I've watched it at least a dozen times. Definitive performance by Robert Mitchum in the title role--some critics think it was the best in his long career. Peter Boyle just as good.

Crusher: Did you ever read the novel by George V. Higgins? IMO, the greatest crime novel ever written. Higgins' second novel, "The Digger's Game," is equally great.

Have you ever seen the Mike Judge movie, Idiocracy, from 2006? It was like a prelude to the way liberals and social justice warriors and democratic politicians would start acting beginning under Obama and into Trump's term in office.

I saw it a LONG time ago and don't remember anything about it, other than that I found it dumb and didn't like it.

Rampage (1987)

Forgotten movie directed by William Friedkin. A courtroom thriller ascertaining the guilt of a serial killer on trial for his life using the insanity defense. Beset by low production values, it nonetheless benefits from a steady pace and brisk running time. It was surprisingly good and had interesting things to say about the justice system and culpability.

Thief (1981)

Directed by Michael Mann, it's an inoffensive watch. Great cinematography as you'd come to expect from a master of his craft. Similar to Heat, but lacking in the high-end production values and thrilling set pieces. James Caan is charismatic and believable in his role as the titular thief, while Robert Prosky is in his element as the antagonist who cajoles him into one last big score. Certain plot points such as the love interest could've been more fleshed out, like they were in Heat. Mann improved on this with Manhunter in 1986, and perfected it with Heat in 1995.

Thief is great. I made a topic in it not that long ago. Jimmy Caan is the man

THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT

Ed and Lorraine Warren are back for another paranormal adventure from their case files. This takes place during 1981 in Connecticut and involves the exorcisms of both David Glatzel and Arne Johnson. The film opens up with the exorcism of 8-year-old David and at first, I figured this would be another short story opener like the two previous films before transitioning towards a new case. However, the demon who's possessing David moves into Arne, who then early in the film commits murder and is the first person (in this country anyway) to use demonic possession as a defense during his manslaughter trial. When I first heard this was going to be about exorcisms and demonic possessions, I wasn't exactly thrilled as I'm not a fan of the subgenre (and yes, that includes THE EXORCIST as well). The first film was fantastic, the second was a worthy follow up, and this unfortunately is the worst of the bunch. James Wan's tension, suspense building, and overall touch are sorely lacking. This is the first film in the trilogy that delves deep into Lorraine's clairvoyance gift as it's used in passing during the first 2 installments; however, here it's a major theme, which was one of the issues I had with the film, bouncing back-and-forth from vision to realty. Not as many scares either as there aren't characters stumbling around in the dark, seeking out a spirit who's ready to scare the crap out of them and the audience. I do give the studio credit for trying to go in a new direction, rather than continuing to churn out the same old haunted house motif, but this entry falls flat. The previous 2 films have been criticized for the portrayal of the Warren's and how much they actually had a hand in these cases, so who knows how much of this installment is true? Although I do enjoy Patrick Wilson's and Vera Farmiga's performances as these characters, this was a messy, disappointment film for the franchise. I'd be up for another one of their adventures, hoping they could end things on a higher note than this. 5.5/10

Just realized I posted these in the wrong thread:

A QUIET PLACE PART II

John Krasinski is at it again, wonderfully weaving suspense and themes of family, loss, and communication throughout his follow-up to the hugely successful original. The opening plays as a brief prequel, beginning on day 1 and the monster's arrival on earth. From there, we're immediately thrown back to the end of Part I and pick the Abbott's up from there. Having their home destroyed with the events in the first film, the Abbott family is now on the move, seeking shelter and resources. They come upon Cillian Murphy's Emmett and his hideout in a local steel mill (Cillian having being introduced to us during said prequel). The film then splits off into 2, and then at times, 3 separate storylines before coming together at the end. Again, Krasinski leaves the film on such a high note that the audience is wanting more and this is easily left open for a third installment that I'm sure will come to fruition once the numbers from this weekend roll in. If you enjoyed the events of the original, you're going to enjoy this sequel just as much as this is truly a sequel, and not just a bridge to a third, trilogy ending film. For my money, I still prefer the original slightly more, but this is definitely a film enjoyed in theaters. 7.5/10

