BELLE DE JOUR (1967)

Severine Serizy (Catherine Deneuve) is married to a well-to-do, kindly doctor but can't be intimate with him. She has occasional sadomasochistic fantasies instead. A friend (Michel Piccoli), who seems to be a professional libertine, starts a discussion with the couple and gives her a business card from a discrete, high-end brothel. She visits and signs on as an afternoon worker (hence Belle de Jour). There she makes it with a variety of yahoos, perverts and other colorful characters, including a violent young gangster who falls for her and shoots her husband. Since Louis Bunuel directed, the film has many surreal elements, not all of which work. But, Deneuve is superb--her best-ever role--and her detached, enigmatic portrayal of Severine adds to the overall mysterious feeling. The movie is beautifully filmed, but not as stunningly beautiful as Deneuve (who still looks great from the photos I see in Paris-Match).

She was still stunning 16 yrs. later in "The Hunger" w/ David Bowie & Susan Sarandon.

THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT

I've always been a Nicolas Cage fan and am so happy he's back with this shot-in-the-arm dose of awesomeness (not that he went anywhere). The film is a tongue-in-cheek homage to some of his previous work while simultaneously working as a film within a film. After deciding to retire from acting and in debt, Cage agrees to attend a birthday party for superfan Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal) in Majorca, Spain for $1 million. However, he's soon approached by two CIA agents, Vivian (Tiffany Haddish) and Martin (Ike Barinholtz) who attempt to convince Cage that Javi is an international arms dealer. Unconvinced, Cage at first agrees to assist the CIA to prove Javi's innocent by downloading sensitive material. However, when the daughter of a Spanish politician is kidnapped and the CIA believes she's hidden somewhere within Javi's compound, Cage ups the ante in order to save the girl if she is indeed being held on the premises. During this time, Cage and Javi's relationship begins to deteriorate with each looking to kill the other. This is an action-comedy that starts out wonderfully but pacing is a problem about two-thirds of the way in. The film opens ridiculously as only Nicolas Cage can do: it's funny and engaging but by the time Cage and Javi attempt to kill each other, the film comes to a screeching halt but does make up for it a bit in the final act. The comradery between Cage and Javi appears genuine both onscreen and off and even with the pacing issues, the film is still a lot of fun. This has been better than some of the other recent independent films Cage has done and if your a fan of his, you're not going to want to miss this one. 6.5/10

Drop-dead elegant! Watched it last night. Crazy story, but I couldn't keep my eyes off Deneuve.

]MILLER'S CROSSING] (1990)

Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne) is right-hand man to Prohibition-era mob boss Leo O'Bannion (Albert Finney), who's being challenged by Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito), up-and-coming Italian gang leader. Their "rumpus" is over Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro), a sniveling but dangerous bookie who's cheating Caspar but is protected by Leo. Tom's at odds with his boss, Leo, and he's also having an affair with Verna (Marcia Gay Hardin), who's Leo's mistress and Bernie's sister. Somehow Tom has to maneuver himself through this mess and stay alive. Right away you know that this is a Coen brothers movie--the thuggery combined with near-comical bizarre scenes and dialog, along the lines of "Barton Fink" and "The Man Who Wasn't There." I didn't much care for the plot, but the acting makes it well worth watching. Finney is magnificent--tough but often hapless when dealing with Tom and Verna. But the movie belongs to the inimitable Polito, whose Johnny Caspar is just unforgettable--the embodiment of the Coen's off-the-wall character development.

