Movies

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Rusty
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Re: Movies

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:7510:
1374 - The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980) - 7.5/10 - A coca cola bottle falls from the sky near a tribe of bushmen. They find it useful until it starts causing conflict so one of the men decides to take it and return it. This starts a quest which ends up involving revolutionaries, kidnapped schoolchildren, and an inept ranger. I thought it was pretty entertaining.

:810:
1375 - Pearl Jam Twenty (2011) - 8/10 - A look back at the origins of Pearl Jam and how it evolved over time. I liked Pearl Jam (and Temple of the Dog and Soundgarden and even Mother Love Bone, etc.), but I was never a really big fan. This was a nice behind the scenes look.

:7510:
1376 - Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage (2010) - 7.5/10 - I've enjoyed Rush music since the early 1980s, though I wasn't a huge fan. Like the Pearl Jam film, this was a nice look at the creation of the band and how it evolved over time. When I moved into my college dorm room in the fall of 1988, I found out that somebody who had the room before me was probably a big Rush fan.

Image

:610:
1377 - Sigur Rós: Heima (2007) - 6/10 - Sigur Rós gave a series of free concerts in Iceland that are covered here. The music and scenery aren't bad, but the film is pretty dull.

:510:
1378 - Surire (2015) - 5/10 - A fairly dull film that focuses on several natives living in a high altitude desert. We do get to see a nice up close view of one person getting their ugly toenails clipped.

:510:
1379 - The Mirror / Der Spiegel (1984) - 5/10 - A villager takes revenge when his landlord's son tries to woo his wife. This had a negative effect on all involved.

:510:
1380 - The Servant (1963) - 5/10 - A wealth Englishman hires a butler. Things seem to go well at first, but the butler slowly starts to take control of the relationship. I didn't really buy the story or enjoy the movie all that much, though it appears to be highly regarded.

U2 3D (2007) - bootleg Youtube copies

The Ax Fight (1975) (30 minutes)
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Rusty
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Re: Movies

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:6510:
1381 - Weekend (1967) - 6.5/10 - Apparently fatal car crashes are pretty common in France. The absurd traffic jam near the beginning was pretty funny and I was mostly enjoying the first half of the film, but the randomness, philosophizing, and so on wore me down in the second half and it got to be a chore to finally get through to the end.
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Re: Movies

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:710:
1382 - The Battle of Britain (1943) - 7/10 - A WWII propaganda film from the Why We Fight series by Frank Capra. It was okay.'

:610:
1383 - Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958) - 6/10 - This low budget film was a bit more entertaining than I expecting. A wealthy woman has an encounter with a giant alien that is disbelieved by the sheriff and others in town. Meanwhile, her husband openly has a relationship with another woman and wants his wife committed to a sanitarium so that he can control her estate.

:510:
1384 - Bad Taste (1987) - 5/10 - Peter Jackson wrote and directed this low budget alien invasion horror story. It is definitely an early film for him and while there is some creativity here and there, it is not a very good film.

:510:
1385 - Dolemite (1975) - 5/10 - A pimp has been in prison for two years on trumped up charges. He is let out to try and help the FBI find the real culprits behind the drugs and thefts in his part of the city. This also gives Dolemite an opportunity for revenge. The acting is pretty bad throughout the film and the fight scenes aren't very convincing either.

:5510:
1386 - Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) - 5.5/10 - Three strippers are out in the desert having some fun when they encounter a couple out there with a fast car. This leads to fights, deaths, and plots to steal money. The lead actress seemed to shout the majority of the time.

:710:
1387 - Foxy Brown (1974) - 7/10 - Pam Grier stars as a woman who goes undercover as a prostitute to get revenge for her murdered boyfriend. It was entertaining and a couple orders of magnitude better than Dolemite.

:810:
1388 - Hausu (House) (1977) - 8/10 - This Japanese comedy horror film is pretty crazy and fun. Seven high school girls (Gorgeous, Fantasy, Melody, Kung Fu, Mac, Sweet, and Prof) go to visit Gorgeous's aunt. It's been 10 years since Gorgeous last saw her and she lives in a large, but strange house. It isn't long before the girls discover that some strange things take place there.