CRUELLA

Disney is once again showing their baddies some love, moving on from Maleficent and this time turning their attention to Cruella de Vil. When the trailer was originally dropped, fans complained about how this was too similar to JOKER, which it was not. And even if it was, would that really be such a bad thing? Considering JOKER made over $1 billion and won multiple Oscars. However, had this not been a Disney property and constrained by the House of Mouse, this could have been a better and darker film. As such, it's still a fun ride but just missed it's potential in my opinion. Emma Stone is deliciously devilish as Estella/Cruella, an orphan who grows up on the hard streets of London with her friends and pseudo-family Jasper (Joel Fry) and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser) working as grifters to get by. By the time she's an adult, she sets her sights on becoming a fashion designer, wanting to work at the most "in" store in town, hoping it'll be a springboard for her to break into the business. Unfortunately for her, she's hired as a cleaner and rebuffed by her boss whenever she attempts to pitch him ideas. Terrible and unsatisfied at her position, she's soon hired by the Baroness (Emma Thompson) immediately after being fired from her cleaning position. The Baroness is THE last word in fashion during this time period of London in the 1970's. Before long, Estella embraces her Cruella side before going toe-to-toe with the Baroness for both personal and professional reasons. Stone was most enjoyable when she was given the freedom to dial up the Cruella character, but sadly, this is short lived. Jasper and Horace both shine in their own way as her sidekicks and you can feel the chemistry between the three. However, the most enjoyable interactions are between Estella/Cruella and the Baroness herself. Throughout the duration of the film, Thompson at times seems to be the heart and soul of this story. She is likewise absolutely wonderful and her many scenes with Stone never become stale or dull. I'd be up for more of Cruella's antics if Disney were to roll the dice on her sequel. 6.5/10

Watched it on my flight home. What a mess of a movie. I thought the first one was rather good, but then they just lost it. The Warrens were full of it in reality, but it's perfect fodder for Hollywood and excellent entertainment for people who get a kick out of the genre. Sadly, they didn't deliver this time around.

Agreed. The second entry into the franchise wasn't bad but not as good as the original but I do agree that part III was a mess. How unfortunate as I was excited when I heard it was coming out. Glad I didn't have to pay or go to the theaters for this as I watched it on HBO Max. I know a lot of people are upset that they're releasing movies in the theater and on HBO Max on the same day but as a consumer, I absolutely love it!

THE WORLD TO COME

New York, 1856, THE WORLD TO COME stars Casey Affleck and Katherine Waterston as Dyer and Abigail, a grieving couple who just recently lost their only child Nellie. Dyer is a wounded man, both physically and emotionally. He pours himself into his work, constantly keeping busy, in order to not have to cope with the loss, while also wanting to attempt at having another child with Abigail. Not as busy and unsatisfied with her domestic duties, Abigail is not ready for that step yet. As they grow apart, the distance is exacerbated when new neighbors Finney and Tallie move in. Abigail and Tallie quickly strike up a friendship that soon becomes more than that: forbidden love. Due to the time period and society's unaccepting nature of a lesbian couple, they must keep it quite. There are times throughout the film where there is some tension, wondering if the couple will be found out by their husbands or an unsuspecting passerby. Dyer and Finney only seem to talk about their work, whereas the women talk about writing, poems, and literature (they also appear to be more intellectual than the brute men). Waterston plays the delicate flower, while Vanessa Kirby is more the free spirit of the couple. An enjoyable watch that's somewhat reminiscent of a female version of BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. 6.5/10

CITY OF LIES

CITY OF LIES stars Johnny Depp as Detective Russell Poole and Forest Whitaker as journalist Jack Jackson. During the opening of the film, Poole is called to investigate a road rage incident turned deadly that before long, sets him on a course in search for the killer of Christopher Wallace aka The Notorious B.I.G. Years later, Jackson hunts down Poole, now living in isolation after having been forced out of the LAPD, to inquire what his investigation found as he writes a 20 year retrospective piece on Wallace. Poole takes him through what he found, where he was forced to not follow leads by his superiors, and why. An interesting subject matter with 2 household names that should have made for a better film. The script is soft, leaving Depp and Whitaker with not much to chew on. However, Depp in particular seems to be going through the motions as this seems like a cash grab film for him. The detective he's playing, Poole, lost his family, job, and reputation as many consider him to be nothing more than a cooky conspiracy theorist, due to this case. I never got any sense of that anger, frustration, loneliness, or isolation one would expect from a man who's lost everything attempting to simply do his job. The final product is disappointing, even if it does make some explosive accusations about who was really involved in the death of The Notorious B.I.G. 5.5/10

