The Long Goodbye…
with Schwarzenegger
as mob muscle.
Watched “Splice” this afternoon.
Had the makings of a really good movie, but kinda spiralled out of control at the end. Unno, I thought a more sedate ending would’ve had more impact.
Adrian Brody and Sarah Poley (one of the annoying kids from “Blue Monkey”) are the scientists splicing human DNA with other critters. No “Island Of Dr Moreau” or anything, but nondescript sluglike creatures with “interesting” proteins in their body chemistry. Their lab is being shut down to commercialise what they got already because Mother Co is running short of funds. Meanwhile, one of their own experiments has promise, and they want to “see how far it goes” before the place is shut down for good.
Wellp, it goes farther than they anticipated, and create a critter that turns more human as time goes on. In fact, it shows high intelligence. Nothing as fun as “Species”, definitely slower growing and not as dramatic, but still some surprises along the way.
Once their secret’s outed to Brody’s character’s brother, stuff gets real, and that starts the spiralling. Still, it could’ve ended on a more sedate note as I mentioned, but nope, things went allllllllll to Hell just when you thought it was finally over. Ugh.
Up until about the last 10-15min or so, it was an awesome flick. Then… what?? It’s almost like, “Hmm, we didn’t have a ‘Species’-like explosive scene this whole movie so far… let’s add one now… and make it the ending!”. :person_facepalming:
Still worth a watch. You might even like the come-with ending, unno.
Caught “Random Acts Of Violence”. Pretty good. Some parts were painfully talky (or yelly, depending on how excited the characters got) and seemed to drag, but the other parts seemed to move well.
The opening credits were painful, though. Like 5min straight of seeing Jay Baruchel’s name 27 times from director to caterer. Yeah, yeah, I get it, it’s JB’s baby, but enough already. “Splice” (above) had an overly long opening credits, but it was more CGI with cellular internals and such, like something out of “House”, not a flashing billboard. Denny Crane would be proud.
Anyway, it turns out that the creator of a graphic comic-book about “Slasherman”, the I-90 killer, is seeing his comix being recreated in real life. He and 3 others are on a road-trip to NYC from Toronto, stopping along the way, and encountering these creepy grisly murders.
The killer’s definitely got issues, and it ain’t comic-books. Worse, he keeps contacting the creator and leaving clues as to his next “recreation”, only the roadies are a bit slow on the uptake. Even worse than that, the creator’s got writer’s block how to end the series, and that spurs on the killer to do his thang.
The end seemed a bit ambiguous (did he or didn’t he), but was okay. It was both rewarding and depressing. Don’t want to give away more than that.
Some things were spoon-fed, others seemed to need explanation (got it, but too late in the movie), and just all in all the movie seemed uneven. Not even in a sort of rollercoaster ride of ups’n’downs, but drag… drag… drag… excitement!, that kind of thing.
So? Dunno if I’d watch it again. It was pretty good, but there was nothing in there making me want to rewatch it. But I’m not wanting that hournahalf of my life back or anything. So, yeah, I’d give it at least a lukewarm recommendation.
10 Cloverfield Lane.
better than plain old
Cloverfield
I totally agree on that!
I especially liked John Goodman's performance in 10 Cloverfield Lane.
First up tonight was “Porno”. Wellp, apparently The God Squad all works together in the same movie theater. 
Teens(??) who work as ushers, the projectionist, and newly promoted manager, run the theater while the owner promises to come back at midnight and lock up after giving them “movie night” for all the effort they put in.
Given the choice between “Encino Man” and “A League Of Our Own”, they wisely opted for door #3, a Mystery Reel they find in the previously undiscovered basement after some nutty drunk busts through a cheaply-boarded-up wall. Of course, the reel is demonic and conjures up a succubus, who wreaks her own brand of havoc on the crew, one by one.
The rest of the movie is their duking it out with the Dark Forces and getting their friends back. But even despite a few jump-scares, it wasn’t remotely scary. It couldn’t be, Too much camp and silliness for that.
