At the Movies with Kane and BN

[Kane52630]

The Assistant

A very sobering and quiet drama that follows an assistant who works at a film production company. It's basically the indie version of Bombshell that comments in the aftermath of Harvey Weinstein. Julia Garner is phenomenal in it and she carries the movie the entire way. They do a great job showcasing the mundane work environment in a observational way. They also have a clever way of not showing the Weinstein-esque character aside from phone calls, so the point of view never goes away from Julia Garner. All that being said, I do think the ending was disappointing, they could have done so much more but chose not to. Overall, despite the ending, I dug it a lot.
3.5/5

 

[Black Narcissus]

Just watched this. What a goddamn masterpiece. I can't believe France submitted that basic Les Miserables movie for the international Oscar instead of this. I mean, Parasite would've won anyway, but still. Idiots.

Page 28!

No nom for direction or cinematography. What a joke.

 

[Black Narcissus]

Extraction

Characters and story are less than paper thin, but one can argue does this story really need more than that? I don't think so. We are here for the action scenes/sequences. Chris Hemsworth has become a very likable actor for me, he use to be just bloody dull, but I think because before he wanted to prove that he could act in more serious stuff and he was delivering wooden performances, but not now. He has found his strong points as an actor and performer, and this role was was tailor made for him, just like Thor is. The action sequences are the strong point and here and I would argue the only real thing keeping this flick together. A solid 7.

 

[Kane52630]

He was the weakest link in that movie, Golshifteh Farahani and Randeep Hooda outshines Hemsworth for me.

 

[Kane52630]

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War

It's mostly okay all things considered, but I'm glad this marks the end of the NU52/DCAMU. This is pretty much the DC's answer to Marvel's Infinity War and Endgame in animated form and for their short run time, it tries to get through all the convoluted plot and make the focus on the Justice League Dark characters with John Constantine being the lead pov. This might be the most action packed and brutal animated feature since Flashpoint Paradox and they don't hold any punches. There's also a ton of easter eggs and cameos of DC characters that all come together. That being said, the animation and some character designs remain pretty mediocre and there's some pretty awful voice acting and dialogue. Overall, this movie ends the DCAMU on somewhat of a high note even though the journey was a real struggle to get through.
3/5

 

[Black Narcissus]

Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

Directed by the great Robert Aldrich, who has never really gotten the recognition he deserved imo. One of the greatest film noir of all time. The opening sequence caught me by surprised, and immediately felt like this was new and was indeed watching a classic of the genre. From Tarantino to Nolan, to David Lynch and plenty more have taken bits and pieces/inspiration from this, it is insane to see all those moments here, at the original source material. A masterpiece.

Mike Hammer: An ordinary little girl gets killed and it rings bells all the way to Washington. There's gotta be a pitch... I picked up a girl. If she hadn't gotten in my way, I wouldn't have stopped. She must be connected with somethin' big.

 

[Black Narcissus]

The Limey

Directed by Steven Soderbergh. I haven't seen all of his films, so it is always nice to go back and find new gems, under rated flicks he made. This is one of them. Terence Stamp plays an old ex con, who comes to LA to find out what happened to his daughter, which the cops say died in a car accident, but he knows better. Peter Fonda plays the bad guy here, but he does so with his kind of cool, while still being creepy. This also kinda plays like a dark comedy at times. I would compare it to ''Sexy Beast'' another aging semi retired British gangster flick. I also feel like Tarantino could've done this movie in 1999, it wouldn't seem out of place.

8/10

Bob The Gambler

Jean Pierre- Melville masterful genre film. You can make a long list of directors this film inspired and has been mentioned as being a favorite. Lynch, PTA, Kubrick, Godard, Tarantino, Scorsese, etc. In many ways, this was pre the french wave that followed three years later or so. An aging gambler goes to card places/casinos one after another waiting for big score, he earned a lot of respect for doing a heist early on in his life, but as younger wannabe gangsters look up to him in awe, he felt he wasted his time and youth in prison for it, but one last job is too hard to pass up. He plans every single detail, but when dames are involved, it all goes to hell. It builds up to this intense heist, which never happens, I don't if it was due to budget or time. Melville decides to end the flick in what would becomes a bleak and bit satirical ending for many of the new wave french flicks that followed. This is still highly influential and it still holds up.

 

[Kane52630]

Scoob!