THE HITMAN'S WIFE'S BODYGUARD

They say two's company and three's a crowd and in this instance, they're 100% right. What made THE HITMAN'S BODYGUARD such a success was the camaraderie and banter between stars Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson. However, with this unnecessary sequel (what else do you expect from Lionsgate studio?) Salma Hayek is shoehorned in to the script and takes over, cutting Jackson's screen time in favor for herself. And while that isn't her fault and she was enjoyable as her supporting role in the original, here, her chemistry doesn't work as well with Reynolds. Constantly screaming to get her point across while spewing bad jokes that aren't near as funny as the original. The film also is too fast paced when it opens, with Reynolds quickly getting thrown out of a therapy session, to being introduced to Frank Grillo's character from Boston who's somehow demoted to being an Interpol agent in Italy (this entire character and his brief subplot could have been cut), to Antonio Banderas' bad Bond villain, Aristotle Papadopolous. The story also has a more ludicrous and over-the-top, convoluted premise than the original involving Aristotle wanting to destroy the entire European power grid as payback for sanctions placed upon his country of Greece. Overall, this is a terrible sequel and I was ready for the credits to roll about the midway point. Hopefully this does bad enough to not entice Lionsgate to make a third entry in the franchise. 4/10

I enjoy reading your reviews even if I have little to no interest in watching most of the movies you suffer through!

I can't help but wonder if Casey Affleck took that role in The World to Come as some sort of damage control for his reputation considering some of the stuff that has come out about him recently.

I appreciate the feedback. I was wondering why Affleck took this role and the role in EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE? He seems to be struggling in both roles, not just as an actor but as a person as well. Wonder if it's some form of self-inflicting punishment?



I watched this for the first time a few weeks ago. I'd never heard of it until about a year or so ago and know it has somewhat of a cult following; however, it didn't do much for me. Mann for me is usually a miss. And while I did enjoy both Caan and Prosky in their respective roles, overall, the film was forgettable with nothing really standing out.

WILLY'S WONDERLAND

Nicolas Cage stars as an unnamed janitor, without a single line of dialogue, and still managers to be a bad ass. Cage's character is stranded in a small town after all 4 of his tires are blown by a spike strip, with teenagers being blamed as the culprits. With no cash to pay for the repairs, he agrees to work off the debt by spending a night cleaning Willy's Wonderland, an abandoned knock-off of Chuck E. Cheese, complete with animatronics. The restaurant has been abandoned due to its horrific past; however, the owner is trying to fix it up for a reopening and as such, will pay for the repair on Cage's car in exchange for one night of labor. The only problem is, Cage is unaware he's being locked inside with animatronics looking to devour him for their next meal. Going in to this, you know the premise is tongue-in-cheek. It doesn't take itself too seriously and is a fun B movie. Nothing about Cage's character is revealed, which actually benefits him. It gives him an air of mystique and not everything needs an explanation. If you're a fan of Cage or just looking for something a little humorous or outside the box, you could do a lot worse than this. 5.5/10

FATALE (2020)

Derrick Tyler (Michael Ealy), wealthy, successful agent for basketball stars, goes to Vegas and has a one-night stand with Val Quinlan (Hilary Swank). After his lavish home in LA is invaded and he's nearly killed, Quinlan turns up as the lead LAPD detective on the case. This evolves to several murders, and Quinlan using Tyler for her own predatory and nefarious schemes. The plot is absurd, but the action is good, and it's tense and gripping more often than not. Swank is good, if you like pure, unadulterated viciousness. Ealy has one expression: hang-dog.

Thanks for the review Turnbull. This is on my list, just haven't got around to it yet.

KEY LARGO (1948)

Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) visits a small Key Largo hotel to pay his respects to the widow (Lauren Bacall) of a guy who died in his outfit during WWII, and her father in law (Lionel Barrymore). The only guests at the hotel are a gang of thugs, headed by Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson), waiting to do a counterfeit money deal and trying (not very well) to hide their thuggery by pretending to be sports fisherman. A hurricane blows away their pretense, giving full steam ahead to Rocco's pathological evil. The supporting cast is aces, including Thomas Gomez, Dan Seymour, Marc Lawrence, Harry Lewis and Claire Trevor, as Rocco's moll (Oscar winner). The script (based on a stage play by Sherwood Anderson) is excellent, and the lighting and direction (John Huston) make the most of the movie. But it's Robinson's all the way, putting in his finest gangster performance. Only Cagney in "White Heat" comes close to the inner psychopath Robinson unleashes here, but it's a nuanced performance that includes humor and fear--making him all the more scary. A great movie, and another brilliant performance by Hollywood's most underrated great actor.

U must have seen it (again probably)..it was just on this afternoon on T.C.M. ...awesome flick.

ARMY OF THE DEAD 2021

Not a great film and lacking any coherent story…if this film was 15 mins long, it’d be great because it’s downhill all the way after that…it started off great!

Bad things:

Typical “strong” female leads replacing and acting like males
Helicopter pilot (who I read is an alleged comedian) was awful
The lead guys daughter in the film had no need to be there, her role and “mission” was completely unnecessary
Zombies can now apparently develop meaningful relationships and social structure
Zombies can’t obviously climb over walled storage containers (apparently they were happy inside a Las Vegas wallled city 20ft high)

Good things:
Possibly the special effects? At a stretch

AVOID…..

