What Movie Are You Watching?

Ah, it's been 2 weeks and I haven't posted it!

Police Story 2 (1988):

Picking up where we left off in the first film, Chan's character is demoted to a traffic cop and one day on duty, Chu Tao shows up in his car, where he was granted early release due to his failing health... and he plans to pester Chan for the last months he's alive. Chu Tao's henchman confronts May, Chan's g/f and roughs her and her aunt up. Chan goes to get revenge and then quits the police department, to go on a trip to Bali with May. On the plane though, there is a bomb threat and they get Chan off, while May flies to Bali... without her passport lol. When the bomb ends up exploding, Chan returns to the force to find out who is behind the bomb and put an end to it.

I know the first is beloved to death, but I *much* preferred this film to the first. True, it isn't as funny, nor is, "as much glass broken as the first," (which is an absolutely stupid and irrelevant con that I've seen on the 'net) but it also isn't as hokey and ridiculous (well, maybe a little bit lol) as the first and that makes for a better plot, IMO. Maggie Cheung is just as good (and cute!) as ever, while Chan is great at everything again. Overall, I enjoyed this film more than the first and can't wait to continue going through the series!

8/10
 
There was nothing to do last night, so my wife suggested turning on the TV (cable, which we NEVER do) and this was on:

Battleship (2012):

Alexander Skarsgaard (yay!) and Taylor Kitsch (meh) are the Hopper brothers; 2 American (huh? Played by a Swede and a Canadian?) Naval Forces soldiers that are celebrating the younger's bday at a bar, when Sam Shane (played by the absolutely GORGEOUS Brooklyn Decker, who looks a bit funny at times, but for all intents and purposes is a stunning woman) comes in. The younger Hopper tries to woo her and does, which involves a Chicken Burrito and a convenience store. Fast forward 7 years and the brothers, girlfriend and her father (an Admiral, played well by Liam Neeson) are at RIMPAC and during a soccer game, it is established that the younger Hopper doesn't listen to authority, he doesn't get along with Tadanobu Asano's character (Yugi Nagata! And not the wrestler :LOL:) and Rihanna is a badass (yes, she's in this film too and plays Raikes). They set sail in their Destroyers (the elder Hopper on the Sampson, the younger on the John Paul Jones and Nagata on Myoko) and begin the proceedings... while at the same time, 5 UFOs come flying into the ocean from the sky and make huge splashes (well, 4 of them; 1 of them hits a satellite and veers off-course into Hong Kong). After the younger Hopper goes to investigate with Raikes and another mate, he jumps onto the structure that is sticking out of the water and notes that it feels different, then goes to touch a shining button of sorts. When he does that however, the big thing wakes up, shoots him many feet in the air and the object turns into a giant robot, which then starts attacking the ships.

On the surface, this entire film is very similar to Independence Day, albeit the Aliens are less-hostile this time around and this film makes it a point to honour and respect veterans, as opposed to simply active-duty military personnel. A lot of it campy, hokey and expected (with the title of the film, once they get on the Missouri, you pretty much know where the plot is going lol), but I must say that the acting is *excellent* for an action film such as this. Kitsch is tolerable (lol), Skarsgaard is great (like always), ditto for Asano and Neeson doesn't get a ton of screentime, but he's enjoyable when on-screen. Rihanna is arguably the star of the whole thing though; she has a couple of awkwardish scenes, but she is awesome practically every moment she's on-screen and her chemistry with the other main players is quite good. As much as I don't like ACDC and that Thunderstruck has been overplayed to death for the past 20 years (also doesn't help that my Highschool's nickname was the, "Thunder," so the song got played a lot lol :(), the scene/montage of the Missouri getting booted up and prepped... I shed a few tears. I know they are outdated 100% and all that, but I truly LOVE Battleships. They are my favourite military, "thing," by far and I just think they are the coolest thing ever. There's a reason why Yakuza 6's story resonates so much with me :D

As a result of that and the fact that Independence Day is one of my 10 favourite films ever, I absolutely LOVE this film and would no doubt watch it again (hell, I'll probably pick up the DVD ASAP, as it'll most-likely be dirt cheap). It isn't the greatest film, but it's good, enjoyable and much better than what the critics gave it. Less jingoism than ID4 too.