DUAL (2022)

Karen Gillan stars as Sarah, a woman in her mid-20's who's recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness. With a 98% chance of death (the other 2% being a margin of error), Sarah decides to clone or duplicate herself so her family and friends can still live on with her. Although, 10 months later, after the duplicate has spent time with Sarah and is ready to live her own life, the original Sarah learns to her and her doctors surprise, she's somehow and miraculously in remission. No longer in need of her duplicate since she will in fact survive, Sarah begins the process of having her duplicate decommissioned. However, the duplicate under legal protection, petitions for a stay. A stay asks the court that her life be accepted as just as valid to live as the original Sarah's. The only legal resolution is by engaging in a dual to the death between the original Sarah and her duplicate. Once the wheels for this are in motion, both Sarah's have a year to train before their showdown. Gillan does a great job playing both roles of Sarah and the script is well written as a delicious dark-comedy. Aaron Paul stars in a minor supporting role as Trent, the original Sarah's combat trainer. A film that didn't receive a big marketing push or a lot of attention upon it's release but is a gem worth checking out. 7/10

We just saw this over the weekend…gave it a 3 out of 5 which i believe would be a 6.5 out of a 10 scale.

I really enjoyed it other than the end not really showing actual duel of Sarah and her double. I understand we were to figure out all the details of who was who at the end and other times ( dance training) even Aron Paul was tricked….that was the dupe teaching him dance. Sarah never took dance, the Dupe did.

We gave it another 3/5 which I think equated to a 5 1/2 on your 10 scale.

Did you ever critique in 5 stars or always 10 scale?

No Sarah took the dancing lessons. Remember on her first session with Trent, he recommends she increases her cardio by dancing, etc?

Personally, always 5 here but on the other websites I post my reviews on, they only offer a 5 star rating.

Cool, I think I will watch the last half hour again…… someone came in when we were watching and i may have become confused.

NOPE

Writer, producer, and director Jordan Peele is back with his 3rd film. He's rightfully received much praise and admiration for his first two efforts GET OUT and US. GET OUT is a masterpiece and I do need another viewing of US but after seeing it originally, I did not care for it at all and it could not hold a candle to GET OUT in my opinion. After watching NOPE, I can now unfortunately say Jordan Peele is hit-or-miss with me. While I did enjoy this more than US, it again, is nowhere near as good as GET OUT and he could be suffering from the M. Night Shyamalan effect, where his debut was so original and powerful, no other film he does will ever compare to it.

NOPE follows the Haywood family: Otis Sr. (Keith David), OJ or Otis Jr. (Daniel Kaluuya), and Emerald (Keke Palmer). The family owns a horse farm in southern California and the horses are used for TV and film. However, strange occurrences begin to happen as the horses disappear and there's a UFO in the clouds above their house. Broke and with OJ unwilling to sell the family's land, he and Emerald enlist Angel (Brandon Perea) a local Fry's Electronics employee and director Antlers Hoist (Michael Wincott) to capture footage of the UFO to sell. The story works as an original sci-fi/horror piece and reminded me somewhat of John Carpenter's THE THING. It unfolds slowly, with an opening scene that left me wondering if I walked into the wrong theater by mistake but the scene is tied in later in the film. It jumps around and is split into chapters with each title the name of a horse on the farm. It takes place over a 6-month period and during this time OJ begins to learn the habits of the aliens such as what works to avoid being attacked by them but also what's harmful to them. I'm a big fan of Daniel Kaluuya but he appears to be coasting in this film as OJ very rarely shows emotion of any kind and is just matter of fact about everything. The final encounter with the alien will leave you wondering what exactly you're watching as it's somewhat out there. A lot of undertones which audiences have come to expect from Peele but overall, I found this to just be average. 6/10

THE HUNGER (1983)

Hoodlum's post of a few days ago stimulated me to write a review:

Miriam Blalock (Catherine Deneuve), a 3,000 year-old Egyptian vampire, lives in a lavish, sculpture-filled NYC mansion with her latest husband, John (David Bowie in an excellent performance). She promised him "eternal youth," but he suddenly feels himself ageing by the minute. He barges in on a clinic researching premature ageing and ageing reversal, headed by Dr. Sara Roberts (Susan Sarandon), who dismisses him as a crank. He goes back to the mansion, dies, and Miriam puts him in a box alongside her other "eternally young" previous husbands. Looking for him, Roberts rings the doorbell of the mansion, and Miriam immediately attracts her, leading to a steamy bedroom encounter and their becoming blood sisters. It all comes crashing down at the end.