:810:
1389 - Rolling Thunder (1977) - 8/10 - Two Vietnam POWs (William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones) return home to a hero's welcome. Charles Rane (DeVane) finds himself emotionally detached from his wife and son. His son was just a baby when he was captured and doesn't even really know him. He tries to build a relationship, but four bandits who invade his home looking for money that he was gifted have other ideas. I thought this one was pretty good.
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Re: Movies

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:7510:
1390 - Dügün (1973) - 7.5/10 - A rural family of siblings moves to Istanbul. The oldest brother and uncle look to become successful in business and sell the younger sisters for large bride prices to help that happen. The oldest sister tries to stop this and rescue her sisters. The traditions here seem pretty bad to my Western eyes, but it's a good film.

:710:
1391 - We Are the Lambeth Boys (1959) - 7/10 - This film takes a look at the young people who attend a youth club in London and shows them at club activities and work. It was a bit more interesting to me since my parents were only a few years older than most of the people shown here. Their circumstances were certainly different (not being in the UK for one), but it gives a glimpse into the era at least.

:6510:
1392 - The Battle of China (1944) - 6.5/10 - Another wartime propaganda film in the Why We Fight series. This one focuses on the Japanese invasion of China and the resistance there.

:8510:
1393 - The Last Waltz (1978) - 8.5/10 - This concert film was directed by Martin Scorsese and centers around the last concert of The Band which also featured a number of other artists who were friends of the group. The music and performances were a lot of fun and the interviews were somewhat interesting as well.
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Re: Movies

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:810:
1394 - Harvest of Shame (1960) - 8/10 - Edward R. Murrow hosts this expose on the plight of migrant workers in the United States. 60+ years later, things probably aren't a whole lot better.

:710:
1395 - Hospital (1970) - 7/10 - Frederick Wiseman's film looks at the daily life of a large New York hospital with its variety of patients. It was interesting, though I didn't really need the projectile vomiting scene.

:7510:
1396 - Divide and Conquer (1943) - 7.5/10 - This episode of Why We Fight focuses on the German promises of peace before the war and the subsequent invasions of European countries, including France and Belgium.

:610:
1397 - Iron Maiden: Flight 666 (2009) - 6/10 - This film documents Iron Maiden's 2008 world tour. There are interesting moments, but overall the film (and music) didn't do much for me.

:7510:
1398 - Hypernormalisation (2016) - 7.5/10 - A good documentary, though I thought it went on a bit too long.
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Re: Movies

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:810:
1399 - Edifício Master (2002) - 8/10 - A film crew rented an apartment for a month in Copacabana. The building has hundreds of apartments and used to be rather seedy, but was now much more respectable. They interviewed numerous residents and got their stories. It was pretty interesting.

:710:
1400 - O País de São Saruê (1971) - 7/10 - A look at the conditions in the northeast part of Brazil where they are affected by drought and poor economic conditions.

:810:
1401 - The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1987) - 8/10 - Kenzo Okuzaki is a 62 year old WWII veteran who suffered some traumatic things while stationed in New Guinea at the end of the war where food was in short supply. He blames Emperor Hirohito and calls him the worst war criminal. He even served time for using a sling to shoot pellets at the Emperor. Kenzo is determined to get to the truth as to who murdered two men in his unit shortly after the war ended. He is willing to use violence to force answers from the former soldiers who were involved. He seems a bit unhinged at times, but that could also be a result of what he experienced during the war.

:810:
1402 - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (2003) - 8/10 - A documentary crew was in Venezuela gathering footage on President Hugo Chavez when a coup was attempted. They were inside the palace during much of the action while also capturing event in the streets during protests and counterprotests. It is pretty interesting.

:710:
1403 - Vatandas Riza (1979) - 7/10 - A man takes pride in finishing the construction of a modest home for his small family. Shortly thereafter, the spoiled son of a wealthy man decides to drive his car through the house and also almost drives over the man's wife and son. He uses his family's wealth to buy off witnesses and evade consequences so the victim starts a peaceful protest against the injustice.

