1141

It's weird because only the main characters delivered their lines unnaturally.

The other characters sounded pretty normal, so maybe it was intentional.

Regardless, it didn't go over well with me.

1142

Czech out HOG, it’s a hoot.

“Thank you, sir! May I have another?” :laughing:

1143

Saw that movie a few times. Still entertaining.
Story of: Harvey Pekar
American Splendor

1144

I saw The Stepfather (1987).

The movie is boring.

It's all pretty slow until the end, when it gets somewhat entertaining.

The acting isn't all that great.

Only the title character is played by a decent actor.

The music is actually pretty good.

By the way, I think the one sentence summary on IMDb gives too much away.

It sums up the whole movie in one sentence, and I consider it a spoiler.

This is not a good movie.

I say skip it.

1145

American Splendor is great. Paul Giamatti is amazing as Harvy Pekar, and all of the other actors are excellent, as well. They did a great job of telling the story of Harvey’s life, as well as his comics.

It was a real treat for me to see Robert Crumb (creator of the “truckin’” cartoon character seen on many truck mud flaps, and illustrator of Harvey’s early comics) portrayed in the movie - because I had a rare, totally unexpected sighting of Crumb in a small town I happened to stop in on a whim, on one of his visits to the USA to see family. Crumb is notoriously shy and is rarely seen in public. That’s a story I won’t bore you with, but American Splendor is very well done.

1146

Like Arrows (2018)

When conflict, rebellion and resentment overwhelm their family, Charlie and Alice are forced to change their parenting strategy, and are surprised to find effective, life-long solutions were closer than they imagined.

I didn’t expect a lot from this one, but was pleasantly surprised. A good movie that covers quite a few different areas. Good movie about parenting and the unique challenges.

1147

Any zombies, robots, aliens, anything like that in it?

1148

You’re question brings to mind a movie I just re-watched (because it was on)
Impostor (2001) with Gary Sinise, Madeleine Stowe, Vincent D’Onofrio.
Based off a Phillip K Dick short story. Seems like a lot of good movies are or were (blade runner, total recall, the adjustment bureau, etc)

plot: Aliens replace important people with robot assassin look-alikes that assume their identities but don’t know they are assassins until they reach their designated targets…

1149

Interesting, I got that in my collection but don’t think I watched it yet. At least it doesn’t sound familiar.

Sounds good, though.

1150

azj….thanks.
i did not know a movie was made
from that short story. it will be interesting
to see how they “stretch it out” to ~2 hours.

1151

Brilliant, hilarious, funny, one of the BEST British Movies EVER! Strongly recommend to watch.
The Full Monty

1152

Yeh, it was done in the old-new TZ back in the ’80s as “Button, Button”, as a ~22min half-ep.

1153

Just popped up on my radar, so made the time to watch “LX 2048”, as it looked like a pretty good Dystopian Future type of flick. And sure enough, it was. Something’s going crazy with the sun, people can’t go outside during the day without getting instant lethal sunburn, so they spend their time indoors immersed in a VR world, and only come out at night when they do come out at all. Hmm, sounds close to reality minus the sun-going-crazy part.

Anyhoo, this guy who works for a tekkie company is rebelling against that, and even insists on a daily drive to/from work to a deserted office, just to “get out there”. His insufferable vile loathesome wife and whiny kids are all he thinks about, trying to provide for them even though he’s received a death-sentence of impending heart-failure. Frankly, I wouldda ditched them in a heartbeat (ha!) given the way they treat him.

Anyway, I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but there are clones that can withstand the evil sunlight, The Chip which is a touted replacement for VR goggles and The Realm (VR world), and what’s the grand conspiracy behind it all.

My problems with the flick are that it’s rather erratic. It starts with telling the back-story, introducing the clones and the VR world, his own issues, and what smells like a big dark conspiracy. Is there a plot by the clones to take over? Is the Big Company pushing The Chip doing something nefarious? What? It’s pretty good, and gives you a small peek behind the curtain.

But then the “insurance policy” is revealed, and with the hideous marriage he’s in, you want to smack him upside the haid for being such a doormat. Then there’s a rather comical death, and his interaction with the cop, the “humor” or at least dripping sarcasm, is pretty much 180° away from the dark undercurrent of the first part. Then there’s melodrama, and finally the ending. I kinda felt like a dog being yanked in one direction and then another by the writer’s leash.

One brilliant part is the “philosophising” by the VR-ho-brought-to-life about the cell vs body. Like I said, brilliant, and it really made you think. Now, did that spell out the underlying reason for The Chip, or was it just tossed in there? Either way, it was a brilliant musing. I’d watch the movie just for that. Oh, and the VR doll. That was a hoot!

So, it was a pretty good story, acting was great, but the pacing and direction was “off”. What starts out like a great dark sci-fi thriller ends up almost a comedy by the end, and that didn’t quite sit well with me. Still, I liked it, and would recommend it for at least one watch.