A mostly entertaining reinvention of Scooby Doo. I like how it takes all the past iterations and spin it in a more modern direction. It uses a lot of nostalgia early on and I thought it mostly worked. As the movie goes alone, It was obvious they pretty much wanted to make a Marvel universe out of the Hanna Barbera characters like Blue Falcon and Dick Dasterdly. Storywise, it's not that remarkable and they use a lot of the same animation tropes, but it keeps you interested. I actually like how they use the animation, it's in 3D, but they use a lot of the same 2D animation tricks. Overall, it's a very standard animation movie, but having Scooby Doo and the Hanna Barbera characters bumps it above average.
3/5

 

[Kane52630]

Blood Quantum

A pretty standard zombie flick that's done though the Native American pov. The directing by Jeff Barnaby and the gore effects is where the movie really shines. The script and acting is spotty throughout, it almost feels like something out the later seasons of the Walking Dead, but it mostly comes together in the 3rd act. Overall, it's worth seeing if you're a horror fan but it's nothing too spectacular.
3/5

 

[Black Narcissus]

Phantom Thread

Rewatched this a few nights ago. I had not seen it since it came out. I don't remember laughing so much the first time around, but this time this played like a dark comedy. PTA clearly pokes fun at the whole ''auteur'' trope that we all know. I've only seen a few films by Max Ophuls, but this was clearly influenced by him. Tis' a very difficult line to walk while mixing tense moments with dark comedic moments in them. Boogie Nights will always be the film I recommend to folks who don't know where to start with PTA, but I've found myself rewatching The Master, There Will Be Blood, and now this more often. If this is indeed DDL last film to go out on, what a great way to go.

Vicky Krieps deserves more and better roles in hollywood.

 

[Kane52630]

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

One of many that was on my bucket list to watch. As expected, I was blown away by it even though I saw the ending years ago out of context. I'm a big fan of Andrew Dominik's other film Killing Them Softly and by comparison, Assassination seems like his magnum opus. Incredibly cinematography by Deakins. Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck knocked it out the park. The casting was phenomenal... It was great seeing Sam Rockwell and Jeremy Renner again before they got Marvel famous. Also seeing this in retrospect, I notice there's several nods in the Red Dead Redemption series that they borrowed from this movie (namely the train robbery scene and Blackwater). Overall, the movie is pretty much perfect, nuff said.
5/5

 

[flickchick85]

Shame on you for putting this masterpiece off for this long, Kane!

 

[Kane52630]

 

[Kane52630]

Sunshine

Another movie to cross off my bucket list. Considering it's Danny Bolye and Alex Garland teaming up again after 28 Days Later (on the same year 28 Weeks Later gets released), this felt like the appropriate follow up in some ways. I definitely felt the Solaris/2001 influences, but more than anything, it's Alien meets The Thing From Another World. Also I didn't expect to get such a solid cast... It was just great seeing Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong, and Mark Strong all working together. Some great cinematography direction, and aesthetic which I see Alex Garland later use in Ex Machina and Devs. Also finally hearing John Murphy's Adagio in D Minor in it's proper context was great. As much as I was digging the movie, there's some pretty questionable space logic that brings it down a bit even though I think the movie was trying to be more metaphorical. Also I can see why the 3rd act may turn off some people, but I mostly didn't mind seeing them turn it into a slasher. Overall, I mostly dug it despite its problems.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Last Moment of Clarity

I will say first, the posters for this are misleading and in fact the main character is actually Zach Avery. Either way, for a standard mystery thriller, it was pretty good. The pacing early on is just right for a mystery like this where you are putting the clues together. The directing is solid and it doesn't feel like they were given a cheap budget. It's the solid performances from Zach Avery, Samara Weaving, and Carly Chaikin that keeps this from being a below average thriller. As for plot, I thought 2/3's of it was great, but once everything got revealed with the mob and Samara Weaving's character, it becomes soap opera-ey... but almost on purpose. Overall, It's worth checking out if you're a fan of Samara Weaving who has yet to deliver a bad performance.
3.5/5

 

[flickchick85]

Sunshine

Another movie to cross off my bucket list. Considering it's Danny Bolye and Alex Garland teaming up again after 28 Days Later (on the same year 28 Weeks Later gets released), this felt like the appropriate follow up in some ways. I definitely felt the Solaris/2001 influences, but more than anything, it's Alien meets The Thing From Another World. Also I didn't expect to get such a solid cast... It was just great seeing Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong, and Mark Strong all working together. Some great cinematography direction, and aesthetic which I see Alex Garland later use in Ex Machina and Devs. Also finally hearing John Murphy's Adagio in D Minor in it's proper context was great. As much as I was digging the movie, there's some pretty questionable space logic that brings it down a bit even though I think the movie was trying to be more metaphorical. Also I can see why the 3rd act may turn off some people, but I mostly didn't mind seeing them turn it into a slasher. Overall, I mostly dug it despite its problems.
4/5

Yay, another “3rd Act of Sunshine” apologist!

 

[Kane52630]

Plus It's not really hard to understand why that character exist. He's basically a metaphorical version of Icarus himself trying to stop the other crew from doing what he did.