It was kinda silly, but still enjoyable. Each one of the crew fights his personal vice, what tempts each one of them and leads them to their demise, so each situation is different, but still felt repetitive. And yeah, I was checking the time to see how much was left to go, so that wasn’t a good sign.
If you don’t mind silly horror, give it a shot. It ain’t terrible.
Next up was “Sketch Artist”, apparently a made-for-teevee movie, but damn it was good. I always liked Jeff Fahey (true story!), and Sean Young as his wife was also a treat. Basically, a fashion-guy gets killed, Drew Barrymore is a witness who practically if not literally bumped into the killer, and Jeff is the sketch-artist who draws the person that Drew saw. Only problem is that she pretty much exactly described his wife!
So after bring framed for the killings (yes, plural now!), Jeff goes on the run and investigates the crimes because no one else seems interested, as he’s their prime suspect.
So trying to stay one step ahead of, well, everyone, and digging up the facts, and clear his name as well as finding the true killers, poor Jeff as his hands full. And we get to watch it all unfold.
Pretty damned good! Everything just flowed, no Stupid Decisions by anyone for the most part, and while you kinda know the who but not the why, it’s fun to try to figure it out right up ’til when it’s revealed.
Not bad at all for a teevee movie.
I saw Mirrors (2008).
It's a pretty good horror mystery.
The mystery unfolds a little bit slowly, but I like the movie.
I think the ending is particularly satisfying.
The acting is okay, and the music is excellent.
Kiefer Sutherland, the star of the movie, is not that great of an actor.
He's entertaining to watch, and I love his raspy voice, but he doesn't have much range acting-wise.
The other adult actors in the movie are better actors, by the way.
If do you like Kiefer Sutherland, as I do, you'll probably like this film.
Re: Splice, definitely a “wtf did I just watch?” movie. Not hard to understand WHAT, really hard to understand WHY if you get my drift.
Toldja! It could’ve ended on a more sedate note before it just spiralled out of control like that.
Gotta say, that one scene I expected something more like out of “Teeth”. 
Yup, “that one scene” is a big part of WHY??? … Teeth omg ’nuther one of those “that one scene” type of film. Worth seeing just for the face palm moment.
The Night of the Hunter.
LOVE or HATE the tattoos.
just so you know…i’m posting frequently because i’m recovering
from surgery and the virus risk keeps me home…and i found a free
movie site (we cut the cord long ago)…plus the only movies i post
are those i watch all the way through. some are so bad i can’t last.
Post #1000!
(At the moment.)
I took an Intro to Film class in college.
We saw Night of the Hunter in that class.
I did not care for it, and I actually like film noir.
Given the hormones/pheromones/whatever, could’ve been some “undue influence” at play. Plus, the source of the original human DNA might’ve had something to do with it, another “contributing factor”.
“Teeth” was a hoot, though. :laughing:
THE Killer Elite (not Killer Elite).
1. James Caan in orthopedic rehab.
2. bell-bottoms and AMC Pacers.
3. skeet shooting in San Francisco.
Ugh. I was supposed to get “Manifestation” (2017, 18min), and instead got “Manifestation” (2019, 17min). I’m watching the damned thing, speeding up VLC to 1.1×, then 1.2×, then finally a brisk 1.3×, to try to make it go faster and get over with, as I’m still waiting for the haunting/possession/whatever… that never came.
Avoid, avoid, avoid. Boring as Hell. After about 3min of text-stills like a 1920 non-talkie, all it is, is a bald guy with a gun but no shoes, sucking on a bong, going for walks all barefooty, while a human-valium “narrates” what’s rattling around in the guy’s head as well as other abstract rantings.
Oh, and everyone on that planet is walking around with facemasks, only not the corovirus kind. Oh, and then there’s the final shooting-spree and suicide. There, now you’re all caught-up. No need to suffer through actually watching it, as I “took one for the team”.
Definitely a “wtf??” movie.
