What are you watching?

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Dazed and Confused-Still as fun as it was when I saw it 30 years ago at a drive in.
Revenge of the Nerds-Wanted another comedy,she hadn;t seen it in years. Booger rules
Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe-Got told we had seen enough comedies for the evening and a good print of this is on YT. More fun than it should be.

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Triple Feature today. Thanks to the Kino Lober sale

The Park is Mine-Blu ray- Very veyr inspired by First Blood. But still fun. Tommy Lee Jones is great as the lead. Yaphet is also good.

Porkys 2 the next day--Blu ray-Always been my least favorite of the legit Porkys films,lets just pretend part 4 Pimpin Pee Wee doesn't exist. Still the blu looks good and sounds good.

Porky's Revenge-Blu ray-This one is just dumb fun. Ya the guys look like they are mid 30s. Again the blu looks and sounds good.

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Hell Night-Scream Blu Ray-Fun but forgettable 80s horror. Without Blair no one would remember this.

Pump Up the Volume-Warner Archive Blu-Still one of my favorite films from my teen years. Avoid the Disney remake of this.

Friday-Blu ray no clue who released it-Dad wanted a comedy after the last two films. Claims he never saw this. Only took him 30 minutes to stop calling Ice Cube Ice T. Still fun but feels un even.

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Tijuana Toads-Kino Lober Blu ray-Saw these as a kid in the Texas Toads version. Tryng to get all the DPF stuff on Blu and it was cheap. Damn loaded with extras and totally different cartoons with the original audio.

[BW Haggar Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BW Haggar]

The Hot Rock
(Peter Yates, 1972)

This New York-set comedic heist movie is one of those films in which all the component parts are top notch. William Goldman script based on a Donald Westlake novel, stylish direction from Yates, great photography and inspired use of Manhattan locations, Quincy Jones score, solid performances across the board, a host of interesting / likeable characters.... so why does it all feel so flat and unsatisfactory?

At first, I was thinking that it's just a case of other '70s films in a similar vein ('The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3', 'The Silent Partner') being so exceptional that this one suffers simply as result of not quite hitting their exalted level. Then I realised that, the crucial difference is, those films both actually feature threat, and suspense, and violence. They're thrillers which are funny, but the crime narratives take precedence, and don't get watered down as a result.

With 'The Hot Rock' on the other hand, it's clear from the outset that we're in for a pretty light-hearted affair; the characters are going to bumble through various scrapes and complications, but they're all going to make it out in one piece. There's not going to be any nasty, downer shit going on to make us feel uncomfortable or carry the risk of an 'R' rating, so we can just relax and chuckle through it along with them.

This approach could have worked out if it was an outrageous, laugh-a-minute comedy, but... it's not. It's shot and played like a straight thriller. There are some witty lines and amusing moments, but they're all pretty low key. So... ultimately, it fails to engage with either set of genre expectations, despite being basically flawless in terms of technique and craftsmanship.

Very reminiscent of Friedkin's similarly underwhelming 'The Brink's Job' in that regard.

Ho hum.

B-

[Dom D Spoon! Find all posts View Profile Close Dom D]

Guardians Of The Galaxy 3:

Did James Gunn just go vegan recently? Fuck... I don't need my day made worse by Gunn making me feel bad about the history of a cgi raccoon. Boys really working the emotional heartstrings of the animal lovers in this one.

I feel like I'm right in saying that Gunn is the only writer/director to come out of the superhero craze with some sort of auteur status? The Russo brothers delivered the biggest hits but their star dims with their every further endeavour these days. Gunn though does have a certain something. A lot of that something can be attributed to dance sequences and 80s rock but he's also talented at going for the feels in a Spielbergian way.

The opening sequence of this film demonstrates why this type of film will never be for me. A new protagonist turns up and throws our heroes through walls, rips their heads off etc. but theyll all be fine. Sets it up from the start as stakeless. I just don't really get it. How do you get involved in an action film when nothing can harm your protagonists?

Still....

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Misterjaw-Kino Lober DVD
After watching a few of the shorts I kind of remembered this. When Freleng studios had brought the Pink Panther theatrical shorts to TV they wanted something new to add to the package. With Jaws being huge they did their own ripoff. But unlike Jabberjaw,they didn;t go the Scooby Doo route. This is Misterjaw and his buddy bumbling around the ocean and on land. This feels a bit like Yogi Bear if Yogi and Boo Boo were a shark and catfish. The two documentaries are fun. So are the commentaries.

The Dogfather-Kino Lober Blu Ray
This one I didn't remember at all. Supposedly it was part of the Pink Panther Syndication package. Take the Godfather,replace the leads with dogs and add a dash of Top Cat. Get the same two documentaries as Misterjaw. And commentaries on a few of the shorts.

Ant and the Aardvark-Kino Lober Blu Ray
These I know I saw as a kid. Loved them now and love them then. Get two documentaries,not the same two from the previous two sets. Piles of commentaries. Where I learned it isn't Jackie Mason voicing the Aardvark like I have thought for years.