7/10
 
This is one of the best films I have ever seen. Dreamy, yet with depth. Surprisingly psychologically insightful and meaningful. I really think it's my favorite movie of the last decade. Iconic performance by Samantha Robinson. Remarkable indie effort by Anna Biller, and I look forward to her next project.

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This is one of the best films I have ever seen. Dreamy, yet with depth. Surprisingly psychologically insightful and meaningful. I really think it's my favorite movie of the last decade. Iconic performance by Samantha Robinson. Remarkable indie effort by Anna Biller, and I look forward to her next project.

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Really cool poster! Its very Mario Bava style and she evokes me Barb Steele, an actress ahead its time and relegated to bmovies. I will look for it, ty!
 
This is one of the best films I have ever seen. Dreamy, yet with depth. Surprisingly psychologically insightful and meaningful. I really think it's my favorite movie of the last decade. Iconic performance by Samantha Robinson. Remarkable indie effort by Anna Biller, and I look forward to her next project.

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Great film! Have you seen "Viva" too? Anna Biller basically does the lions share of the movie herself. I love that both films evoke a 70's exploitation style in the modern era. Highly recommended!
 
I try not to do too much research anymore, and let things come my way. Like this. I didn't know she had made another film. I shall watch Viva. Thanks, dude!
 
So in my time away from the internet, I actually got reconnected with an old love...watching film. I spent like a month just going through my DVD/Blu Ray Collection watching stuff. I actually even got around to watching stuff that had been on the shelf for years unwatched. The list as is:

* = First time watching
** = Rewatch

Film:
---------------------------

La Notte (1961) * - 4 out of 5

Top Secret! (1984) ** - 3.5 out of 5

Vortex (2022) * - 4.5 out of 5 - Perhaps Gaspar Noe's most sober film to date but weirdly compelling nonetheless

Police Story * (1985) - 4 out of 5 - Yeah! I've never seen any of the Police Story films before. One of the Jackie Chan films I hadn't seen. Rectified

Police Story 2* (1988) - 3.5 out of 5 - A mixed bag, some of the fight sequences are better than the first; the playground fight comes to mind. There's also a use of a single long take that is done to great comedic effect that I really loved. But I felt the pacing was just a little bit off. I thought it outstayed its welcome by the end just a little.

The Rundown ** (2002) - 3.5 out of 5 - Very overlooked. Still a fun action/adventure romp from The Rock's earlier days of making the jump to Hollywood. Christopher Walken's monologue about the tooth fairy is worth it alone.

Branded to Kill * (1967) - 4 out of 5

Death Game * (1977) - 3 out of 5

Eurotrip (2004) ** - 3.5 out of 5 - One of my favorite comfort movies whenever I need a pick me up.

Wild Things (1998) * - 4 out of 5 - I had never seen Wild Things before but I finally got to watch it via the Arrow Blu Ray and man, what a fucking fun sleazy twisted ass B-film that was! It's so convoluted in its plot that it explains itself through the end credits. But it was fucking fun nonetheless. In that good trash sleaze kind of way.

Naked (1993) * - 3.5 out of 5

Repo Man (1984) * - 3.5 out of 5

Being John Malkovich (1999) ** - 4 out of 5

Don't Go In The House (1979) * - 2 out of 5 - Honestly, a much lesser Psycho, Deranged and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Outside of that one scene with the flame thrower, there's nothing memorable about this one at all!

Let's Scare Jessica To Death (1971) * - 2 out of 5 - Interesting premise for a horror movie but honestly? I found it boring as all hell in execution.

Blood Simple (1984) ** - 3.5 out of 5

Raising Arizona (1987) ** - 3.5 out of 5

Beavis and Butthead Do The Universe (2021) * - 4 out of 5 - It's a shame this didn't get a theatrical release! This was fucking great!