:7510:
1404 - Agit (1972) - 7.5/10 - Four smugglers live up in the mountains and are being hunted by the authorities. A young female doctor is brought to their stronghold when the leader is shot. This was pretty good.

:6510:
1405 - Law of the Border (1966) - 6.5/10 - Life is difficult on the border in southeastern Turkey. The people of one small village turn to smuggling to survive. The authorities are understanding, but try to put a stop to it. Meanwhile, a teacher wants to open a school in the village, but is met with some resistance. The movie was okay, but I wanted to like it more.

:6510:
1406 - Coffy (1973) - 6.5/10 - Similar in a number of ways to the following year's Foxy Brown, though I liked that film a little bit more.
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Re: Movies

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:6510:
1407 - Sevmek Zamani (1965) - 6.5/10 - A house painter falls in love with the picture of a pretty young woman that hangs on the wall of a home that he once painted. Then he meets the actual woman from the picture and she falls for him, but he still only has thoughts for the picture.

Vesuvius Express (1953) (16 minutes)
Special Effects: Anything Can Happen (1996) (28 minutes)
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Re: Movies

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:510:
1408 - Pootie Tang (2001) - 5/10 - This is pretty dumb for the most part, though I did laugh at some parts here and there.

:7510:
1409 - Baraka (1992) - 7.5/10 - Not as good as Koyaanisqatsi, but still good and about on par with Samsara.

:810:
1410 - Hope / Umut (1970) - 8/10 - Cabbar drives an old dilapidated horse cart and is deep in debt, barely able to support his family. When one of his horses dies in an accident, things get worse and he becomes desperate. I thought this one was pretty good.

:6510:
1411 - The Chaos Class / Hababam Sinifi (1975) - 6.5/10 - I watched the second film last June while working on the IMDb lists and thought it was really dumb. For whatever reason, I enjoyed this one a lot more. It still isn't great, but I didn't think it was bad.

:6510:
1412 - I Was a Fireman (1943) - 6.5/10 - A story of London firefighters during the Blitz. It was okay.

A Diary for Timothy (1945) (39 minutes)
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Re: Movies

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:7510:
1413 - Chronicle of a Summer (1961) - 7.5/10 - The film is an experiment in cinéma vérité and is interesting, though I thought it dragged a bit toward the end.

:910:
1414 - 9/11 (2002) - 9/10 - Filmmakers set out to make a documentary on a probationary firefighter in NYC and happen to capture events from 9/11, including the first plane hitting, the scene inside the towers, and the aftermath of the tower collapses. I remember that day very well and it is an interesting perspective.

:510:
1415 - Irreversible (2002) - 5/10 - A rape/revenge movie with the scenes in reverse order. It's competently made, but I didn't really like it much. I might have liked it a bit more if it had been told in a linear fashion.

:7510:
1416 - Bride of the Earth / Seyyit Han (1968) - 7.5/10 - Seyyit Han is in love with Keje, the sister of his friend. Seyyit has been gone for 7 years vanquishing his many foes, but when he returns home to claim his bride, he finds that he is thought to be dead and she is about to marry a wealthy man at the insistence of her brother. This is a pretty good western.

:810:
1417 - The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) - 8/10 - Gordon Liu stars as San Te becomes a Shaolin monk after witnessing government oppression. While there, he becomes a master martial artist. Very entertaining training and fight sequences.

:6510:
1418 - Motherland Hotel / Anayurt Oteli (1987) - 6.5/10 -The owner of a small hotel becomes obsessed with a guest who left and said that she would be back in a week. The film was a bit odd and moody at times, but okay.

:6510:
1419 - El topo (1970) - 6.5/10 - A very odd western from Alejandro Jodorowsky. There were parts of it that I liked and parts that were kind of weird.
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Re: Movies

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:110:
1420 - Pink Flamingos (1972) - 1/10 - WTF did I just watch. That was brutally bad. Maybe they could have saved it if they could have talked John Lennon into playing a certain role, but even that probably wouldn't have moved the needle much.