1154

thanks Lightbringer.
add another to list.

1155

I knew I recognised both the guy (from “The Closer”) and his wife (“Last Days Of American Crime”), but had to look ’em up to place ’em.

As long as it wasn’t going to be Yet Another Non-Ending, I’d be happy.

1156

Adolescence

When a creative, sensitive teen from a dysfunctional family meets a beautiful, enigmatic runaway; his life is turned upside down when he travels the dark path with her toward parties and drug addiction.

OK movie, not excellent but watchable if you are into the teenage/party/addiction genre.

1157

Another masterpiece to watch and enjoy.
Coen brothers at work.
Fargo 1996

Later I recommend to watch Fargo 2014+ series. It’s even better.

1158

My Blue Heaven.
a Mob Comedy starring Steve Martin as Henry Hill (like Goodfellas).
my favorite quote:
“Richie loved to use 22s because the bullets are small and they don’t come out the other end like a 45,
see, a 45 will blow a barn door out the back of your head and there’s a lot of dry cleaning involved,
but a 22 will just rattle around like Pac-Man until you’re dead.”

1159

Catching up on some postings…

Saw “The Pledge”, which started off weird and puzzling, snapped to reality and into a really good movie, but then replayed the first scene, apparently putting that into context. Hmmm. Still puzzling.

Anyhoo, it’s a sensitive subject, young grils are being raped and killed by some sicko, and a retired detective makes a pledge to the mother of the latest victim to get the guy responsible. And that becomes his White Whale.

Wellp, the cops think they got the right guy, who’s actually “special” (as in “don’t eat the paste!!” special), but he’s not. He gets sweet-talked into “confessing”, starts feeling guilty, and offs himself. Case closed, eh? Not quite.

Anyway, Jack Nicholson plays the role of Ahab and won’t let it rest, gets close to a battered woman and her daughter (who nicely fits the profile of the next victim), and Jack plays it up.

Things… happen. Don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but the end kinda fizzles out. Ahab’s White Whale gets caught in a fishing net and drownds, and Ahab has nothing to live for anymore. And I’m like… huh?

Great flick regardless, just be prepared to be wondering wtf the ending meant.

Later caught “Winter Storage”, a Donald Duck vs chipmunks car2n from 1949. Oh, it was a hoot, but I have no idea how I even got it. Maybe the Video Fairies left it on my machine, who knows.

But, it was cute, chock-full of good old-timey humor. A must see, whether you’re a kid or adult.

Later was “Dragons: Gift Of The Night Fury”, clocking in at only 22min short. Not bad at all, but I have no idea what the title means. Decent 3D car2n where dragons coexist with Vikings(!) and both sides are pretty thoroughly maimed (missing limbs, etc.).

Wellp, the dragons suddenly up and leave, and this one kid tries to find out why. “Spoiler”: the dragons all come back later with a good reason why.

Pretty decent animation, cute characters, cute story, would make a good kiddie flick. It’s not quite my speed as far as car2ns, but I still enjoyed it.

So, 3 hits in one night… pretty good.

1160

Oh, I might as well include tonight’s flicks, even though I didn’t have much time to mull them over.

First up was “Circle”. 50 people wake up in a room with no memory how they got there. Anyone stepping off his “pad” immediately gets lightning-bolted to death by this creepy black hemisphere in the middle of the room. Then they find that they can “vote” who gets zapped next.

Think about it as a rapidfire game of “Survivor” From Hell. If no one votes, someone gets zapped at random. Once they figure out the “rules” of the game, they even form alliances of sorts to try to be the Last One Standing. Nice nice twist at the end of the game!

The end of the movie, though, which attempts to explain who’s pulling the strings, didn’t make much sense to me. Big question of why? remains unanswered.

Still, the dialogue during the movie, learning how people think, what they say, the back’n’forth, etc., was a pretty nifty psychological exposé on what people would do to survive, even tossing a kid and a preggo under the bus.

Next up was “Foolproof”, which was a fast-paced hoot!

3 people who plan virtual heists (eg, a jewellery[sic] store) love the planning but have no intention of ever following through. Seems some badguy mafioso stumbles upon one of them, follows him, finds the group, and nabs the plans of the latest caper.

Actually pulling off the heist and then getting incriminating evidence with their prints all over, threatening to turn it all over to the cops, he blackmails them to pull off a job for him.

So, how will Our Heroes deal with it all? As in maybe not pulling off the heist, getting back the incriminating evidence, and maybe even sticking it to the badguy? Well, tune in and see for yourself!

Seriously, it was a fast-paced flick with hardly any time for a breather, so it just flew right by. And if kept my interest the whole time, which is pretty important (to me at least) to gauge how good a movie is.