Jurassic World Dominion (2021) * - 2 out of 5 - It's a shame this got a theatrical release! This was a fucking mess! :ROFLMAO:

Punch Drunk Love (2002) * - 4 out of 5 - Honestly, I had never seen this before and I ended up really liking it. It really is an Art House Adam Sandler comedy and it's odd and off kilter in a way I liked.

Raging Bull (1980) ** - 4 out of 5 - It's one of Scorsese's best!

Straw Dogs (1971) ** - 4 out of 5

Ikiru (1952) * - 4.5 out of 5

Good Morning (1959) * - 4 out of 5


Television
-------------------

Chucky Season 1 * - 3.5 out of 5 // Liked it a lot more than I thought I would.

The Little Drummer Girl * - 4 out of 5 // Park Chan Wook's mini series based on Le Carre's novel. I loved it being the Le Carre fan that I am.

Shenmue The Animation ** - Yeah, I went back through and rewatched it yet again. It's still every bit as good as the first viewing.
 
Welcome back sir! And some fine films you've watched too (i'm overdue a list, so will do this soon). It's funny you mention 'Don't Go In The House', because I got the Arrow blu-ray with the VHS slip cover and it's going for £60 at the moment!

Repo Man, Police Story, Raging Bull, Branded To Kill, Straw Dogs, Ikuru, Blood Simple... all brilliant.

Interestingly I didn't mind the new Jurassic Park. I saw it out of desperation due to a situation at home and I never watched any of them other than the original, so I guess I don't have the fandom about it. It was a reasonable way to spend 2 1/2 hours haha.
 
Late night yesterday watched "NOPE" Written, directed and produced by Jordan Peele. Total director.
Instant modern classic. With a B-movie tone as introduction, it smoothly unfolds into unexpected beyonds.

Here, Peele displays such a rich inner world, such a calligraphy that made me drop jaws without noticing several times. Treating the landscape as a character, like the best western; building tension scaling and resolving in a way that matches masters of the art like Hitchcock, Spielberg and Shyamalan.

"NOPE" its not just an excellent, fresh horror/scifi movie, its also an excellent movie in general. It will tell you his story about a menace, with the people mostly (like i.e. Night of the Living Dead or Jaws) but without boring and going too far out of action. Very well balanced in the editing as much as the direction.

Go for it with the minimum information possible and surrender to it. It will swallow you whole, I assure you.
 
i took advantage of national cinema day (£3) and saw 2 films, the new jurassic park movie and three thousand years of longing.

i wasn't impressed with jurassic park dominion, it's always cool to see dinosaurs on the big screen but this movie's plot is weak. jurassic park 1,2&3 are cool dinosaur, light-horror movies were by 4,5&6 are mainly focused on genetic engineering and evil Corporations. ( my rating - 6.5/10)

three thousand years of longing was ok. kinda wacky, if you watch the trailer your get a good idea of what the movie is about - they show the whole movie in the trailer lol ( my rating - 7/10)

i also rewatched event horizon (netflix) for the first time in 20+ years. the special effects are great. i think the story could of been a little stronger because the ending was a bit meh.

i also watched willy's wonderland (now tv). considering its a low budget movie the film is quite funny and nicolas cage is awesome. - the one thing i love about nick cage is that he is willing to take risks and do low budget movies and more often than not, most are pretty entertaining.
 
Gadzooks, I’ve really left this for a long time! I tend to use the end of a TV boxset as my prompt to update this, but my current one is 70 episodes long (currently 51 episodes in). Seeing as I’m moving house next week (!!) I just want to get this out of my system haha. As always, ones in bold are ones that I heartedly recommend or have left a lasting impression on me.