:7510:
1421 - The Holy Mountain (1973) - 7.5/10 - This was crazy and pretty weird at times. Still, I was enjoying it a lot through the first 40 minutes or so. After that, it was okay, but not as much fun.

:710:
1422 - Witchfinder General (1968) - 7/10 - Vincent Price stars as Matthew Hopkins who hunted and killed 'witches' in 1640s England during the English Civill War. He and his accomplice use sadistic torture methods and then hang or burn the accused witches. It's a pretty brutal film, but not bad.

:7510:
1423 - The Harder They Come (1972) - 7.5/10 - Ivan moves from the country to Kingston, Jamaica. He searches for a job without much success, eventually doing some work for a preacher. Circumstances eventually lead Ivan to a life of crime and he gains notoriety as an outlaw. The film has a nice soundtrack and is better during the first half, but is still worth watching,
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:810:
1424 - Bus 174 (2002) - 8/10 - In June 2000, a young man with a gun took a number of people on a bus hostage and threatened to kill them. This led to a standoff with police that lasted for many hours. The police appeared somewhat incompetent and didn't control the crowds so the news media was very close to the action and broadcast events live. The documentary interviews some of the survivors as well as police and the aunt of the young man, giving plenty of background and depth to the story.

:5510:
1425 - Jogo de Cena (2007) - 5.5/10 - A series of women tell their stories to an interviewer. Most of these women are acting out lines from real interviews.I found the format kind of dull and repetitive, though the parts where the actresses broke character were a little more interesting.

:610:
1426 - Santiago (2007) - 6/10 - The director shot a bunch of interviews with his family's old butler in the early 90s, but never finished the film until coming back to it over a decade later. The butler is kind of an odd character who is somewhat interesting at times, but the film is so-so.

:6510:
1427 - Tropic of Cancer (2004) - 6.5/10 - People in Mexico hunt through the scrubland for animals and other things that they can sell to people traveling on the nearby freeway. It was interesting.

:7510:
1428 - American Movie (1999) - 7.5/10 - The film follows independent filmmaker Mark Borchardt as he tries to get his short film Coven made with the financial assistance of his uncle. He definitely has passion for making films.

:7510:
1429 - Janela da Alma (2001) - 7.5/10 - A number of people with varying degrees of visual impairment (including various filmmakers) are interviewed as to how they see the world and how it has affected their lives. I enjoyed hearing from the variety of people with their individual stories and perspectives.

:810:
1430 - The Pearl Button (2015) - 8/10 - A very nice documentary with excellent visuals, often revolving around water in its various forms. It also does a good job discussing the fate of the indigenous people of Patagonia.
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:7510:
1431 - Spirited (2022) - 7.5/10 - Will Ferrell stars as the Ghost of Christmas Present and Ryan Reynolds as the modern version of Scrooge in this musical. I thought it was fun.

:510:
1432 - TNT Jackson (1974) - 5/10 - A woman goes to Hong Kong to try and find out what happened to her missing brother. She ends up fighting criminal gangs there. It's not a very good film.

:6510:
1433 - Vanishing Point (1971) - 6.5/10 - A guy who delivers cars from one location to another makes a bet about how long it will take to deliver a car from a location in Colorado to San Francisco. He ends up the subject of a large police manhunt due to his speeding and reckless driving. His backstory is told through flashbacks.

:7510:
1434 - Grizzly Man (2005) - 7.5/10 - Werner Herzog looks at the life, death, and work of Timothy Treadwell, a self appointed protector of Grizzly Bears. Treadwell spent 13 years camping in Alaskan national parks to try and protect bears from poachers. Herzog uses footage shot by Treadwell along with a number of interviews to explore the man.

:6510:
1435 - Before the Flood (2016) - 6.5/10 - Leonardo DiCaprio hosts this film about climate change. He interviews various politicians and scientists on the subject. It's an important subject, but I wish that it had been more interesting.

