The Protege (2021) - very decent action flick, starring a middle aged (but hot, because Hollywood) actress and two senior citizen (but handsome, because Hollywood) actors (Maggie Q, Michael Keaton, and Samuel L. Jackson). The wife (jokingly) confused this title with The Prodigy, which is something else entirely. The actors here all play expert assassins, and the reason to watch is more the actors' performances than the action-scene choreography or story, although there is plenty of predictable and commendable action and fun. I liked it. Wife fell asleep.
Good to know. We will be seeing that as soon as the library gets it in on disc. I was wondering how a movie based on a Disneyland ride I went on as a kid could be good entertainment. Escapist fun is fine by me, as long as it's not too dumb (see video above).Originally Posted by Jerol
Bruised
On Netflix. Halle Berry stars as a MMA fighter who suffers a humiliating defeat and then begins a lengthy downward spiral. When her previously abandoned 6 year old son
shows up at her apartment with no other living family, she is forced to take him in. Reluctantly. Thus begins the oh so slow climb back to life, as well as the ring.
This one is dark! Definitely not a feel good film! Berry is excellent throughout. A bit long at a little over two hours, but worth the time if you are up for a somber film.
A Comfort Zone is not a Life Sentence
Once Were Brothers a doc on Netflix on The Band. I thought it was positive overall. What I took away from it was they were a great band, and at one time great friends. It's probably the best of all three, and starts out when The Band played with Ronnie Hawkins, and then Dylan, etc. TubiTV has another doc called The Band: The Band Classic albums it's free to watch that talks about making their second s/t album. I thought it was insightful too. I also own a DVD called Robbie Robertson: Going Home, on Laser Light, which wasn't as good, but helped to round out the rest The Band and where Robertson was going. There's interviews with other people and luminaries throughout all three features.
Pale Rider Clint Eastwood western about mining. I was needing some comfort food.
Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice--I'm not sure which sword they are referring to in the title. This one was a weird experience. I'd seen some of Shintaro Katsu's other samurai pictures, like his performances in the Zatoichi series, which I've enjoyed and can recommend. In the Hanzo series however, it threw me for a loop when it started going into how he made his penis bigger, and rapes women with it, to get a confession and lead him to track down corrupt persecutors. It was okay if you are looking for something weird and off the beaten path. Though I'd say try the Zatoichi series first.
The axe handle scene was a definite "fuck yeah" moment.
Pale Rider Clint Eastwood western about mining. I was needing some comfort food.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
We saw “House Of Gucci” this afternoon. I enjoyed it for the most part although I think it is another one of those films that could have had about 20 minutes cut out of it and would have been a better film. Gaga is really amazing in this. Pacino, Driver and Irons also do a very nice job. Not sure what to think of Leto’s character. At times he was almost like a parody, although I am not familiar with the real person he was portraying, so hard to say. Overall I dug it.
Rare Exports--Finnish horror Christmas story over on TubiTV, free for streaming. It was shot well and unusual, though I don't know that I'd watch it again.
I soooooooo agree with this.
I agree wiith the videos logic. One of the reasons Im not a Marvel et all fan.
Saw “Eternals” yesterday. I am not big into comic book movies but decided to check this one out. It was pretty good. It was yet another 2021 film that was probably about 20 minutes too long. Still, it was pretty entertaining for the most part and they definitely set up for a sequel.
Mama--HBO Max, produced by Guillermo del Toro and has a bit of his touches. Sort of a dark fantasy or horror. Overall I enjoyed it about two sisters that get lost in the woods, but when brought back to society seemed to have changed. That's not a good description, but it's better to not know much about the film, and just enjoy it.
Two movies seen this weekend:
The Black Cat (1934) -- stars Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff and a bunch of other people I don't know (though John Carradine has an uncredited bit part). It claims to be "inspired by" the E.A. Poe story of the same title; in fact, the only resemblance is the presence of a black cat. Dr. Vitus Werdegast (Lugosi) and Hjalmar Poelzig (Karloff) are Hungarians with a history. Peter (David Manners) and Joan (Julie Bishop, billed as Jacqueline Wells) Alison are a newlywed couple on a train, heading for a honeymoon in Hungary.