New films I’ve watched
1) Conan the Barbarian / John Milius / 1982 / 3/5
2) Elvis / Baz Luhrmann / 2022 / 4/5
3) Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky are Stars / Hiroyuki Imaishi / 2009 / 4/5
4) What The Hell Is It This Time?: Sparks Live in London / Edgar Wright / 2021 / 3/5 (Live concert)
5) 10 To Midnight / J. Lee Thompson / 1983 / 4/5
6) Thor: Love and Thunder / Taiki Waititi / 2022 / 2.5/5
7) Explorer / Matthew Dyas / 2022 / 4/5 (Documentary)
8) The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl / Robert Rodriguez / 2005 / 2/5
9) How The West Was Won / John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall & Richard Thorpe / 1962 / 3/5
10) Bloodsport / Newt Arnold / 1988 / 4/5
11) No Retreat, No Surrender / Corey Yuen / 1986 / 2.5/5
12) So Sweet...So Perverse / Umberto Lenzi / 1969 / 3/5
13) Jurassic World: Dominion / Colin Trevorrow / 2022 / 3/5
14) Cannon Arm and the Arcade Quest / Mads Hedegaard / 2021 / 4/5 (Documentary)
15) A Little Princess / Alfonso Cuarón / 1995 / 4/5
16) Highway Racer / Stelvio Massi / 1977 / 4/5
17) X-Men: The Last Stand / Brett Ratner / 2006 / 1/5
18) Pompo: The Cinéphile / Tatayuki Hirao / 2021 / 3/5
19) Batman: Mask of the Phantasm / Eric Radomski et al / 1993 / 3/5
20) The Witches of Eastwick / George Miller / 1987 / 3/5
21) Mothra / Ishiro Honda / 1961 / 3/5
22) Where Does A Body End? / Marco Porsia / 2019 / 4/5 (Documentary)
23) Double Indemnity / Billy Wilder / 1944 / 4/5
24) No, The Case is Happily Resolved / Vittorio Salerno / 1973 / 2/5
25) Star Wars: The Clone Wars / Dave Filoni et al / 2008 / 2/5
26) Millions / Danny Boyle / 2004 / 3/5
27) Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping / Akiva Schaffer & Jorma Taccone / 2016 / 3/5
28) The Virgin Suicides / Sofia Coppola / 1999 / 3/5
29) Indecent Proposal / Adrian Lyne / 1993 / 3/5
30) The Wolverine / James Mangold / 2013 / 3/5
31) Bullet Train / David Leitch / 2022 / 3/5
32) Momotaro’s Divine Sea Warriors / Mitsuyo Seo / 1943 / 3/5
33) Mutiny on the Bounty / Frank Lloyd / 1935 / 4/5
34) The Tough Ones / Umberto Lenzi / 1976 / 4/5
35) Ransom / Ron Howard / 1996 / 3/5
36) Anastasia / Anatole Litvak / 1956 / 3/5
37) Nope / Jordan Peele / 2022 / 3/5
38) Bad Boys II / Michael Bay / 2003 / 3.5/5
39) Time Bandits / Terry Gilliam / 1981 / 3.5/5
40) A Bridge Too Far / Richard Attenborough / 1977 / 3/5
41) Desert Heat / John G. Avildsen / 1999 / 3.5/5
42) Fiddler on the Roof / Norman Jewison / 1971 / 3/5
43) Shaolin Temple / Cheh Chang / 1976 / 3/5
44) Sicario / Denis Villeneuve / 2015 / 4/5
45) The Rock / Michael Bay / 1996 / 3/5
46) Black Hawk Down / Ridley Scott / 2001 / 3.5/5
47) Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan / 1982 / 3/5
48) Escape Plan / Mikael Hafstrom / 2013 / 2/5
49) Three Thousand Years of Longing / George Miller / 2022 / 4/5
50) Arthur and the Invisibles / Luc Besson / 2006 / 3/5
51) Spiritual Kung Fu / Lo Wei / 1978 / 3/5
52) Pearl Harbour / Michael Bay / 2001 / 2/5
53) Ali / Michael Mann / 2001 / 3/5
54) Little Women / George Cukor / 1933 / 4/5
55) Clerks III / Kevin Smith / 2022 / 3.5/5
56) Crimes of the Future / David Cronenberg / 2022 / 3.5/5
57) Halloween II / Rick Rosenthal / 1981 / 3/5
58) Cassandra’s Dream / Woody Allen / 2007 / 3/5
59) Zodiac / David Fincher / 2007 / 3/5
60) Halloween III: Season of the Witch / Tommy Lee Wallace / 1982 / 3/5
61) Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers / Dwight H. Little / 1988 / 2/5
62) War Horse / Steven Spielberg / 2011 / 3.5/5
63) Arthur and the Great Adventure / Luc Besson / 2009 / 3/5
64) Black Eagle / Eric Karson / 1988 / 1/5
65) Summer of Sam / Spike Lee / 1999 / 4/5
66) Turner and Hooch / Roger Spottiswoode / 1989 / 2/5
67) Moonage Daydream / Brett Morgen / 2022 / 5/5 (Documentary)
68) Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers / Dominique Othenin-Girard / 1989 / 2/5
69) Rushmore / Wes Anderson / 1998 / 4/5
70) Blonde / Andrew Dominik / 2022 / 2.5/5
71) Basketball / David Zucker / 1998 / 3/5
72) The Grapes of Death / Jean Rollin / 1978 / 3/5
73) Don’t Go In The House / Joseph Ellison / 1979 / 3/5
74) Mystery Train / Jim Jarmusch / 1989 / 4/5
75) Dog Eat Dog / Paul Schrader / 2016 / 2/5

