slipped though the cracks to even be MADE...much like 'The Spook Who Sat by the Door'...which came out the same year...both probably receiving the same, shelved fate at the box office...BECAUSE they were such anomalies...with themes that understandably made white America...unsettled, to say the least. And a nod to Vic Morrow's character...HORRIBLE how this GREAT actor died in real life. He, too, was VERY good in this movie...and pretty much anything, Like Williams, you will ever see him in. Well...it's about to come on (Bounce TV, 1:00 AM, 6/28/15...I WAS here!)...I'm going to watch it for a second time now...maybe with an amendment or two later (another post if compelled/allowed?). Be well movie enthusiasts! THIS one...is a rare gem! Update! 3:00 AM...just watched again. Surprised I remembered this movie so well and stand by my above review! Correction, however...'The Spook Who Sat By the Door' came out in '73...the same year as 'Soylent Green'...maybe I'll do reviews on those...2 of my favorites of ALL time...so simple reviews WON'T be as easy!
The White Buffalo (1977)
Several Reasons to Really Like this Movie
To me this movie is one of those romp types of films where you can almost feel that you are gleaning an actual glimmer of what the times it was set in were actually like. Beyond hearing phrases like "marble hat" and "wooden suit"...which immediately reminded me of "Treasure of the Sierra Madre"...where Bogart's character warned he would "let it out of you in little round holes" (reminiscent of the gunfighter saying "you'll be pushin' up daisies"!)...I really liked the ambiance of this movie...the barren gloominess of the snow and the sereneness of it all...with a backdrop of unpredictable terror provided by the/a treacherous behemoth (that ALWAYS must be dealt with) personified by the unpredictable buffalo...that was actually like a fleeting, supporting character in the grand scheme of the story. But the MAIN thing I liked (in addition to appearances by favorites like Stuart Whitman, Jack Warden, John Carradine and Will Sampson) is how it reminded me of the HARD men of the past! How they MUST have been SO rugged and resourceful. I like...no I LOVE...to escape this...OUR time of the meterosexual and the politically correct, SOFT men and people of today! Watching this movie (and choice, timeless ones from the 70s and earlier...as the 80s brought an irreversible tinge of hazy pseudo to EVERYTHING!) took me back to when men were MEN!! I am, quite frankly, disgusted by what we have become in this society. Thank God I can see a movie like this and not only feel a bit of nostalgia from when I was growing up as a starry-eyed, young kid (yes, I saw this movie a LONG time ago and always liked it)...but I can get a decided feel (especially watching old westerns) of/for what REAL men were like in our country's past...HARD men like Wild Bill Hickok and Crazy Horse...men of the frontier! The ghost-like screenplay/music (especially in the ending credits) mixed with these legendary subjects will always be alluring for grudgingly- sentimental and romantic fellows like me.
Peter Jennings Reporting: The Kennedy Assassination - Beyond Conspiracy (2003)
Peter Jennings...Elite Puppet! I'll give the show a "10" for sheer, compelling AUDACITY!!
No disrespect to the late Peter Jennings, but he lost a TON of credibility with this special (I am now watching, saw when it first came out...and am always compelled to watch over and over again when it airs because it is such a grotesquely-perverted piece of propaganda that it defies belief that it would have even originally aired or is STILL airing to this day!). Many of the other reviews here reveal my same sentiment, but don't really address WHY Jennings would have been a part of this farce. And anyone who doesn't/can't put one and one together to realize an entry wound would/will be smaller than an exit wound can be convinced...well...that an elephant can hang from a cliff by a daisy. But those of us who USE our brains...are insulted when we're expected to believe that "back and to the left" could result from anything BUT a forward head shot. Not only did this ridiculous documentary try to convince us that the "magic bullet" was REALLY magic (a direct spit in the face...front and center...to anyone with even an ounce of deductive reasoning can see would be an IMPOSSIBILITY)...but it also tried to convince us, as stated above, that a rear shot can cause a head to jerk backwards!! In what alternate universe?? I would be sooner convinced of that elephant hanging from a cliff! NOW...back to WHY Jennings would be a part of this farce...this disgusting ruse...after ALL this time?? My main guess is because the elites LOVE to play games...even TIMELESS ones on us simpletons...the REAL skulls and bones at the bottom of the world hierarchy/pyramid structure. These are propaganda, misinformation, population control exercises and games that are titillation for them. Again, no disrespect to a dead man who can no longer defend his legacy, character or integrity (Mr. Jennings)...but I propose that he was DEFINITELY a tool of the elites and their perennial propaganda/misinformation/mind-control games! If they can convince us that LHO was the lone assassin...even now...almost 50 YEARS after the fact...well hell...they can convince us of ANYTHING...even 9-11! I will close with the nail that will bond my entire supposition together! And that is that Peter Jennings was a member of the Bilderberg group...that "pure and wonderful" group of elites that "care so much" about the world population that they would (clandestinely...but that means nothing...yeah right!) get together and make S'Mores and only DECIDE THE FATE OF ALL THE WORLD'S SERFS!! So just put two and two together! Believe me you'll get some semblances of FOUR every time!!