Werdegast, fresh from thirteen years in a particularly horrid prison, is on his way to have things out with Poelzig, when he is thrust into the company (and the supposedly private compartment) of the Alisons, bringing the temperature of the room down quite a few degrees. They get off at the same small station, in a ghastly rain. There the driver of a bus from the Alison's intended hotel agrees to drop Werdegast at Poelzig's house along the way; but a section of washed-out road and wind crashes the bus over a small cliff. The driver is killed. Werdegast brings them to Poelzig's house, where he is expected and begs a night's stay for the Alisons.
Poelzig's house is quite bizarre; all the bedrooms seem to connect. Werdegast treats Joan's wound and gives her a sedative. As she sleeps, Poelzig and Werdegast have a conversation in the course of which it becomes clear that, while Werdegast rotted in prison, Poelzig took his wife and daughter for himself; but where are they? Shortly afterwards we see Poelzig walking through a gallery of embalmed and mounted women...
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) - Frank Capra directs Cary Grant as Mortimer Brewster, a film critic who has incidentally written several books deriding the institution of marriage. As the film opens, he is in a line at the New York City town hall with Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane), waiting to get their marriage license. Antics ensue, but ultimately they appear to get married off-screen.
Meanwhile, his maiden aunts Abby (Josephine Hull) and Martha (Jean Adair) are entertaining their neighbor, the Reverend Harper, whose daughter Mortimer has just married, when the police show up to pick up a box of toys for poor children they have collected as one of their charities.
Shortly after their guests leave, Mortimer shows up, intending to pack for a honeymoon at Niagara Falls. He chances to look into the loveseat/cabinet by the window, and discovers a dead man. Abby and Martha freely admit that they have poisoned him, just like the other eleven -- no, ten, dear; you can't count the first, he had a heart attack. They believe that they are doing lonely old men a favor by sending them peacefully to Heaven.
This is a true nuthouse: Mortimer's brother, Teddy (John Alexander), believes himself to be Theodore Roosevelt. And, while Mortimer is running across town to do something about the mad situation he has just discovered, the third brother, Jonathan (Raymond Massey), shows up with his personal plastic surgeon, Dr. Hermann Einstein (Peter Lorre). Jonathan is a sadistic killer, who used to torture Mortimer when they were children. Hijinks ensue, and all ends well for most of the characters, but the Hayes Office ensured that the best line from the play ("I'm not a Brewster, I'm a bastard!") was bowdlerized.
A good weekend, all in all.
Cobra handling and cocaine use are a bad mix.
I have been curious about that one. Will have to check it out.
Where did you view the Black Cat? TCM?
Red on HBO Max. A thriller about man that goes fishing and some teens kill his dog. This was made in 2008 and cruelty to animals have probably gotten stricter on that sort of things. Interesting movie for probably such a small budget. Taken from the Jack Ketchum novel.
Did he catch 'em?
You be surprised...
On a friend's DVD player/TV combo. We have vaguely-weekly get-togethers on Friday evenings and watch movies. He tends toward horror movies. I've seen a lot of Guillermo del Toro thanks to him -- very good stuff!
Cobra handling and cocaine use are a bad mix.
I was in a Times Square shuttle train last night that was all decorated to advertise a new Del Toro film called "Nightmare Alley," kind of intriguing, except that I'm not too keen on circus/side show themed movies. Anyone heard anything about this?
Call me sappy but I'd really like to see the remake of West Side Story. I watched it as a kid and was totally drawn into the story.
What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)
Is that the one where they unfreeze Krampus or something?
I'm curious about it, but having grown up with the original and seen it at several different stages of my life, I'm of the opinion that it can't be improved upon. Perhaps Señor Spielbergo can mine something that was undiscovered or underserved before, but I'm dubious. I do think it's good that he chose to cast latino/a actors in appropriate roles - perhaps the only weakness of the original.
David
Happy with what I have to be happy with.
Enjoyed the book and the movie.
A Comfort Zone is not a Life Sentence
Saw the trailer for that one when we saw "House Of Gucci" last week. I agree it looks intriguing and has a great cast. We will probably check it out.
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