Films I’ve seen before
1) X-Men / Bryan Singer / 2000 / 3/5
2) X-Men 2 / Bryan Singer / 2003 / 3/5
3) X-Men Origins: Wolverine / Gavin Hood / 2009 / 1/5
4) Shaft / John Singleton / 2000 / 2.5/5
5) Armageddon / Michael Bay / 1998 / 3/5
6) Bad Boys / Michael Bay / 1995 / 3/5
7) Coyote Ugly / David McNally / 2000 / 2/5
8) X-Men First Class / Matthew Vaughn / 2011 / 3/5
9) X-Men: Days of Future Past / Bryan Singer / 2014 / 3.5/5
10) Star Trek: The Motion Picture Robert Wise / 1979 / 4/5
11) ET / Stephen Spielberg / 1982 / 4/5
12) Jaws / Steven Spielberg / 1975 / 4/5
13) Clerks / Kevin Smith / 1994 / 5/5

14) Clerks II / Kevin Smith / 2006 / 4/5
15) Baby Driver / Edgar Wright / 2017 / 3.5/5
16) Halloween / John Carpenter / 1978 / 4/5
17) The Dark Knight / Christopher Nolan / 2008 / 5/5

Short films

1) The Fall of the House of Usher / Curtis Harrington / 1942 / 2/5
2) Fragment of Seeking / Curtis Harrington / 1946 / 3/5
3) Picnic / Curtis Harrington / 1948 / 3/5
4) On The Edge / Curtis Harrington / 1949 / 3/5
5) The Assignation / Curtis Harrington / 1953 / 3/5
6) The Wormwood Star / Curtis Harrington / 1956 / 2/5
7) The Four Elements / Curtis Harrington / 1966 / 3/5
8) Usher / Curtis Harrington / 2000 / 3/5
9) The Spider and The Tulip / Kenzo Masaoka / 1943 / 4/5

TV Shows
1) Sound! Euphonium / Tatsuya Ishihara et al / 2015 / 3/5
2) Trainwreck: Woodstock ‘99 / Jamie Crawford / 2022 / 3/5
3) Salem’s Lot / Tobe Hooper / 1979 / 3/5

I think what I’ve taken away from this batch is that there have been some amazing documentaries out lately. I don’t know why, but I find them easier to watch than films or TV shows lately. ‘Explorer’ is an astonishing piece about one of Britain’s most revered mountain climbers; ‘Cannon Arm’ is a heartwarming film about a man who may or may not have social anxiety or autism (my guess is that he does) who is trying to get the world record on a 1980’s Konami game (the name escapes me). It says a lot that an older lady came up to me afterwards and said “I haven’t played a game since Pac-Man and I thought it was brilliant!” I’m not a hardcore Bowie fan, but I am certainly a fan and ‘Moonage Daydream’ was a triumph; less traditional documentary, more freeform art video, it blew my mind. Bowie would’ve been proud.

