canflam

I watched "The Dead Zone" last weekend.


Movie: "The Dead Zone"
Year Released: 1983.
Starring: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Martin Sheen, & Tom Skeritt, among others.
Plot: "When Johnny Smith" (Christopher Walken) awakens from a coma caused by a car accident, he finds that years have passed, and now he has psychic abilities. Heartbroken that his girlfriend (Brooke Adams) has moved on with her life, Johnny also must contend with his unsettling powers, which allow him to see a person's future with a mere touch. After shaking the hand of aspiring politician Greg Stillson (Martin Sheen), Johnny sees the danger presented by the candidate's rise and resolves to kill him."
Rating out of 5 5.
Comments: I watched"The Dead Zone" on Hulu last weekend & it's still 1 of my favourite films. Terrific cast lead by Christopher Walken. Martin Sheen plays a villainous politician well. The scene where Johnny got me thinking "This guy just got out of a coma for 5 years and then gets shot? Brutal fortune." I certainly recommend this film to anyone that hasn't seen it yet.

canflam

Movie: "Changing Lanes"
Year Released: 2002
Starring: Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, Amanda Peete,
Plot: "A rush-hour fender-bender on New York City's crowded FDR Drive, under most circumstances, wouldn't set off a chain reaction that could decimate two people's lives. But on this day, at this time, a minor collision will turn two complete strangers into vicious adversaries. Their means of destroying each other might be different, but their goals ultimately, will be the same. Each will systematically try to dismantle the other's life in a reckless effort to reclaim something he has lost."
Rating out of 5 4.
Comments: Usually I have not been a fan of films where revenge is 1 of or the main theme in them, but this 1 I think was well done & it showed a human side to each of the 2 men hellbent on destroying the other's life. Certainly having Ben Affleck in this film made it more enjoyable for me to watch as he's along with Samuel L. Jackson 2 of the best actor's I thinkink in this business.

Also, apparently armed security guards were in New York public schools in 2002. I did not know that. Plus, Doyle's situation with his wife whom he was divorcing, along with her wanting to take their kids to to Portland got me thinking that this is a great example of why not to get married or have children. It just made his life tougher tjan it would have been had he still gotten into that fender-bender. A memorable quote of this movie is by "Gavin" played by Ben Affleck. It's: "Sometimes, God likes to put two guys in a paper bag and just let em' rip."

atwoodsmariano

thanks for continuing to share your thoughts on films you’ve watched

Crystal Clear

Don't Talk To Strange Men [1962]

A clever film on how naive teenagers looking for some sort of validation can get into a troublesome connection with a stranger whom they can't even see. Think of it as an old-fashioned way of meeting someone in a chat room; they charm you, you're flattered; conversation flows and becomes something completely out of hand that endangers you and your loved ones.

I couldn't deal with the naivety of the girl in the phone telling him EVERYTHING about her life but I did like the realism of it.

The guy's voice was creepy and I liked that they never showed his face, not even when he gets caught.

Rating =

The Call [2020]

Terribly acted, filmed, scripted

I briefly read that it's some American knock-off of a Korean mystery thriller? I can believe that

The main actress and her character = abysmal. I'd say the only good thing is that she seems to get killed off in the end. Her actions 100% cause everyone else to die.

I gave extra points for Tobin Bell, who makes everything 10x creepier.

Kinda getting ridiculous how many supernatural horror films Lyn Shaye keeps appearing in Is she contracted to do all these or something?

Rating = (and I think that's generous)

ocfan27

No Escape Room-ok so the title almost stopped me from watching bc it’s so cheesy but I still gave it a try. Definitely not the worst thing I’ve ever seen…not scary but kept my interest for the most part and it was a quick watch. I would recommend it but don’t don’t expect an Oscar worthy film.

Crystal Clear

Movie: Things Heard & Seen
Year Released: 2021
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton, Natalia Dyer, Alex Neustaedter
Plot: After moving to a small town with her husband, a young artist begins to suspect that their home harbors a dark secret.
Rating out of 5 [] =
Comments: The only good thing about this Netflix film is James Norton's performance. He's suitably unbalanced in the second half of the film. It's the only remotely interesting thing about the whole thing... And let me say that I think Amanda Seyfried should've stuck to teen flicks. I really don't think she has much range in her acting I'm not expecting everyone to agree, but everything I've seen her in, I just think eh She plays a miserable wife yet again, just as she did opposite Ethan Hawke in 'You Should Have Left'. Not really anything else to say. The creep factor is there due to what Norton brings - otherwise, it's a very dull film.

canflam

Darn. Haven't watched that film yet.

