damosuzuki said:

border (2018) 4/5 "When a border guard with a sixth sense for identifying smugglers encounters the first person she cannot prove is guilty, she is forced to confront terrifying revelations about herself and humankind."

i found this occasionally annoying, sometimes revolting, but also hypnotic & oddly kinda sweet.
it contains the most uncomfortable, sort of horrifying sex scene i think i've ever seen in a film. david cronenberg would probably look at that and go 'wow, this director is one fucked up son of a bitch.'

i will probably never masturbate again after seeing this sex scene. in fact, i am now going to turn off the lights & sit in the dark with a cold cloth over my head & try very hard not to think about anything for the rest of day.

[Edited 4/8/19 12:03pm]

RodeoSchro said:

damosuzuki said:

border (2018) 4/5 "When a border guard with a sixth sense for identifying smugglers encounters the first person she cannot prove is guilty, she is forced to confront terrifying revelations about herself and humankind."

i found this occasionally annoying, sometimes revolting, but also hypnotic & oddly kinda sweet.
it contains the most uncomfortable, sort of horrifying sex scene i think i've ever seen in a film. david cronenberg would probably look at that and go 'wow, this director is one fucked up son of a bitch.'

i will probably never masturbate again after seeing this sex scene. in fact, i am now going to turn off the lights & sit in the dark with a cold cloth over my head & try very hard not to think about anything for the rest of day.

[Edited 4/8/19 12:03pm]

Lol...he sure knows how to intrigue someone

maplenpg said:

RodeoSchro said:

Lol...he sure knows how to intrigue someone

I did a little internet sleuthing and.......I am definitely NOT ever watching that!

Creed II

Really a movie of two halfs. While the first half is promising and entertaining, the second half is a total travesty, a disaster braindead copycat vehicle.

RodeoSchro said:

maplenpg said:

Lol...he sure knows how to intrigue someone

I did a little internet sleuthing and.......I am definitely NOT ever watching that!

never, ever watch this movie.

last year, when we joked around with lady macbeth, i think i encouraged you to watch it & told you i thought you might enjoy it, & i meant that sincerely. & as i recall, you ended up thinking lady macbeth was just fine when you did watch it.

i'm saying no such thing this time.

absolutely do not watch border. i guarantee you will hate it!

i actually went to see shazam last night, partly to see if its light, goodnatured tone would rinse a bit of that filthy residue from that scene out of my memory. didn't work! still had mental images stuck in my head when i woke up this morning.

(i thought shazam was great fun. very minor-key & kid-friendly, but still mostly a blast. 3.5/5).

[Edited 4/9/19 12:31pm]

Downsizing

I was afraid to bump into another super-hero-ish comix-ish teenage movie, but glad i was so wrong!

This is a well-though through supernatural drama (?) almost entery driven by Matt Damon (glad i didnt have to see his penis; his feet were more than ugly enough) but with some strong side roles.

Sure there are some logical mistakes (this scenario coudn't end well in real life) but in the end it's a pretty good film.

High Life (2018) - A father and his daughter struggle to survive in deep space where they live in isolation.

This is Claire Denis' sexy space thriller starring Juliette Binoche as a naughty nurse. How could I not see this movie?? Because of that heavenly synopsis, I thought I'd like it more than I did--and I may very well like it more upon a second viewing. It certainly had me thinking a lot about the story after it was over. I took points off because I found the violence disturbing and the suspension of disbelief level required is quite high. But Juliette Binoche has an extended scene in an "orgasmatron" so yes, I think I definitely will watch this again. 3.5/5

damosuzuki said:

alleluia! the devil's carnival (2016) 1.5/5

i selected this because it looked weird it & had skinny puppy's nivek ogre listed in the cast. i didn't notice who ogre was in the film - probably one of the interchangeable, heavily made up characters.

but one thing this film confirmed about me, not that i need to divulge this or that anyone ought to care, is that i am a disappointingly average hetero male, not that there's anything wrong with that. the only thing that kept me going through the running time was the presence of a lot of very good looking women & a generous amount of cleavage. that sustained me.