The Long Goodbye (1973)
Surprising Anachronism
Sometimes you watch an actor and wonder WHY they weren't bigger. Yes, Elliott Gould was/is a significant (I was going to say "big") star, but after watching this movie one has to ask themselves why he wasn't a "BIG" star. This movie had me from the beginning as this totally unique and irreverently-funny character jumped off the screen. The fact that this guy cared so much about his cat showed you the type of guy he really was. The fact that he switch the cans so the cat wouldn't know the tuna wasn't its favorite cemented the believability and the likability of the character...one that stands out considering ALL the characters I've ever seen. And when he turns his finger-printing into a Minstrel comparison during his impromptu jail stint - I was floored by the comedy of the whole thing and thought to myself "how in the world were movies this funny and clever in 1973"? I will forever love Gould and continually be convinced there are MANY gems out there to be found...as I am also convinced that NOBODY, unfortunately or otherwise...from music to movies, does it as good as they used to!!
Brother (2000)
The Worst Movie I Have Ever Seen!
You know the Dos Equis commercials with "the most interesting man alive"? You KNOW he's not the most interesting man alive, but the comic genius, style and humor of the one-liners force you to engage the possibility of A most interesting man. "Brother" is literally the worst movie I have ever watched! It is worse than a college film or short made by a child. It was SO hard to watch, but I was simply amazed that Omar Epps would be in such a horrible film...but now understand how his career went down the shoot. This movie made him look like (or revealed him to be) a HORRIBLE actor. I had never thought he was great before, but this was just disgraceful. This movie actually caused me pain to watch. It was like one of those rags to riches stories...but you just don't have any idea of HOW everybody got to the riches...or, more importantly, WHY???? And for you people (those) who gave this movie a 10 - did the filmmaker pay you to join this website and vote 10s??? HOW could ANYONE (even a mentally retarded or highly-challenged individual) vote beyond a 2?? It actually had potential (concept/story-wise), but was TOTALLY unbelievable! And the acting!?! MY GOD!!! The acting was just like vomit ingested...and vomited AGAIN!!!
Spartacus: Blood and Sand (2010)
Unbelievably Good!
This show is simply superlative. It gets better and better each episode, but became epic after the episode "Whore". It was great before that episode, but became immortal after and has just been getting better and better. The acting is very good, but John Hannah's "Batiatus" is quite a sight to behold and he will SURELY gain accolades and rewards from it. He is the star though Andy Whitfield's "Spartacus" (a well enough actor) has the titular honor. Other stand-out acting is done by Manu Bennett's "Crixus", Nick Tarabay as "Ashur"...and Jai Courtney WAS great as "Varro" (before being unfortunately killed-off in "Party Favors"). Lucy Lawless is very good as "Lucretia"...and Viva Bianca is truly believable as the vile but seductive "Llithyia". But, again, the true titan here is John Hannah. He is the glue that fills any and all gaps in this show...IF there are any to be found. I congratulate him on both finding and playing this role of a lifetime in a show that is simply stupendous.
