Movie Thread

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Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story (1981) - The title of this movie doesn't leave much to the imagination, and the plot doesn't allow for any surprises either. But it was still a helluva flashback to 70s music, fashion, hair, and even a young Jamie Lee Curtis who briefly switched from being a scream queen to playing a sex symbol. (Not sure this really worked, ymmv.) Bruce Weitz plays his role hilariously over the top, for that reason alone this made-for-tv movie is worth a looky.
 
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Not movies, but series that I have watched over the last few years:

-Ozark- a never ending train wreck much the same as Son's of Anarchy. Piling chaos on top of chaos.
-Shameless- the stupidest show that I have ever enjoyed.
-The Last Kingdom- something primal (?) that kept me watching.
-Schitt's Creek- OK, tied with Shameless for the stupidest show that I have ever enjoyed.
 
Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story (1981) - The title of this movie doesn't leave much to the imagination, and the plot doesn't allow for any surprises either. But it was still a helluva flashback to 70s music, fashion, hair, and even a young Jamie Lee Curtis who briefly switched from being a scream queen to playing a sex symbol. (Not sure this really worked, ymmv.) Bruce Weitz plays his role hilariously over the top, for that reason alone this made-for-tv movie is worth a looky.
Star 80 is a more serious movie on the same subject. Worth seeing and well acted.
 
Black Mountain Side (2014) - From snowy Canada comes this horror flick, it starts out very strongly. It has this realistically tense, claustrophobic feel, but as things progress things get sillier and sillier, by the time it was over I was glad . The snow and the cabin were really nice though (I'd like a cabin in the woods like that), so there's that.
 
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The Power of the Dog

IMO, not very good. It could easily be made into a 30 minute TV show (OK 60 minutes with advertisements).
Kid's feelings get hurt...an hour of not much...kid gets his revenge.
It's weird that you can watch Jack Nicholson..type,type and type some more..Stacks of what you guessing is a great novel,manuscript..starts screaming at wife and kid about breaking his concentration.and in the end,when it's revealed what he was writing all that time, scary on many levels..
Power of the Dog..just left you hanging..kind of an olde West hazmat cautionary tale..I had a difficult time accepting bottled up emotions and trying to tie it into murder..
Twisty murder plots like Richard Gere and Diane Lane..infidelity..and .Michael Douglas and Gwenyth Paltrow..when you think someone is dead and they are not..
And there are some good dead people movies.. Weekend at Bernies..Afterlife..were an window mounted air conditioning unit falls from an upper apartment floor and squished Ricky Gervasise..and one of my all time favorite dead body movies.. Death at a Funeral( English version) when Peter Dinklage shows up and while the unknowing,completely crazy dysfunctional family discovered that Peter and dad were kinky longtime lovers..
 
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Paranoia (2013) - Reminiscent of Wall Street, The Social Network, and The Firm all rolled into one Paranoia is not terribly original, but it's still watchable. I didn't mind Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, and Richard Dreyfuss phoning it in (though to be fair Dreyfuss looked like he did actually try to do something with his very minor role), but Liam Hemsworth sharing screen time with these acting legends just didn't work. With all the closeups, prolonged shots, and nearly nude scenes it looked like Hemsworth was there just to look pretty for his fans, it's unfortunate he also had the lead role. Amber Heard, who has been in the news again lately because of her ongoing court battles with ex-husband Johnny Depp, also has a minor role, but like Hemsworth she's just there to look pretty. So, if you can ignore those two this industrial espionage flick isn't too bad.
 
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The Conjuring : The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) Not as effective as the first two movies, a little too pedestrian. Well made with a couple of good scenes but light on suspense and frights. The franchise is starting to look a little wonky and predictable.
 
The Anderson Tapes (1971) - If there ever was a score that spelled bad acid trip this movie would do it... I couldn't even finish it because the music was so awful. However, you do get to see a very young Chris Walken, and also a young-ish Sean Connery, so I suppose it's not all bad.
 
The Recruit (2003) - Not terribly memorable, but it's a pretty entertaining spy thriller. Pacino phoned it in, but it's funny to think Colin Farrell's star was just rising on the international level, think he may have even been considered the sexiest man alive back then. Maybe he still is considered sexy, I really haven't seen that many movies with Farrell.
 
The Recruit (2003) - Not terribly memorable, but it's a pretty entertaining spy thriller. Pacino phoned it in, but it's funny to think Colin Farrell's star was just rising on the international level, think he may have even been considered the sexiest man alive back then. Maybe he still is considered sexy, I really haven't seen that many movies with Farrell.
Farrell was good in True Detective Season Two and also In Bruge, and Seven Psychopaths.
 
RIP Ray Liotta (And Andy Fletcher from Depeche Mode, but that's a different thread.)

He was in many terrific roles, but I'll always remember him as Paul Krendler in Hannibal first and foremost. That scene at the dinner table where Hannibal had sawn half of Krendler's skull off but Krendler continues to sit there completely unaware eating and smiling... it's probably not the way Liotta wanted to be remembered, but there it is. :tearsofjoy:
 
RIP Ray Liotta (And Andy Fletcher from Depeche Mode, but that's a different thread.)