This movie is all style and no substance--but what style, especially Deneuve. She's not only just as beautiful as she was in "Belle de Jour" 16 years later, she's drop-dead elegant. I watched it twice just to see her again. The gauzy. smoky scenes add a brooding quality that fits. Most of the rest doesn.t.

THE GRAY MAN

Netflix hires on The Russo Brothers along with a star studded cast that includes Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, and Billy Bob Thornton to push a mediocre script. The premise here is Sierra Six (Gosling) is in prison with a lengthy sentence for a murder he committed at a young age. Fitzroy (Thornton) works for the CIA and entices Six to work for them by commuting his sentence. Tasked with exterminating enemies of the state, we then pick up Six on a mission in Bangkok on New Year's. His target is a former operative like himself, Sierra Four, who's gone rogue by downloading sensitive information about their superior and is selling it to the highest bidder. Six follows through on his mission although rather than turning in the sensitive date, he keeps it in order to shed light on the shenanigans that have been going on within the agency. Attempting to tie up all loose ends, his superior enlists Lloyd Hansen (Evans), a prior Sierra himself who was kicked out for his propensity towards violence, torture, and other extreme methods. Now a civilian, Hansen isn't restricted in the ways he was prior working for the government. It was refreshing to see Evans embrace a darker role playing the psychopathic villain with his Freddie Mercury mustache and chic sense of style (even if he only apparently wears smediums the entire film). However, with him famously coming off of his Steve Rogers/Captain America role in the MCU, as an audience member it's hard to buy in to his character as he comes off as very playful but also may be holding back some. The only other character of note is young Claire Fitzroy played by Julia Butters who you may remember from Quentin Tarantino's ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD as sassy young actress Trudi. Outside of that, Netflix is banking on the star power to reel in audiences but yet again, once they're there, the film doesn't live up. Action scenes are plenty but jerky and convoluted. Gosling is detached, even though he secretly would do anything to prevent any harm coming to Claire. A decent film but I've seen better from everyone involved. 6/10

Says it all, Irishman. Only thing really good about this movie is Gosling. He was also the only thing good about "Blade Runner 2049," where he had the same detached, almost bemused quality.

THE SURVIVOR

Based upon the life of Harry Haft, Ben Foster stars as the boxing Auschwitz survivor. Haft was taught how to box to the death by SS guard Dietrich Schneider, for the amusement of the guards. The winner kept their life while the loser had a bullet put through his head. The film is a character study into the traumas of war and PTSD and it's incredibly untenable what the survivors not only had to endure during the war in order to survive, but also the daily nightmares they experienced afterwards. Ben Foster has always been an underrated actor in my opinion, who turns in a passable performance as Haft, who sometimes comes off as gruff, but it's understandable with the knowledge of what he's lived through. He survives the camp to find his one true love in Leah (Dar Zuzovsky). After the war, he desperately seeks any information as to her whereabouts and even calls out soon-to-be heavyweight champion of the world Rocky Marciano (Anthony Molinari) in a desperate attempt to garner attention to his name in hopes she'll read about it. During this time he somewhat befriends/berates Miriam Wofsoniker (Vicky Kriep) who assists him with finding Leah. Years later with an empty feeling inside of him that Leah is dead, much like his family, Harry settles down and starts a family with Miriam. The subject matter is contagious for those with an infinity towards history, as a boxer who learned to fight for his life within the confines of the Auschwitz death camp, who then turns professional in the States and has the opportunity to fight Rocky Marciano. Foster comes off as a damaged man, detached much of the time but also recalls many of the horrors he's survived easily. The trauma the man has endured can never fully be appreciated and the last 15 minutes of the film will rip at your heartstrings. Seeing individuals like this pick up the pieces of their life and move on, only reinforces how trivial the problems we have in modern society today. 5.5/10

Saw it....very good picture I thought...