I also notice that I have a lot of love for b-movies done right; ‘Bloodsport’ and ‘10 to Midnight’ come to mind. The former is a JCVD film I’ve shamefully not seen, but having since seen it, believe it to be the forerunner to Mortal Kombat. ‘10 to Midnight’ is a grotty, grimy thriller that seems like a remix of ‘Death Wish’.

As for ‘The Dark Knight’. It’s a classic. I’m bored to death of superhero films, but I’ll give this a pass, because it feels different. Watching it in 4DX was a lot of fun! I hated 'ET' first time I watched it, but the more I watch it, the more I adore it. It's innocent in the best possible way. 'Jaws' is a masterclass in tension. I've seen it maybe 4 times now and it still puts me on edge. 'Clerks' is simply one of the funniest films i've ever watched. The sequel's can't hold a candle to them, but I still love in them in their own special way.

Finally, I really warmed to idiosyncratic comedies of Wes Anderson and Jim Jarmusch. They’re not “funny” in the traditional sense, but there’s something about ‘Rushmore’ and ‘Mystery Train’ I just found immensy watchable.
 
55) Clerks III / Kevin Smith / 2022 / 3.5/5
70) Blonde / Andrew Dominik / 2022 / 2.5/5

I am curious about Blonde but the 3 hour run time and the fact that I keep getting told "it's a depressing slog" is putting me off from giving it a chance. I don't know. I don't think I'm in the mood to be beaten over the head with "life is depressing" for 3 hours when I'm trying to find the good in life at the moment. But I am curious due to the mixed reception it has gotten.

As for Clerks III, I am genuinely surprised that film is getting the praise its getting. I thought it was complete rubbish. I didn't think it could get any worse after Reboot but apparently Kevin Smith went and proved me wrong with Clerks III. I don't even say this as someone who hates Kevin Smith. I have a fondness for many of his films. But Clerks III really felt like he has regressed in every way. It's a movie where most of its humor relies on callbacks to the first two movies. It doesn't have a single memorable original joke to its name. The 2nd act is pointless filler that goes nowhere and just serves to fill time until we get to the dramatic final act. And don't get me started on that final act.

Worse still, it feels like a movie that is so terrified of offending anyone....that's pretty bad for a Clerks film considering Clerks has always been irreverent and not afraid to cross potentially taboo subject matter.

I found Clerks III to be a genuinely depressing experience. Which is funny to me considering he has said many times that he wanted Clerks III to inspire people. I really didn't feel inspired at all come the end of Clerks III. I just felt like Kevin's crying out for help with this movie.

I'm genuinely surprised that movie is getting the love its getting. Because as far as I'm concerned, it's one of the worst things Kevin Smith has ever made. And I don't say that lightly as I really do love the characters of Dante and Randal. They are my favorite characters of his but come the end of Clerks III, I hated this version of Randal so much and don't get me started on Dante's fate and how badly this movie regressed any character growth he or Randal had from the 2nd movie.

Not to dump on you @bcbcdude but I'm just gobsmacked Clerks III got the love it got and I'm genuinely curious as to why people did love it? I just felt like it was a very weak ending to Clerks and worse still, it was everything I feared Clerks II would be (lame callbacks to the first movie.) I didn't laugh. I didn't even crack a smile. Kevin Smith once said that if he was still wearing a backwards cap and standing against a wall pressing 50 then these characters go from comedy to tragedy. I think he should have listened to his former self on this one and not bothered making Clerks III.
 
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Great stuff, BC! Nice extensive list to look at.

Your opinions on World Dominion and Bad Boys II? Haven't seen the former yet, but am anxious since I'm a fan of the franchise and Bad Boys II is just woefully misunderstood, IMO: I'm not a big Bay fan, but if the first film was ridiculous and over the top in tone, this is just 10x that and it is intentional

Much better than Bad Boys, IMO.
 