Sometimes I ask myself why I still have my old DVD of Dancing at the Blue Iguana and this is the clear answer.

[Edited 4/12/19 14:06pm]

Little (2016)

A made-for-Hallmark movie elevated by Issa Rae and Marsai Martin.

.75

Crypto

Completely average tv movie, forgetable but not regretable.

sexton said:

High Life (2018) - A father and his daughter struggle to survive in deep space where they live in isolation.

This is Claire Denis' sexy space thriller starring Juliette Binoche as a naughty nurse. How could I not see this movie?? Because of that heavenly synopsis, I thought I'd like it more than I did--and I may very well like it more upon a second viewing. It certainly had me thinking a lot about the story after it was over. I took points off because I found the violence disturbing and the suspension of disbelief level required is quite high. But Juliette Binoche has an extended scene in an "orgasmatron" so yes, I think I definitely will watch this again. 3.5/5

i'm hoping to catch this soon myself. i'm not sure if this is a trend or if i've just noticed a few anomalies, but a lot of the smaller international/indie films really don't seem to be making their way to screens in my corner of the world these days.

i did watch denis' 2001 cannibal love story 'trouble every day' this morning, only the second of her films i've seen (i caught let the sun shine in last year, & was a bit luke-warm on it).

vincent gallo plays a scientist in trouble every day. i've always found him to be a weirdly fascinating guy, but vincent gallo is not a scientist. he's just not. but in a movie about animalistic drives, he's all too believable as an animalistic, threatening man.

i didn't really understand a lot of what happened here, certainly i didn't pull all the plot details together, but i really enjoyed lazing in it's weirdly languid pace with its bursts of very raw, brutal violence. 4/5

Ralph breaks the internet

7/10

Good because I was expecting 300x more obnoxious branding opportunities than there were (I only wanted to watch it to see how bad it was: that's how low my expectations were on this sequel). The first one was surprisingly good, despite branded junk food advertisements.

PS: Wi-fi is not the internet.

Mamma Mia: Here we go again (1.5 of 5 stars). I knew not to go to the theatre to see this or even pay for a stream, so I waited till it got to HBO. Yes, the first one was fluff but this one is recycled fluff with a lesser soundtrack (most of Abba's best songs were in the first movie).

'ace in the hole' (4/5, it drags in spots) on the criterion channel. as relevant as ever. paraphrasing spike lee in his outro 'this is america. if there's a buck to be made, it's gonna be made'.

'drive a crooked road' (4.5/5) also on the criterion channel. mickey rooney turns in a great dramatic performance. i was struck by certain plot elements that were lifted by george v. higgins for his novel 'the friends of eddie coyle'.

'the sisters brothers' (4.5/5). i loved the way the plot meandered til seemingly lost and then wraps itself in a charming conclusion. very better than i thought it would be.

Tax Day is over! You can all thank me for Making America Great Again by paying my taxes on time and in full. You're welcome.

To prepare for Tax Day, I took my wife and Favorite Mother-In-Law to the Booze (No Chow) to watch "Little". The previews were really funny and given the upcoming Tax Day ordeal, I figured a "little" levity was just the ticket.

As was more than a "little" wine.

PRO TIP - The more wine you drink, the funnier movies are.

PRO TIP - The more wine you drink, the more you think about other stuff, too.

I liked "Little" just fine. I loved Issa Rae. Maybe it was the 1984 Sheila E hairdo, but I thought Rae was stunning. Stunning, I say! But not stunning enough for me to overlook some plot holes that were as big as the Grand Canyon. To wit:

1. Who the heck was the little girl and what made her magic? If they told us, I don't remember. If someone has a magic wand that can do magic things, we need to know the hows and whys and whatnots

2. What happened to the white teacher that both women fell for? They went NUTS over this guy and he seemed to be digging Issa Rae. I don't even remember that she had a thing for the other dude she ended up with, who had no backstory at all. That I can remember. But it's like they wrote this character and then forgot to finish his story arc