Roland and Rattfink-Kino Lober Blu Ray
While I have vague memories of these two according to the documentaries and commentaries these never aired in syndication. Supposedly too much violence in them. And I betting Rattfink's habit of smoking doesnt help. Very Very 60s in tone. ROland is the good guy,Rattfink is the heel. And each cartoon they get plugged into various situations. With no real continuity between the shorts.

[agent999 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close agent999]

How can we still not have a disc of Spider Labyrinth? I watched Under the Silver Lake. I agree with Nabonga (from 5 years ago) that this film will eventually find its audience, but apparently it will take a while.

Rumour is that Severin are putting Spider Labyrinth out.

[mjeon Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mjeon]

"Rumour is that Severin are putting Spider Labyrinth out."

You made my day!

[Matt H. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt H.]

The Man from Toronto - This is a pretty typical modern action comedy. It's not bad, not great. I like Kevin Hart. Two things stood out for me as I was watching the increasingly ridiculous action scenes: 1) it has some pretty harsh violence for a PG-13 (not quite R, but pushing pretty close) and 2) I realized which filmmaker has had a huge influence on the modern action blockbuster, whom is really never cited: Robert Rodriguez. IMO it seems Hollywood was really inspired by his OTT CG action sequences starting with ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO and continuing with his subsequent work. Most modern action movies have sequences that look like scenes from various Rodriguez films. The main difference being, Hollywood spends millions of dollars on these films whereas Rodriguez could pull off the same tricks with a fraction of their budgets.

[Dom D Spoon! Find all posts View Profile Close Dom D]

65: Adam Driver versus dinosaurs. I was wondering how Adam Driver was going to get back in time to face the beasts but turns out no time travel involved. He comes from an extraterrestrial planet where everyone looks human. Or if not human at least like Adam Driver. He's headed off on a long interstellar tour when his ship gets hit by asteroids and crashes on planet earth. Unfortunately for him he's not the sole survivor but has to lug around a young girl who is absolutely useless and doesn't speak English. She does however give him the opportunity to heal over the death of his own young daughter in the way that films like this do.

It gets tougher though because wouldn't you know it? He's landed on earth just a couple days before the asteroid that is going to extinct the dinosaurs. What are the odds? Adam Driver has got just a couple of days to scale a mountain with the girl to get to an escape ship while various dinosaurs try to eat them. Oddly most of the dinosaurs aren't really aren't recognisable to me. Maybe 'm not as up on my dinosaur types as I thought I was or maybe this film is making up its own for some reason. Anyway... it really is a load of bollocks.

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Ant Man-Blu ray

Somehow I had never seen all of this. Wow much better than I expected.

Shang Chi-Blu Ray

Another first viewing. Good until the ending were it is too much CGI.

[Dom D Spoon! Find all posts View Profile Close Dom D]

Ant Man-Blu ray

Somehow I had never seen all of this. Wow much better than I expected.

Shang Chi-Blu Ray

Another first viewing. Good until the ending were it is too much CGI.

I think the first Ant Man is the best, or close to, of the Marvel movies. The concept allows for some fun effects, it's light. Generally a good time in front of the telly.

Shang Chi's last act is awful. These huge concluding battles that go for the better part of an hour are no fun. I'm curious whether the core Marvel fanbase enjoys them or if they nod off during them too. Up till then it was okay. Too much effects work in the combat though. If I'm watching martial arts I want to see real athleticism not sprites.

[Matt H. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt H.]

Dr. Heckyl & Mr. Hype - This is a somewhat amusing horror parody from 1980 starring Oliver Reed. It's for people who can tolerate silly shit. It has a couple of inspired gore gags. The thing that really stood out watching the Scorpion BD is just how colourful and stylish the whole thing is. As it progresses the lighting gets more extreme and by the last half hour it looks like CREEPSHOW. It's highly possible that Michael Gornick was inspired by it, particularly the blues and reds that dominate the climax. It's worth watching just for the visuals.

[Matt H. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt H.]

Cold in July - *SPOILERS* I watched this for the third time last night because it's a film that I find both fascinating and frustrating. My opinion hasn't really changed since my initial viewing: there's so much good stuff in it but it also leaves me with many questions. The story opens with family man Richard discovering an intruder in his house and shooting him dead. The police tell him that it was a bad dude that he shot and he should just move on. Turns out that the dead guy's father (just released from prison) finds out who killed his son and starts threatening Richard and his family. So far, so good. The film starts getting messy once Richard discovers (via a wanted poster in the police station) that the man the police claim he shot is not the same man on the poster. It turns out that the first third doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of this story. There's lots of stuff that's either unclear or far-fetched, but the one thing I find super confusing is the police using Richard as a patsy in the first place.

Can anybody explain this convoluted set-up? So we're to believe that the police were just waiting for somebody to break into a random person's house and that the homeowner would shoot the intruder dead? Seems very unlikely that this scenario would play out exactly as they hoped. Is it explained better in the novel?