@danielmann861 - If you were talking about the first 15 minutes of Clerks III, i'd agree with you, but i'm afraid i'm going to have to disagree with the rest of it. I guess it depends on your mindset. Don't get me wrong, it's the weakest of the 3 and I went in with the lowest of expectations, so maybe i'm just happy it was a nice film. I think now i'm 37 and i'm much more sensitive than I used to be, that it was nice to watch a 'nice' Clerks film. That said, I still love offensive humour and even though i'm left wing (more centre left), i'm sick of cancel culture and the like. I thought the new Clerks was a nice balancing act and the 3rd act was actually pretty damn moving. I also liked J&SB reboot, so what do I know? I'm a bit of a Smith apologist and I think his best days are behind him, but I do think there's a sincerity to Clerks III I find wonderful.

As for 'Blonde', it is more or less 3 hours of misery porn. It's a weird film. It's trying to highlight all the terrible things that happened to Monroe, but it also seems to glorify it too. It could've been more subtle getting its point across rather than show her move from abusive relationship to abusive relationship. I thought it was beautifully shot and the Nick Cave/Warren Ellis score is sublime as always, but I felt it was trying to be controversial for the sake of it. I give films up to say 2000 a free pass because there's a disconnect from it, but i'm a paradoxical prude. I think a lot of films are too slick, too violent, too over eager to be sexually explicit that I find it depressing. But then i'll buy 70's films called "Violence in A Women's Prison" and think "ah, ok". I'm very weird.

@Truck_1_0_1_ - Not gonna lie, I only saw the Jurassic World film, because I was desperate to leave the house (something i'll alude to in the mental health topic soon) and i've not seen any since the original. I thought it was fine for what it was? Maybe because i'm not a fan I was able to look at it from a different angle to others? As for Bad Boys II, I needed some carnage and having thought 'Ambulance' was kinda cool, I wanted to give Bay a chance. BBII is a rather nihilistic work, but it's so over the top, I found it endearing. However, it was just the right level, because trying to watch the Transformers films give me a fucking headache. And i'm an apologist for epic romances, but good lord 'Pearl Harbour' was a fucking slog. I was yearning to watch something like 'Titanic' again haha.
 
I thought that Hocus Pocus 2 was quite good considering how long it's been since the original film.

I still believe that the original film wins due to taking more risks in being darker, but I still enjoyed it.

Of course, it sets up for the possibility of a third film, which I'm not terribly keen on. The only way I'd think it would work would be
The redeemed Sanderson Sisters have to fight a bigger evil or something
 
@danielmann861 - If you were talking about the first 15 minutes of Clerks III, i'd agree with you, but i'm afraid i'm going to have to disagree with the rest of it. I guess it depends on your mindset. Don't get me wrong, it's the weakest of the 3 and I went in with the lowest of expectations, so maybe i'm just happy it was a nice film. I think now i'm 37 and i'm much more sensitive than I used to be, that it was nice to watch a 'nice' Clerks film. That said, I still love offensive humour and even though i'm left wing (more centre left), i'm sick of cancel culture and the like. I thought the new Clerks was a nice balancing act and the 3rd act was actually pretty damn moving. I also liked J&SB reboot, so what do I know? I'm a bit of a Smith apologist and I think his best days are behind him, but I do think there's a sincerity to Clerks III I find wonderful.

As for 'Blonde', it is more or less 3 hours of misery porn. It's a weird film. It's trying to highlight all the terrible things that happened to Monroe, but it also seems to glorify it too. It could've been more subtle getting its point across rather than show her move from abusive relationship to abusive relationship. I thought it was beautifully shot and the Nick Cave/Warren Ellis score is sublime as always, but I felt it was trying to be controversial for the sake of it. I give films up to say 2000 a free pass because there's a disconnect from it, but i'm a paradoxical prude. I think a lot of films are too slick, too violent, too over eager to be sexually explicit that I find it depressing. But then i'll buy 70's films called "Violence in A Women's Prison" and think "ah, ok". I'm very weird.