Okay, had to cleanse my palate, if not scrub my brain with Brillo™ to get out the stank from the last one, so watched “Oceans: Our Blue Planet”.
Gorgeous scenery and photography. A bit preachy towards the end (anything nature- or climate-related, what do you expect?), but gorgeous nevertheless. Kate Winslet narrated, and Hans Zimmer did some (all?) of the music. Excellent, excellent, excellent.
Hell, just the opening few minutes is mesmerising. And it’s only like 45min, probably made for an hour-long spot with commercials, so it flies right by.
It’s courtesy of the Beeb, so you pretty much know it’ll be good.
Movie night tonight!
First up, “Host”. Woohoo, that was a good one! 
Feeling bored, getting stir-crazy, itchin’ to do something different during the corovirus lockdown? Wellp, do not host a seance over Zoom. You. Will. Be. Sorry.
Unique premise, nice hotties, damned good execution. Of course, you got the necessary jump-scares a la “Paranormal Activity” (despite some elements like the flour bit being lifted right from there), but this was put together so well, they weren’t done in a cheap way.
Highly recommended (similar to “Death Of A Vlogger”.)
Next up, “The Last Igloo”. Okay, not quite sure why it was called that, as it was way more than just how to build an igloo. It’s a glimpse into the life of an Inuit hunter in modern-day Greenland. He’s out for the hunt, using traditional methods and quasi-traditional tools. A wooden dog-sled, pulled by real dogs, spear for digging holes in the ice, knife to cut and shape blocks for the igloo (and prep fish for the eatin’), with some modern tools like a rifle (polar-bear country, after all).
Damn, it’s a tough life.
But yeah, he’s one of the few who’s trying to keep tradition alive. Gotta admire his connection with nature, even (or especially) in the inhospitable climes way up north in the arctic.
Another doc from the Beeb, well worth watching.
Last up, the classic, “10 To Midnight”. What a great movie! Classic ’80s Cannon flick. Plus, it’s a nod to the recently deceased Wilford Brimley.
Despite the rather high body-count, and copious quantities of red corn-syrup, there’s only implied violence a la Hitchcock, except at the very end. So yeah, I’d say it’s a kid-friendly flick. While Brinson, Eilbacher, and Stevens were all top-shelf in this flick, props to Gene Davis for playing the badguy to perfection.
Classic cat’n’mouse game, switching off who’s the cat and who’s the mouse several times in the course of the movie. Be sure to hit the can before sitting down to watch, because you don’t want to break the momentum the movie develops, not even for a second.
And who doesn’t love Davis’s little speech at the very end?
One of my faves…
An oldie but fun
The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!
All The Best,
Jeff
First up, “Around The Sun”, which was surprisingly good. I tuned in out of curiosity, but actually enjoyed it.
There are only 2 actors in the entire film (excluding a 5-sec walk-through), set on a French manse. It’s very talky, and just like the phenomenal “Mindwalk”, it’s one of those movies where you have to pay rapt attention and not miss a word, else go back and rewind/replay.
It’s symbolic, almost poetic, and once you figure out the premise (there are clues early on, actually, and the girl explicitly spells it out later if you miss it), it starts making a lot of sense.
I get the feeling that it’s also best to give it a second viewing later on to catch what you missed the first time around, but now knowing “the secret”.
It’s definitely different, but I quite liked it.
Next up was “Bad Eggs”, an Aussie flick about 2 coppers from the Zero Tolerance Unit who screw up and are bounced back to being unis, even suffering the indignity of getting pelted with water-balloons by little kids on bikes.
Screwup after screwup haunt them, but they end up right in the middle of a vast corruption conspiracy, and have to comedically fight for their lives as well as their continued freedom.
If the first 5min or so doesn’t have you hooked, there’s something wrong with you. Just that part was a hoot, and some quips and gags in the movie actually had me laffing out loud, which doesn’t happen very often at all.
A few times I had a bit of a hard time with the accents coupled with Aussie slang, but I got the gist of it.
That said, it was a hoot. The flick’s 17yo oldie, but is still a goodie.