Redline (2007)
Visual Eye-candy Mixed With Day In The Life Of High Rollers
Of course you shouldn't expect Meryl Streep and Al Pacino acting performances here...IT'S A MOVIE ABOUT CARS AND RACING! I, unlike everyone else here, really liked this movie. The ballers were big...betting $1 Million dollars that a man could travel from LA to Vegas in an hour and a half (by Mercedes McClaren and night vision...brilliant!)...to a $100 Million dollar mega race. It was very fun and had a good pace and an accidental storyline that sufficed. The standout character was Angus Macfadyen(Michael), who created a totally believable, scumbag, money launderer (who happened to also be a whacked- out vegan/existentialist megalomaniac bond villain)...and so convincingly did this within the plastic framework of this, OK, "bubble- gum" movie. But what's wrong with bubble gum? Again, this isn't 'Sophie's Choice' or 'Godfather II'. Another movie I LOVED in this genre was Fast And Furious Tokyo Drift. Again, not the greatest movie of all time, but it captures a youthful mood and fun excitement...as this movie does. And, again, who doesn't love some of the best cars in the world being DRIVEN!!! I'd buy the DVD and wouldn't have been dissatisfied paying to see it in a theater.
The Misfits (1961)
A Film About "People" That Seemed Ahead Of It's Time
The more I watch John Huston movies the more I think of great directors. I was going to try to tie him into one of my favorite, modern directors, Oliver Stone; but it seems people, in general, were just stronger, grittier and more resilient back then. Today - everybody, like the reviewer who said he/she saw this movie when it first came out pointed out, seem to always want to SEEM/APPEAR so abstract and complex in their descriptions (parroting others as he/she stated) while not seeing the trees, as they ARE, for the overwhelming forest. I guess we all have our own path, influences and connections to the meat of life. To me this movie was very interesting in how the characters DID break down into something different...showing/REVEALING their more vulnerable, softer underbellies. But people of today act like we're above this behavior when we ALL are pretty much the same: a good show/front at first, but something inside that reveals a different hue later. Marilyn Monroe's character reminded me of an old girlfriend...so caring for everything, but an inability, HERSELF, to see and/or accept things as they REALLY are. So full of connecting to OTHERS'lives (out of a sheer NEED to do so to even exist) that she constantly gets distracted from any real path to understanding her own. Gable's character (and to a large extent Clift's and Wallach's as well) are so busy being "men" that they don't really know anything else until someone like an irresistible Roslyn comes along and VEXES them (as beautiful, substantive women/people do) into seeing things another way. But EVERYBODY has a vulnerability deep down under the apparent clothing and other outward facades we learn to craft from youngsters. The reason I said this movie seemed ahead of its time is because, even when horses were still regularly eaten by people in the US (and still are here in/on rare occasions and OPENLY in many other countries), Marilyn's character (Roslyn), with her innocent, naive aversion to killing ANY living thing, was, in the end, able to even convince a rational, realistic character like Gable's/Gay (who poignantly pointed out the hard fact that FEW things live in this world without something else dying) to free the captured horses headed to the feed grinder for the animals (something STILL done today...as many societies STILL/CONTINUE to consume/use horse meat). The movie reminded me of the hypocrisy of modern words like "liberal", "free thinking" and "green"...in relation to people's CHOSEN lifestyles. It is so easy for people to SAY they are something these days...like so many modern women saying "I'm a lesbian" (when they would have NEVER professed this 10 years ago) or someone saying "I don't believe in killing things with a face" (though they happily dine on McDonald's and wear fur and leather). Monroe's character WOULD be like this/that in today's world. So sensitive and thoughtful, but REALLY just as cold as ice below the surface as anyone else when it came down to the nitty gritty (as revealed when she coldly made the comment to Wallach's character 'your wife wouldn't have died if the car's battery wasn't dead'). THAT is reality. THAT was the brilliance of Huston. Monroe's character showed her true side then (in the first part of the movie)...while the men had to be broken down (sound familiar fellas?). I respect a world in which a person eating a steak would have no problem cutting the cow's throat...or skinning the rabbit...or valuing a human life over that of a dog or cat or pig (an animal more intelligent than dogs or cats - yet we readily munch on them with no problems yet scorn those who consume cat and/or dog meat). This is why Europeans (and other foreigners) have contempt for Americans (though they still, of course, YEARN for America's freedoms). Many times we (Americans, as great as we ARE) seem so FULL of ideas over here when, IN REALITY, we're more full of the same things ALL the creatures mentioned in this long review discharge from their posterior. At the end of the movie all the guys MIRACULOUSLY become "humane" (like Marilyn) and free the horses. Gable's character didn't go down without a fight, though (showing his dominance over the animal)...and Wallach's character ALSO revealed how he REALLY felt in the truck. Clift's character was the ONLY man who GENUINELY seemed capable of change (I guess due to his sensitivity from a strong Madonna complex brought out by his enchantment with Monroe's character). But in the end they were all vexed by a hot piece of ass (as Marylin certainly was, but DEEPLY captured her own essence in this, her last performance)...and ALL would have gone back to being the same PEOPLE they were if/when she was gone. We're all the same people. The most devout pacifist will cut the throat of another living thing if it came to their own survival. And the hardest killer (cowboy or soldier) will, like Clift's character, EVENTUALLY, breakdown and crawl into Mommy's arms. This was a story about us all...transient, largely undefined travelers in time and space.