Exactly my thoughts 2 Turnbull...Thanx 4 your expert newspaper like review..u should start a nite career as a full fledged critic..seriously.

Thanks!

NOT OKAY

Zoey Deutch stars as Danni Sanders, a photo editor who's trying to branch off to be a writer for the magazine she works for, Depravity. A typical Gen Zer who can't go anywhere without her phone and is constantly comparing her life against others on social media. In order to gain the attention of fellow coworker and influencer Colin (played remarkably unlikable by Dylan O'Brien), Danni fakes a trip to Paris by photoshopping herself onto Paris backgrounds. However, within minutes of one of her posts, terrorist bomb multiple sites around the city. Followers and family members believing she's in harms way, Danni becomes a fake victim of the attacks, expanding on the lie to further Colin's new found attention towards her and to transition to being a writer at work. In addition, her social media following blows up (no pun intended) and she's soon thrust into the spotlight, something with which she's privately craved for as well. A social commentary on today's social media celebrities and the lengths individuals will endure to achieve it. Danni does have a conscience and does have moments that make her pause, but ultimately, she continues to ride the gravy train until she's found out and is forced to expose herself as a fraud. The film is mildly interesting but will definitely appeal to a younger crowd. Zoey at times gives a strong performance as irredeemable Danni. However, there's A LOT of virtue signaling within this 100 minute film, especially in regards to the anti-gun agenda as Danni attends a local support group in order to get pointers on how she should be feeling and crosses paths with Rowan (Mia Isaac) who's a survivor of a school shooting (think Emma González of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School) and becomes an outspoken activist. By the end, it's looks like they took Jussie Smollett's story and just tweaked it a bit. 5/10

Does he ever cast white or other non-black ethnicity actors in leading roles or is the whole shoehorning actors into movies based on their race thing not reciprocal?

Non-reciprocal. Remember, white man bad so they can only be the villains.

Wow! They have Unforgiven tonight. It was made in the 1990s!

BULLET TRAIN

Back on assignment after a break, Brad Pitt stars as Ladybug, a snatch-and-grab guy who has the worst luck, which at times costs others their lives. His job is simple: board a Japanese bullet train, grab a briefcase containing $10 million dollars, and get off at the first stop. Sounds easy enough, except for the fact 4 assassins are also onboard and looking for the same briefcase, each with their own agenda (Joey King plays Prince, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is Tangerine, Brian Tyree Henry is his non-biological brother Lemon, and Andrew Koji as Kimura). The cast is outstanding, each holding their own and never backing down in order to sell their characters strengths. King continues to impress me with her work and this further advances her cause as she plays the damsel in distress beautifully when needing to get out of a predicament, yet is just a ruthless as the others. Tangerine and Lemon have great banter between them as English mates who grew up together, with Lemon also having an unhealthy obsession with Thomas the Tank for a man his age. A few nice cameos are peppered throughout as well that audiences are sure to enjoy. The film is action packed with some but not an abundance of humor. Having Japan on my bucket list, this film just made the itch that much worse as some of the film is shot in Tokyo in addition to California. The runtime was a little issue for me at 126 minutes as it tended to drag slightly in the second and third acts. A little disappointed I didn't enjoy it more as it's quick to capture your attention, again the cast it outstanding, but the finale was a bit bloated. It's still a fun ride though and a solid B action film. 6/10

CONTACT (1i997)

Ellie Arroway (Jodi Foster), a young astrophysicist obsessed with finding signs of extra-terrestrial life, finally picks up encrypted communications traced to the star Vega. The discovery sets off a global sensation and construction of a contraption found in the Vega communique that will bring an earthling to the star. Ellie gets the nod by circuitous means, makes a quick, ambiguous stellar trip, is ridiculed because she can't prove it to the politicos, but is happy at the end. This movie is way too lengthy lat 2 1/2 hours and takes a long time to generate any excitement. But once it gets rolling, it has enough action to hold you, even though the climactic moment is a let down. It hangs on thanks to a great performance by Foster--plucky, determined, resilient but always appealing and sympathetic. The all star supporting cast includes Angela Bassett, Matthew McConaughey, David Morse, James Woods, John Hurt and Tom Skerritt.