 

[Kane52630]

The Lovebirds

It's formulaic as hell, but it's a decent romcom from Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae who's chemistry keeps it from being below average. It's one of these comedies where it's a lot of funny set pieces that make up the plot. It almost feels like it was fit to be a streaming movie although it would've been nice to have this on the big screen. Overall, it's worth seeing.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

3:10 to Yuma

Another '07 movie crossed off my bucket list. I've always seen parts of it on tv, but never the whole thing until now. Completely blow away by it. It's a damn masterpiece and extremely well crafted on all sides from production, to performances, and the plot. Christian Bale plays downtrodden so well and I can't remember the last time Russell Crowe was this good playing the villain. And probably the more showier performance was Ben Foster who's pretty much the T-1000 set in the old west. Also like with Assassination of Jesse James, I notice a ton of inspiration that Red Dead Redemption borrowed from this movie. It might be my favorite James Mangold movie which is saying a lot considering how much I love Logan and Cop Land.
5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Arkansas

Somewhat decent. It's Clark Duke in his directorial debut trying to emulate the Coen Brothers and Tarantino. Problem is... the script isn't nearly as polished as it wants to be, so there's several scatterbrained moments in the plot and pacing of the movie. The cast was decent overall, I really dug Clark Duke, John Malkovich, Vince Vaughn, and Eden Brolin... who's Josh Brolin's daughter and I can see her be a well known star in a few years. With Liam Hemsworth, I thought he was fine, but a bit too cold playing the part that requires him to be cold and calculating. Probably the biggest problem was the length that drags the movie down. Also, they do the non linear storytelling like Tarantino, but I don't think it completely worked. Overall, it's a promising effort by Clark Duke.
3/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Photograph

Pretty good for romdrama. It's sorta similar to The Notebook or The Age of Adaline where time is an important factor. It's more of a sentimental mood piece than a straight drama and the smooth jazz infused score was so well done. Most of the cast was excellent. Issa Rae, Lakeith Stanfield, & Lil Rel Howery were great, but Rob Morgan & Y'lan Noel kinda steals the movie. Overall, while it's not completely perfect, it's the perfect mood setter or background movie.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Capone

Not bad but not good either. It's a psychological bio pic about Capone's last year before his death. It's also Josh Trank trying to move into Oscar territory after Fantastic Four and he definitely made something that felt very Oscar baity. Tom Hardy's performance as a dementia and bedridden Capone goes back and forth between really good and really silly. It would have some nice dramatic moments followed up by him either pissing, ****ting, or vomiting. The movie mostly takes place at Capone's mansion so there's a whole claustrophobic feeling that works to its detriment. The slow pacing also hurts the film. The psychological side of it doesn't fully work either despite some a couple of good moments. Overall, it's just splits down the middle, it's no where near as bad as his last film, but it's no Oscar movie. Stephen Graham's Capone from Boardwalk Empire is still king.
2.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

The High Note

Mostly decent for a romcom/feel-good summer movie that's set in the LA music industry. It doesn't try to do something new, but it sticks to all the reliable romcom clichés that you expect a movie like this to have. It does go a little deep into how music is made within the industry and how music stars try to stay relevant. A big misstep this movie has is making Dakota Johnson the central character of the movie, but her chemistry with Tracee Ellis Ross mostly works. There's a lot of notable supporting characters that were good like Ice Cube and Bill Pullman, but Kelvin Harrison Jr. continues to outshine everyone. Overall, not bad. It's comfort food for a general audience.
3/5

 

[Kane52630]

Possessor

A literal mind**** by the son of David Cronenberg. Don't wanna give everything away plot wise, but it's if he had Scanners crossed with Under The Skin and The Cell with a little bit of Ghost in the Shell and Inception thrown in. Andrea Riseborough, who's always great in everything, delivers an all time performance and Christopher Abbott was incredible in it when it got to the 2nd half of the movie. In classic Cronenberg fashion, the body horror was gruesome in a bizarre way. Cinematography and the music was also excellent. That being said, I will say the movie is a bit rough around the edges, it's not as glossy as it wants to be and there's a bit of a pacing issue. Overall, it's worth checking out if you are a Cronenberg fan or a fan of trippy scifi horror films like Mandy.
4/5



@StarLord @Black Narcissus @Boom

 

[Kane52630]

Becky

A slightly above average revenge thriller that sadly doesn't use its full potential. It so wants to be a rated R Home Alone meets Straw Dogs or Funny Games, but the script doesn't give you much to chew on. It's overly simplistic and straight to the point with its plot. They don't even give you enough to know what the MacGuffin of the movie does. Kevin James tries to do something with his character who's a Neo Nazi, but they don't give him much to do or say outside of a couple of moments. Joel McHale and Amanda Brugel are just barely there as characters. The main star and highlight of the movie goes to Lulu Wilson as Becky who is way better than the material they give her. She alone (and maybe the gore) carries the movie to above average. Overall, it's just alright.
3/5