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN (1980)

Every schoolboy has a fantasy of going back in time and using modern American military force to subdue those pesky enemies that bedeviled our country in decades (or centuries) past. This is the (almost) adult version:

The supercarrier Nimitz, sailing off of Hawaii, gets caught in an unusually powerful storm that turns out to be a time warp. Captain Matt Yelland (Kirk Douglas) and his officers can't figure out why they aren't able to contact HQ or other Navy ships. They monitor low-band radio broadcasts and send out recon aircraft---and discover that they've been plopped down off Pearl Harbor on Dec.6, 1941. Now Yelland thinks he has an opportunity to reverse history--or does he? In keeping with the general silliness of this film, the cast (which includes Martin Sheen, Katharine Ross, Ron O'neill, James Farentino and Charles Durning) aren't trying very hard. But, the producer evidently got a lot of cooperation from the Navy, and there's lots of good Naval Ops footage and equipment close-ups. If you like that sort of thing (I do), watch it once. If not, skip it.

I saw it years ago TB. I had never heard of it before but it's one of my best friends movies so we watched it along with his kids and I remember enjoying it. Haven't seen it since and I remember never hearing of this film prior, but it was good.

I've been watching a lot of old '80s and '90s movies lately, some movies I've seen, some I don't remember seeing and some I definitely never saw before. Watched Joshua Tree with Dolph Lundgren last night. Saw it when it first came out. Underrated silly fun with lots of action and Dolph doing his best American accent lol

Watched Less Than Zero a few days ago. Had completely forgotten about it, but not Jami Gertz' beauty. Not a bad movie, but it was a bit depressing at times. Can't help but wonder if Downey was coked up for real during the filming. That was some performance

I had never seen or heard of this before until a few months ago when friends of mine suggested watching it. Great performances all around and like you said, very depressing. Solid flick!

I saw it some 30 years back, but I had forgotten most of it. Another guy worth mentioning is James Spader. He is so good at playing psychopaths that I almost feel he should only play those roles. Did you see 2 Days In The Valley? That's another underrated flick

I've seen parts of it. Not 100% sure I've seen it all the way through.

ZOLA

Based on true events, Zola tells her account of a road trip to Florida gone wrong. The film opens with Zola, a waitress at a country food restaurant who happens to one day be the server for Stefani. Unable to place where she has seen and/or met Zola before, Stefani inquires if Zola's ever danced, which she confirms. They exchange numbers and after Zola dances at her other job, Stefani asks her is she wants to take a quick weekend trip to Florida to make some serious money. All about the hustle, Zola quickly agrees but finds out early in the trip she's been duped into going by Stefani and her pimp, who is only credited as X. At the mercy of X who drove her, Stefani, and Stefani's dimwitted boyfriend Derrek, she soon finds herself unable to escape until the trip is over, while at the same time, expected to engage in prostitution for X. Director Janicza Bravo does a wonderful job at building suspense, as for the entire trip the audience has a sense of dread as the story continues to unfold. Wonderful performances all around from the 4 main players. The film is based upon tweets Zola sent out after the ordeal and only a few scenes are from Stefani's point of view, as she's denied Zola's recounting of the events (otherwise, this is Zola's film and from her view point only). A weird 48 hours (but then again, it is Florida), and we'll never know for sure how much of this is true, but it does make for an entertaining film that exceeded my expectations for it going in. 6.5/10

THE FOREVER PURGE

This franchise has long since run it's course. This latest installment follows a (white) family of ranchers on the Texas boarder, along with their predominately Hispanic workforce, who hunker down for the 12 hour purge and escape unscathed. The following morning, when everything should be back to normal, a former white ranch hand and a group of "purifiers" hold the family hostage to "cleanse" the country of the "foreign invaders." And this is not only relegated to Texas, as this is a nationwide uprising, because, you know, "white supremacy." Almost an hour and 45 minutes worth of gaslighting and virtue signaling with completely exaggerated, subtitle, cartoon characters like some of the villains (once of which has a swastika on his left cheek while another, as seen from the trailer, continues to scream at a Hispanic character to "SPEAK ENGLISH!"). You can imagine where the rest of the film goes from here. There was so much "unity" on display here that it was almost unbearable. The best way to sum up this film is with 2 words: liberal porn. 2/10

. Yeah it’s a heavy movie. The author of the book it’s based on hated it fir a long time but has warmed up to it a bit

Thanks i12

So glad I saw this review before trying it out.

I WILL PASS.