Yeah, I get it. I have a fondness for Smith and his earlier work. Hell, I don't even hate Red State or Tusk as much as others seem to do. I'm the same age and all I could think was "is he depressed? This movie is very self defeatist come the end. Is he still suffering post heart attack depression?" I went in with pretty low expectations hoping to have them surpassed but I just couldn't find anything about it that I liked. It already got off to a bad start for me when it nullified everything that happened in Clerks II. It's usually a sign of weak writing to me when you can't build on top of what you've already built and have to reset the characters.

That combined with the "remember that time when?" level of writing. It felt like a movie where the director was constantly poking me and saying "Remember how I used to write really funny dialog? Remember how I used to be a better writer?" It kind of got very obnoxious very quickly to me.

I mean I could go into this further but I don't want to spoil it. All I can say is come the end I thought Clerks II was a much better ending for these characters. And a much more inspiring one at that. Which I find funny considering how much Kevin kept going on about how he wanted this movie to inspire people as to how its never too late to change their ways.

Ironically, Clerks II already did that. Clerks III undid all of it come the end for me.

To me this whole movie felt like he wanted to remake the prison scene from Clerks II and just needed to fill time to get to that big emotional beat. The problem is he forgot with Clerks II that the emotional beat was earned as it was the lingering threat of Dante leaving that hovered over the whole movie. With Clerks III, the 2nd act just felt like a lot of filler to get to the big emotional ending...and it just wound up falling flat on its face for me and left a pretty bad taste in my mouth.

But we agree to disagree on this one I guess.
 
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It's cool. To be honest, I find polarising movies more interesting than bland films if that makes sense? I find that there's too much focus testing and that many films are too "safe" these days. So it's interesting that 'Blonde' was mentioned in the same sentence as 'Clerks III'. I know some people who thought Blonde was brilliant and others who thought it was grossly offensive. The problem with me is that I dislike extreme viewpoints and i'm often stuck in the middle.

Speaking of which, I watched Eli Roth's "Knock, Knock" last night and watching it made me feel angry which is a rare emotion when watching films. But I had to ask if I should respect a film that made me angry, so I decided I would give it an average rating and decide never to watch it again. Maybe i'm being contradictory with my original point, but I guess when it comes to a lot of polarising films, i'm often on the positive to neutral side of it.
 
It's cool. To be honest, I find polarising movies more interesting than bland films if that makes sense? I find that there's too much focus testing and that many films are too "safe" these days. So it's interesting that 'Blonde' was mentioned in the same sentence as 'Clerks III'. I know some people who thought Blonde was brilliant and others who thought it was grossly offensive. The problem with me is that I dislike extreme viewpoints and i'm often stuck in the middle.

Speaking of which, I watched Eli Roth's "Knock, Knock" last night and watching it made me feel angry which is a rare emotion when watching films. But I had to ask if I should respect a film that made me angry, so I decided I would give it an average rating and decide never to watch it again. Maybe i'm being contradictory with my original point, but I guess when it comes to a lot of polarising films, i'm often on the positive to neutral side of it.

Yeah one of my facebook friends was raving about Blonde calling it a must see fever dream...very Lynchian were his words. Which did gain my interest but at the same, I've heard its three hours of misery porn and I just can't be assed to do it. The media already tells us how the world is already bleak enough without having to subject myself to 3 hours of being told "how bleak and fucked up Marilyn's life was."

I'm all for polarizing films but I just can't be assed to sit through the 3 hour misery porn slog on that one. Maybe one day when I'm in the mood for it.

As for Clerks III, no one is more disappointed than me that I hated that movie. Because I love Dante and Randal and they remain my favorite characters of his. But yeah, should have left them with Clerks II and be done with them.
 
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In early mood for Halloween, so I'm highly recommending 2 flicks I've watched this week: HIS HOUSE, about a refugee couple settling in a new home in England (very original in its premise and theme, amazing acting, great story and heavy in drama, but not that scary so might not be everyone's cup of tea, though still a must watch gemof a movie) and Jordan Peele's NOPE (Talk about creativity here in terms of horror when it comes to this guy).
 
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