Bolt (2008)
Not Feeling It
First I should say I get teary-eyed every time I watch "Wall-E" - so I know good animated movies. This movie is just not getting me very interested (watching it now and soon to turn it off). It was cute in the beginning as the dog's behaviors were really cute in mimicking an actual dog. Then, once the plot became clear and the dog's voice (which doesn't fit as others have stated) was revealed, the movie went down hill. I don't understand how people can say this is funny. It just goes to show that people really don't think and/or aren't honest and say things are good because they SHOULD be good (being a cartoon). It's almost like people force themselves to like things. It shouldn't be hard to like things - it should be natural. But this cartoon/movie just really isn't good. It has potential (or should I say had), but it just isn't (enough). I heard of this movie before, but now I see why it wasn't a blockbuster. I'd be surprised if it made $45 Million. I'll look that up now and then I'm done with "Bolt". 3 for animation but a plot that was doomed to failure as well as weak anthropomorphic screenplay. I just don't care about these characters...even as someone willing to make the imaginary stretch (as we do when we watch any movie - animation or otherwise).
Cheung gong 7 hou (2008)
Different Culture...Still Cute & Funny!
This film reveals the foreign ways and humor of a different culture, but it is still very cute and funny. One characteristic of foreign (more specifically Asian) films is that they come off as very UNpretentious - as comparable, American films would invariably be seen as corny and phony. I'm not sure if Asian film-makers are aware of this phenomenon (my guess is that they are not), but I hope they DON'T become aware of it - as they would surely get the chemistry wrong with a more contrived outing. To talk about specific plots or meanings would basically ruin anyone's experience when first watching this movie; but there are very funny references to the film maker's earlier, extremely funny movie "Kung Fu Hustle" (I wish more artists, of all genres, could/would do this in humorous, creative ways). Bottom line, this is an innocent and very humorous film...one of those 'feel good' movies you just want to veg in front of and not think too much...just ENJOY!!
The 6th Day (2000)
Surprisingly Good Sleeper!!
I'm giving this film a 9 because there were some technical errors and I don't believe in perfection. Having said that this movie was near perfect to me - if (also) you overlook Arnie's acting (which I do because he is always funny to me). But anyway - this movie is very good for Sci-Fi/future buffs. It made me think of things I never thought of before like cloning animals (in this movie fish) for future food sources and (b) the method of transferring a person's (old) memory into a cloned body...as well as cool side concepts like remote controlled, jet transforming helicopters and a realistic looking/seeming laser gun (usually a deficient knock-off from Star Wars, but depicted very well in this movie). The acting by the subordinate characters was also great. Robert Duvall, of course was his usual great self...Michael Rapaport was good and I REALLY liked the performance put in by the ruthless Michael Drucker - played exceptionally by Tony Goldwyn. The story was great and everything flowed very well. Arnie, again, was pretty funny in this one: I loved the part where he was trying to get a toy doll (he had purchased for his daughter after the family dog died) to shut up. He was told by the taxi driver to tell the doll to "go to sleep"...and he really sounded believable in his annoyance by saying "yeah, go to sleep". Overall - I have watched this movie 3 times now and will watch it again. It has that 'Soylent Green' appeal of foreseeing what the future may hold - and it's inevitable, questionable, dilemma-posing aspects! This one is definitely a winner that was slept on (perhaps because of the Y2K phenomenon - I'm not sure because I don't even remember hearing about this movie when it came out in 2000)?? I see it going down as a great reference for the reality of human cloning (another 'good see' on this topic that comes to mind is "Boys From Brazil"). Very few movies have touched the subject of human cloning? Do I smell cover-up??