injured my back this week & have been bed-ridden, so LOTR Extended Editions were the first choice.

might move on to some horror franchises next.

Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
A symbiotic tale between Sidney Falco, a sycophantic press agent who will do anything short of murder to climb the “golden ladder” and J. J. Hunsecker, the powerful columnist who marionettes others in his machinations. There’s a lot to applaud from the cinematography to acting with special notice to its clever dialogue as it’s chock full of memorable lines (eg. “match me, Sidney”, “you’re a cookie full of arsenic”, etc.). An excellent example of film noir.

I Saw the TV Glow (2024)
A clearly divisive film as the friends I watched with did not enjoy it yet I did. One of their (many) criticisms was it should not have been labelled as “horror” to which I begrudgingly agreed as it’s not horror in the conventional sense. What it does beautifully is the 80s aesthetics coupled with its themes and allegories which can be interpreted in a myriad of ways so that where your mind is at that point in time will determine the enjoyability of this film.

The Last Duel (2021)
The unreliable narrator reigns in this Ridley Scott film reminiscent of Rashômon. The subtle retellings from one character to the next ensured the audience’s rapturous attention and despite it dragging in parts (a cut of 30-45min would be perfect) and the odd choice of speaking English in this medieval French setting, it was altogether enjoyable.

Piece by Piece (2024)
The entire movie is on how successful and wonderful and artistic Pharrell is through scenes of famous friends interviewed interspersed with his songs that sounds vaguely dissimilar. Yet another clichéd biopic that attempts to break the formula by using phantasmagoric Lego and fails as even the customary third plot point is woefully anemic. At least Lego visuals are still nice.

Movies at the top of the list does not necessarily signify the top movie being a masterpiece while the bottom is a calamity, it simply means I enjoyed it more (or less) than the other movies of the week. Using last week’s review as a prime example, the gap between the best and worst movie of that particular week is <1 point on a 10 point scale (low 7s - low-mid 6s).

I saw Sinners today. Amazing film that works on a lot of different levels. A lot of time is allocated to the introduction of the characters, including side characters, so that you actually care about their fates later in the film (rare in this genre). There are some very strong themes around family and its sort of a celebration of African American and minority culture. I was surprised by how moving Sinners gets for a “horror” film, you can really feel that the writer/director had something to say and was passionate about this piece of work. The soundtrack is also amazing, the film is not really a musical but it’s also not afraid to let music come to the forefront and really dominate everything else for extended periods. There’s even an R&B track written specifically for the second half of the credits, which was totally unexpected but ties in very strongly with the themes of the film and makes a lot of sense as a musical coda.

Finally watched Subservient and was pleasantly surprised, even though I initially thought them giving away that she was a robot was the wrong move.

Havoc,

And I regret that I could have spent the time pouring lemon juice into fresh cuts instead.

Bless rainy weekends and work travel weeks.

Dick Tracy - I haven’t watched this since it was in theaters. Such a bonkers movie. But just like during the original release, I just wish Beatty wasn’t the lead. He’s too old and just dull as he’ll.

Fubar - not the Schwarzenegger one, but the Canadian one about an aging metal dude getting his nut removed. It was alright. I’ll watch the second one.

Empire Strikes Back (Project 4K80) - Yeah, none of the digital additions are missed at all in this one.

The Clone Wars (2008) - I had skipped this because I never got into the original animated Clone Wars shorts. It was good and nice to see Ahsoka’s introduction.

Alien, the og one. It’s hard to believe that the creature isn’t even in the screen much yet the suspend is so high. Ripley looking for her cat frantically is probably the most relatable thing. I like how if they listened to Parker from the beginning the movie just end, he’s right for most of the situation lol.

I started Havoc, but gave up half way. The dialogue was bad and so was the action and CGI

I watched The Last Duel a few days ago and I really liked it. I wish I could say more but I suck at trying to talk about movies lol

Interesting post :) Yesterday although not really a movie i introduced a friend of mine to Thunderbolt ill sent him this post see if he wants to share his thoughts.

Watching it the second time was really good it was more clear how dark that show really is when watching it a second time, I loved it, Next gundam show i am gonna watch with my friend is Iron blooded orphans and The witch of mercury.

When it comes to movies i watched Terrifier 3 this weekend with my best mate. And i am a bit divided by that movie, sure it had its shock moments which i enjoyed since im a sucker for those, But the overal story was not as exciting as the first one and please don’t get started on the second one that story was awful.

The third installment of the series was alright for a slasher film but i wouln’d watch it for the story but honestly, Were the terrifier series ever about the story ;)

Technically still in the week i watched the ministry of ungentlemanly warfare, I loved this movie was alot like inglorious bastards but with a little bit more humor in it. Characters were great and i enjoyed the movie. That was my week :D

None so far! I should make a watchlist for Thursday and the weekend.

How about you?

Shadow (2018) - beautifully designed and shot, particularly in the first half. Relatively gory for a wuxia: I didn’t mind but my wife, who is quite sensitive to such things, found it too much at times.

As with Zhang Yimou’s earlier House of Flying Daggers I felt that that it didn’t really reach a conclusion as much as ended the story and then drifted to a stop.

Definitely worth seeing though.