3. Let's talk measurements. Not Issa Rae's, much as I'd like to. Have I said how pretty she is? WOW. Dang. Whew. Anyway, the Big Boss Lady goes beserk when her slippers are not 55 centimeters from her bed, so that when she awakens from a drunken and pill-popping night of whatever, her feet land in her slippers. By the way - what the heck WAS up with all the pill bottles? They made it seem like Big Boss Lady was some sort of addict who was magically cured after she got re-bigulated. Not sure that was the best message to send

4. Back to measurements. So, Big Boss Lady harangues someone into placing her slippers exactly 55 centimeters from her bed. But the next morning when she wakes up, she's been shrunk. Therefore, her legs would be shorter HOWEVER HER FEET SLIP RIGHT INTO THE 55-CENTIMETERS-AWAY-FROM-THE-BED-SLIPPERS. No amount of wine can diminsh my mathematical observations!

5. After the de-bigulation, Little Boss Lady gets massively owned at school by the usual girlie bullies. No way! By this time Little Boss Lady has accepted her de-bigulation, and understands that her mind is the same. She therefore would have had 1,548,206 snappy comebacks to the girlie bullies. Plus, even though she was de-bigulated, she was still rich. I cannot believe that she allowed herself to be pwned her first day in her old school

6. How 'bout that early-2000's "pwned" reference, huh? I still got it

7. The Talent Show dance was a flop. No way that would have won at any of my kids' Junior High School Talent Shows

8. Speaking of Junior High School Talent Shows, had my kid been the victim of a malicious act that happened in front of the whole student body which resulted her ending up in a body cast due to multiple broken bones, I would have sued. Everybody. Instead, Mom and Dad are like, "Oh, don't worry honey. It won't always be like this. Some day they will stop breaking your bones!" Ummm, no

9. Again with the magic little girl and her magic wand. Who was she? Heck, as I recall she didn't even know she was magic. Plot hole

Now, you might think that I didn't like this movie. You'd be wrong, but it's not your fault. I'm just letting off some Post-Tax Day Steam. Some people scream, I write.

So despite the plot holes above, "Little" is about the 4th-best Adult Turns Into A Kid movie out of, what? About 491 Adult Turns Into A Kid movies?

It's no "Big" and...wait. Is it called "Little" as a sly reference to the fact that it steals its premise from "Big"? Maybe! As far as the internet tells me, I am the first one to make this observation. Where do I pick up my check?

"Little" gets 2 I Want To See Issa Rae In Every Movie out of a possible 5 I Want To See Issa Rae In Every Movie. Go see it for Issa Rae, I guess.

thedoorkeeper said:

Are you having wine before the movie or during the movie or both? I need some advice on cinema imbibing. Recently saw The Beach Bum and a few drinks would have helped that movie.

Depends.

If going to the Booze and Chow, then usually just during, as the eating and boozing are simultaneous.

If going to the Booze (No Chow) then usually both, because what's the use of eating a nice dinner without some booze?

I'm probably going to see "Purple Rain" Sunday night and there will be no booze at all for that one. Respect.

RodeoSchro said:

The Professor and The Madman

Give the movie , and Mel, the Oscar. And Penn as supporting actor as well.

Blackkklansman 4.7 afro picks of 5 - Didn't think I was gonna like it (biggest Spike fan, but sometimes... ). I also didn't think that sermon in the beginnning @ the Black Panthers thing was ever gonna end , but when it did, relative coolness ensued. I see n hear his pops in John now, he's cool n I grew 2 luv his funky afro . I was invested halfway thru, which is rare n everything panned out subtle, but effective. Fine later day classic imo . Anxious 2 watch it again, as well as Girl 6 (), both of which on the DVR now from cable .

Climax (2018) - French dancers gather in a remote, empty school building to rehearse on a wintry night. The all-night celebration morphs into a hallucinatory nightmare when they learn their sangria is laced with LSD.

Not all of director Gaspar Noé's movies may be good, but all I've seen have been provocative. This one starts slowly with character interviews which set up the relentless ride that is the frightening LSD freakout in the second half of the film. 4/5

Marketa Lazarová (1967) - A grim portrayal of the shift from Paganism to Christianity in medieval Czechoslovakia - as a young virgin promised to God is kidnapped and raped by a marauder who her religious father seeks to kill in return.