Movie: "Bloody Sunday"
Year Released: 2002
Starring: James Nesbitt, Nicholas Farrell, Tim Pigottti-Smith, Mary Moulds, & Allan Gildea, among others.
Plot: "On January 30th, 1972, in the Northern Irish town of Derry, a peaceful protest March led by civil rights activist Ivan Cooper (James Nesbitt) turned into a slaughter. British soldiers suddenly opened fire on the defenseless crowd, killing 13 people and wounding 14 more. Shot as if a documentary, this film follows Ivan through the day as it chronicles the events leading up to the horrific incident and the bloodied, confused aftermath that followed."

Rating out of 5 5.
Comments: "Bloody Sunday" is a well-acted & disturbing movie to watch. I did not know of that event & those killings growing up & this film is devastating at times to watch. Just horrific what happened to do many people during what was a peaceful protest. I recommend watching this film if you can stomach it.

Crystal Clear

It's terrible (the exception being Norton's performance). Seyfried is completely overhyped as an actress - sorry but the term 'generic' comes to mind - and I find it hilarious that Netflix tried to hype up Natalia Dyer being in it just because she's in one of their shows (Stranger Things) when in fact, she's in a completely forgettable 3-minute role as a fling of Norton's.

_ _ _ _ _

Movie: TENET
Year Released: 2020
Starring: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Kenneth Branagh, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Plot: A secret agent is given a single word as his weapon and sent to prevent the onset of World War III. He must travel through time and bend the laws of nature in order to be successful in his mission. (via wiki)
Rating out of 5 [] =
Comments: Nolan promoted this film by claiming that it was screwed out of box office numbers due to COVID. Um... I would've felt cheated out of 3 hours if I had seen this in theaters. It is unbelievable dull. Nolan's out of ideas, is my guess. Time to admit that his peak was THE PRESTIGE / BATMAN TRILOGY era. Tenet feels tame and snooze-worthy by comparison. Robert Pattinson was overhyped in this (and I'm a fan in general). Kudos to Branagh for adding that extra something it needed in the cunning/evil department to make the film even remotely interesting. The woman who played his wife was boring, even though she had decent chemistry with Washington. I can't tell you the plot of the film; too convoluted and makes INCEPTION seem understandable by comparison. (The synopsis I typed above was a copy and paste, because I still don't understand what I watched.) I usually enjoy analyzing Nolan's movies... This one is the exception. Definition of over-hyped. My stars on the rating can be credited solely to Kenneth Branagh's brilliant performance and the beautiful cinematography. P.S. There was a scene with Washington fighting himself in weird lacking gravity motion that looked exactly like the Joseph Gordon-Levitt scene in Inception. Dear oh dear.

canflam

That's too bad. I watched "Kids" last weekend. I have not seen "Tenet" at this time.

Movie: "Kids"
Year Released: 1995
Starring: Chloe Sevigny, Justin Pierce, Rosario Dawson, & Leo Fitzpatrick, among others.
Plot: "Amoral teen Telly (Leo Fitzpatrick) has made it his goal to sleep with as many virgin girls as possible -- but he doesn't tell them that he's HIV positive. While on the hunt for his latest conquest, Telly and his best friend, Casper (Justin Pierce), smoke pot and steal from shops around New York. Meanwhile, Jenny (Chloe Sevigny), one of Telly's early victims, makes it her mission to save other girls from him. But before she has a chance to confront him at a party, everything goes horribly wrong.
Rating out of 5 2 in a half.
Comments: I just learned of "Kids" earlier this year. I had read reviews of it. 1 by Roger Ebert & checked this film out on DVD at a library. It's depressing watching I think. In part because it's main character "Telly" is a jerk & he treats young women badly. Telly used the "n" word & in 1 scene teamed up with his friend "Casper" & others & beat a black man to death in broad daylight. Nobody tried to stop. This was well before camera phones were in use. There was also a seen where a man on a skateboard while on the subway whom did not have any legs was oddly singing "I have no legs" while holding a cup for money. I watched this movie once & and do not plan to see it again. Some I know enjoyed seeing "Kids". Not me. The acting in it was fine though.