:510:
1436 - Glen or Glenda (1953) - 5/10 - It wasn't as bad as I was expecting. The Lugosi parts sure didn't fit.
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:810:
1437 - Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) - 8/10 - The sequel takes place around 15 years after the end of the first film. Humans return to Pandora and Jake Sully leads the resistance against them. I liked the film about as much as the first one and it was enjoyable. The visual effects were definitely very good.
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:610:
1438 - Hollywood Man (1976) - 6/10 - An actor is making a film on his own money, but needs more so he borrows a large sum from a shady character, giving him tons of collateral in return. A biker gang gets involved to sabotage things. Not that great really, but watchable.

:610:
1439 - Schizopolis (1996) - 6/10 - A very strange movie, though there were a number of elements that I liked.

:810:
1440 - Sonatine (1993) - 8/10 - A veteran yakuza member who is contemplating retirement is sent to deal with a feud between rival gangs. He soon finds out that there was another reason that he was sent away on this mission. There is a lot of dark humor in the film which I enjoyed.

:710:
1441 - The Limey (1999) - 7/10 - Terence Stamp stars as a hardened criminal who heads to L.A. after getting out of prison to try and track down the people responsible for the death of his daughter. It's not bad.

:410:
1442 - Teaserama (1955) - 4/10 - A burlesque show that may have been a bit risque at the time, but is kind of dumb now.

:410:
1443 - In the Company of Men (1997) - 4/10 - I just couldn't get into this one much at all.

1444 - Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966) - This was so bad that it was actually entertaining.

1445 - Elysia (1933) - A reporter is sent to a nudist colony to write a story.

:910:
1446 - Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me (2022) - 9/10 - A very intimate and raw look into the world of Selena Gomez. The film starts around 2015/2016 and we get to see Selena's struggles with mental health and also physical issues dealing with lupus, having a kidney transplant, etc. Selena visits the school she attended and the home that she grew up in. She also takes a trip to Kenya to visit the school that she helped support. Endless interviews take their toll on her. It's an excellent film, even going in not having very much familiarity with Gomez other than knowing that she is a singer and actress. She seems like a very good, but vulnerable person.
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Re: Movies

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:7510:
1447 - Black Christmas (1974) - 7.5/10 - I don't recall ever hearing of this early slasher film before where residents of a sorority house start getting killed around Christmas time, but it was good.

:6510:
1448 - The Big Bird Cage (1972) - 6.5/10 - A number of women are forced to work at a prison labor camp in the jungle. A couple of guerrillas plan a prison break. It was okay.

:6510:
1449 - The Savage Seven (1968) - 6.5/10 - Bikers vs Indians vs a corrupt businessman. Sometimes they are on the same side and sometimes they are fighting each other.

:710:
1450 - Five Fingers of Death (1972) - 7/10 - A good Shaw Brothers kung fu film with plenty of action.

:510:
1451 - Spring Breakers (2012) - 5/10 - Three girls decide to turn to crime to pay for their spring break trip. Events at their spring break site lead to a further descent. This is definitely an interesting film in terms of its style. I didn't hate it or love it. It definitely feels like a cult film with divisive reactions.

:510:
1452 - Blood Feast (1963) - 5/10 - A deranged Egyptian immigrant who owns a store and runs a catering service murders young women to prepare for a feast to his goddess. It's low budget and the acting is so-so, but the movie is still somewhat interesting.

:810:
1453 - Cameraperson (2016) - 8/10 - Kirsten Johnson assembled clips from various films that she worked on over the previous 15 years plus film of her family and it works pretty well to give us some insight into her life and her career.

:410:
1454 - White Zombie (1932) - 4/10 - Voodoo zombies and Bela Lugosi in Haiti. Unfortunately, the acting isn't that great and the story is pretty dull.

:810:
1455 - Crumb (1994) - 8/10 - A biographical documentary on underground comic artist Robert Crumb. It's actually pretty interesting and who would have thought that he would be the most normal of the three Crumb brothers. I kind of like Crumb's art, but never got into his stories and have only read a bit of his work.
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