This is a very well-filmed, but dense epic which benefits from multiple viewings if you have the time at almost three hours long. The Criterion Blu-ray restoration looks stellar. 4/5

Thursday evening I took the wife and Favorite Mother-In-Law to the Booze AND CHOW to see "Breakthrough". It's a God Movie.

That's right - we saw a God Movie at the Booze And Chow.

I had no booze. But I did have plenty of pretty good chow. So I think I'm still in the Going Up In The Afterlife line. I hope.

Anyway, "Breakthrough" is a TREMENDOUS movie. GO. SEE. IT.

"Breakthrough" tells the story of a young man named John Smith who fell through the ice covering a lake, was underwater for 15 minutes - 15 minutes - and somehow was resurrected after a plea to God from his mother, survived, and made a complete recovery.

Believe me - that description doesn't begin to do this movie justice.

It's just a great, great story with great, great actors. Take your handkerchiefs and your Kleenexes. You're gonna need them!

"Breakthrough" gets five sets of Air Jordan sneakers out of five sets of Air Jordan sneakers. GO SEE IT!

'can you ever forgive me?' - 4/5...i really don't like melissa mccarthy. i think she's completely unfunny. sometimes, though, a comedic actor fits into a dramatic role like a hand in a glove. this is one of those times. richard grant is wonderful as well. i think i'll read the book and hope that those two fit the written narrative as well as they fit the filmed. i want more of those people.

'roman j. israel, esq.' - 3.5/5...well acted by denzel, and somehow colin farrell's charm (whatever it is, cuz i can't figure it out) has yet to disappoint me. gilroy was going for inspiring, i think...he may have achieved thought provoking. plenty of los angeles on display, if you like that kind of thing as much as i do.

'shazam' - 4/5...what else are you gonna do on 4/20/2019 but smoke up and watch a colorful, heart-warming, fun, hopeful superhero movie on the big screen? well, that's what i did, anyway. if the ratio of superhero content was reversed and we got as much of this as we got the grim and gritty dreck of avengers and batdarkcrusader murdery man, i might enjoy the genre more. i didn't like the marvel family costumes much, but i look forward to a sequel.

mystery train (1989) 4/5 every early jim jarmusch film is the same.
as it starts, i think 'not more of this mumbling, rambling, shambolic quirkiness.'
by the end: 'i want more of this mumbling, rambling, shambolic quirkiness!'

the lineup (1958) 4/5 the opening is perhaps a bit wobbly, particularly a scene where a customs official explains incoming traffic to the police that plays like something out of a half-assed educational film, but the rest of it is great. tough hateful mobsters terrorize sweet, innocent people. the new criterion streaming service has a neat little section with about 20 50s noir films, all of them at least good, several great, almost all of them lean & short & fun. this is probably my favourite of the bunch, but they're all worth checking out.

[Edited 4/23/19 19:17pm]

damosuzuki said:

mystery train (1989) 4/5 every early jim jarmusch film is the same.
as it starts, i think 'not more of this mumbling, rambling, shambolic quirkiness.'
by the end: 'i want more of this mumbling, rambling, shambolic quirkiness!'

[Edited 4/23/19 19:17pm]

i found out during a promotional interview for 'paterson' on npr's 'fresh air' that jim jarmusch and i grew up watching movies at the same local movie theater, although him probably about 10 years before me. my uncle worked there, and he was frequently my babysitter...so i was frequently at the movies. i saw the likes of 'poltergeist', 'annie', 'raiders of the lost ark', 'real genius', 'fatal attraction' at the loew's state theater on state road in cuyahoga falls, ohio. mere feet from where jarmusch must have absorbed all the cinema mojo allotted to our small corner of ohio and left me but a couch potato...thanks, jim.

Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records (2018) - Two men taking a tribe of outsiders on a ride through the 80s underground, accidentally changing music forever.

I may be overrating this because I was very much into Wax Trax! and industrial music in the early 90s, but I found it to be a very good behind-the-scenes documentary. 4/5

The screening I attended was followed by a panel and Q&A session with some of the more notable figures in the movie and then a performance by former Wax Trax! band Ministry.