Crystal Clear

^ I was always determined to try and watch 'Kids' because I think it was directed by the same director who did 'Bully' from 2001 (Larry Clark), which was a brilliant film about the impact of bullying when it's a supposed friend doing it to his supposed best friend. The late Brad Renfro was its star and it was based on a real-life murder.
Also, Leo Fitzpatrick is in that movie too, so I guess the director liked to use the same actors a lot.

canflam

I saw "Bully". I was surprised, but maybe I shouldn't have been with how those teens didn't serve long sentences for that vicious murder. I watched "Ghost in the Shell" from 1995 on DVD last weekend.

Movie: "Ghost in the Shell"
Year Released: 1996
Starring: Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Otsuka, Iemasa Kayumi.
Plot: "In this Japanese animation, cyborg federal agent Maj. Motion Kusanagi (Mimi Woods) trails "The Puppet Master" (Abe Lasser) who illegally hacks into the computerized minds of cyborg-human hybrids. Her pursuit of a man who can modify the identity of strangers leaves Motoko pondering her own makeup and what life might be like if she had more human traits. With her partner (Richard George), she corners the hacker, but her curiosity about her identity sends the case in an unforseen direction."
Rating out of 5 5.
Comments: "Ghost in the Shell" is 1 of my favourite Anime films. It's considered by some to be the best Animated movie of all time & an argument could be made for that. It's visually reminiscent of "Blade Runner" from 1982. This movie does perhaps leave viewers with more questions than answers, but is still quite enjoyable to watch. This is a thought-provoking film & a classic.

canflam

I watched "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" last weekend.

Movie: "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room"
Year Released: 2005
Starring:
Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling, & Andy Fastow were spoken about & on video in clips shown in this documentary, but not interviewed for it.
Rating out of 5 4.
Comments: "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" is I think a terrific documentary. It shows how greed can takeover people & money becomes all that they care about. Such as raising electricity prices in California during the energy crisis back in the early 2000's. How they would do that is buy the power at a capped price & then sell it out of state where there were no price caps. Recorded tapes with Ken Lay & Jeff Skilling on them proved that Enron was corrupt & part of a conspiracy to raise energy prices in California. Just appalling actions by a thankfully defunct business. Ken Lay died after his court conviction, but before being sentenced in 2006.

atwoodsmariano

the first time I ever heard about that company was in my economics class in high school

canflam

OK. I knew of Enron Stadium in Houston, which was where the Houston Astros played baseball games & then its name changed to "Minute Maid Park" due I believe to the Enron scandal. I wasn't familiar with the people in charge of Enron though. I watched "True Confessions" last weekend before it leaves Prime next week.

Movie: 'True Confessions"
Year Released" 1981
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Robert Duvall, Charles Durning, & Rosa Gregorio, among others.
Plot: In 1940's L.A., Detective Tom Spellacy (Robert Duvall) probes into the savage murder of a woman found dumped in an empty lot. At the same time, he investigates a priest found dead in a brothel. Spellacy's brother (Robert DeNiro), a Catholic priest, is meanwhile attempting to expand his church through Jack (Charles Durning), a shady contractor. While the 2 cases & the real estate deal seem a world a part, Spellacy discovers an insidious connection involving money and power.
Rating out of 5 4.
Comments: I enjoyed watching "True Confessions". It has Robert DeNiro as a young priest being involved with a corrupt man that DeNiro's brother in this film used to work for. Excellent performances by Duvall & DeNiro of course, among others. The ending of it I was not a fan of, but overall "True Confessions" is a well made movie I think.

Crystal Clear

Movie: THE ROADS NOT TAKEN
Year Released: 2020
Starring: Javier Bardem, Salma Hayek, Elle Fanning, Laura Linney
Plot: A day in the life of Leo and his daughter, Molly as she grapples with the challenges of her father's chaotic mind. As they weave their way through New York City, Leo's journey takes on a hallucinatory quality as he floats through alternate lives he could have lived, leading Molly to wrestle with her own path as she considers her future.
Rating out of 5: 2.5
Comments: Give Javier Bardem all the acting awards. He's miles ahead of literally anyone who gets nominated in the big categories at the Oscars etc. Criminally underrated But I will say that the film, although emotional once you come to terms with what is happening to Leo (Bardem), is drastically slow and patchy with a back and forth form of flashback story telling that feels unfortunately sloppy.