He was in many terrific roles, but I'll always remember him as Paul Krendler in Hannibal first and foremost. That scene at the dinner table where Hannibal had sawn half of Krendler's skull off but Krendler continues to sit there completely unaware eating and smiling... it's probably not the way Liotta wanted to be remembered, but there it is. :tearsofjoy:

Oh, I only read it here. R.I.P., Ray....

Come to think of it now, amidst of all the praise and accolades received by Goodfellas, and also Scorsese, Pesci, and Bracco for it, most people forget that the leading man is also doing a decent job, Ray carried himself very well, it's just that his role is not as flashy as those of many around
 
RIP Ray Liotta (And Andy Fletcher from Depeche Mode, but that's a different thread.)

He was in many terrific roles, but I'll always remember him as Paul Krendler in Hannibal first and foremost. That scene at the dinner table where Hannibal had sawn half of Krendler's skull off but Krendler continues to sit there completely unaware eating and smiling... it's probably not the way Liotta wanted to be remembered, but there it is. :tearsofjoy:
Sad, I missed some of his later movies. Might chase a few up.
 
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Last Seen Alive,starring Gerard Butler..as I started watching the movie, I realized it was a remake, maybe 10,12+ times..bad guys kidnap your wife, wrongly accused by cops, shooting, fighting,stabbing ensues until she is found safely,smiling,hugging,the end ,credits..
couple of weird things..instead of going full diction coach, Butler obviously has a Scottish accent..and plot twist,parents of missing woman and the police say..do you have anything to do with it? He says no..the dialogue and tension is over that fast..
Ray Liotta did it all,including comedy..guy was a talent..
 
Haunting on Fraternity Row (2018) - The title says it all but there is so much more! Actually I fell asleep just as all the annoying people were getting murdered, this slasher flick was a very paint-by-number borefest. But it serves nicely as background noise for a nap, so there's that.
 
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Jackass Forever (2022) - It's been a while since I've watched any Jackass movies and was curious how the newest one turned out... as always the humor isn't for everyone. I can handle the Jackass inanity in only limited doses and I lasted only through the first few skits, but The Silence of the Lambs one had me just howling and rolling on the floor. The pure idiocy and silliness, but at the same time such attention to detail! when Chris Pontius was still dancing around in a robe like that creepy killer from Silence of the Lambs while the rest of the crew were being beaten up on by various objects... well, only Jackass could make that work. :tearsofjoy:

Afterward I partially rewatched the original Jackass movie just so I could reacquaint myself with all the performers/crew from yesteryear, it seemed a lot more mean-spirited back then. Maybe it was, or maybe I'm just getting older.
 
Rewatched Titanic (1997) for about the third or fourth time and got bored, I don't think I need to see it again. It was such a huge hit when it first came out but I didn't see it till years later, even then I wasn't blown away by it because I didn't find any of the characters likeable except for maybe Kathy Bates. The special effects were great for the time, but the dialogue was very corny at times and I found Leo and Kate so annoying...

Titanic probably still is a good movie for date night because it largely is just a fictional love story, but if you're not a fan of Leo DiCaprio and/or Kate Winslet to begin with I would steer clear of Titanic. (For the history of the real Titanic there are much better documentaries out there to see.)

Btw., one thing I don't get even after three or four viewings (but it especially sticks out now) is why was Billy Zane's character so enthralled with Kate Winslet's? Obviously it was an arranged marriage and she couldn't even stand the sight of him... surely he being of big money must have done some research and had found out her family no longer had any money and was just riding on the reputation of their good name, so what was in it for him except for maybe utter and perpetual disdain from his future bride-to-be? The more I think about it the less sense it makes...
 
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Rewatched Titanic (1997) for about the third or fourth time and got bored, I don't think I need to see it again. It was such a huge hit when it first came out but I didn't see it till years later, even then I wasn't blown away by it because I didn't find any of the characters likeable except for maybe Kathy Bates. The special effects were great for the time, but the dialogue was very corny at times and I found Leo and Kate so annoying...

Titanic probably still is a good movie for date night because it largely is just a fictional love story, but if you're not a fan of Leo DiCaprio and/or Kate Winslet to begin with I would steer clear of Titanic. (For the history of the real Titanic there are much better documentaries out there to see.)

Btw., one thing I don't get even after three or four viewings (but it especially sticks out now) is why was Billy Zane's character so enthralled with Kate Winslet's? Obviously it was an arranged marriage and she couldn't even stand the sight of him... surely he being of big money must have done some research and had found out her family no longer had any money and was just riding on the reputation of their good name, so what was in it for him except for maybe utter and perpetual disdain from his future bride-to-be? The more I think about it the less sense it makes...
Not something I will watch again and it was very long. Technically it was impressive. James Cameron films are often too long but I still think Aliens was his best movie and a really good action movie.
 
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Not something I will watch again and it was very long. Technically it was impressive. James Cameron films are often too long but I still think Aliens was his best movie and a really good action movie.
Aliens is a classic and I have to admit Titanic is the last movie of Cameron's I have seen...

Have you seen Avatar and however many sequels it currently has? I think there's another one due to be released later this year...