TED K

A film about Unabomer Ted Kaczynski, Sharlto Copley plays Ted, who is a socially awkward individual, and has retreated to the isolation of Montana to "get away from society." However, he soon feels threatened by the likes of snowmobiles, motorbikes, loggers, and planes passing through or over his property. In order to be left in solitude, he confronts his trespassers by acts of vandalism or in the case of the overhead planes, targets the companies CEO's with mail bombs. Not knowing much about Kaczynski coming in to this film, the story is just as weird as the man himself; however, it doesn't work for me much. Many of the repeated actions take place: Ted's peaceful isolation is broken up by trespassers, Ted either confronts them or plans sending them a bomb to express his frustration that is only known to him, rinse, repeat. No timeline is given whatsoever during his decades long reign of terror. so it's difficult to keep up with how far Kaczynski has lost his grasp on reality. Outside of the strong performance of Copley, this film is rather forgettable, which is unfortunate, considering the subject matter. 5/10

BODIES BODIES BODIES

Set in a New York mansion reminiscent of Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, 5 rich friends and their current flings host a hurricane party. The home belongs to David's (Pete Davidson) parents so he takes charge and is a druggie, verbally abusive boyfriend to Emma (Chase Sui Wonders). Rounding out the rest of the cast are gay lovers Bee (Maria Bakalova - who is unknown to the group) and Sophie (Amandla Stenberg - a recovering addict), Alice (Rachel Sennott - a no filter blabbermouth) and Greg (Lee Pace - her fling), and solo Jordan (Myha'la Herrold). When the weather starts to turn, they huddle inside to start their Bodies Bodies Bodies game. A live-action game where 1 individual draws an X card and is considered the killer. However, the film soon turns to real life consequences as the party members begin showing up dead and the rest of the party are left to uncover who the killer is. A woke film that actually pokes fun at the stereotypes of the current generation (which is a breath of fresh air from Hollywood), and is not heavy handed or preachy in their message. At times a funny and curious who-dunnit film that has a very surprise ending. Not a genre-shifting film as SCREAM (1996) but an enjoyable and original twist. The star for me was Rachel Sennott as her range was enjoyable from start to finish. Overall this film may not appeal to everyone but I enjoyed the ride, even if at times I was frustrated with who the killer ultimately was until the big reveal. 6.5/10

PREY

Set 300 years ago in 1719 in The Great Plains, the story finds young Naru (Amber Midthunder) trying to prove her hunting worth to her tribe. Unexpectedly, she's able to witness, warn, and ultimately battle the predator from another planet. Honestly, I passed on this film as the trailer did next to nothing for me. However, upon good word-of-mouth, I decided to give it a shot and I'm glad I did as this is the best entry into the Predator franchise since the sequel way back in 1990. Having garnered support from fellow Predator alums Jesse Ventura and Bill Duke, Midthunder is worthy of the praise. An action packed and gory affair, the film has ties to both the original (in the form of Billy) and it's sequel. The predator we've come to know is primitive itself in it's display and shows how's it's also advanced over the centuries. A fun ride for anyone of the franchise. 6/10

DAY SHIFT

Jamie Foxx plays Bud Jablonski, a faux pool cleaner who in actuality is a vampire hunter in the San Fernando Valley. Divorced and with the threat of having his 11-year-old daughter (Zion Broadnax as Paige) and ex-wife (Meagan Good as Jocelyn) transported across the country to Florida, Bud has exactly 7 days to come up with $10,000 to pay for his daughters private school tuition and braces in order for Jocelyn to stay. Hunting vampires, pulling, and selling their fangs for profit isn't as lucrative as it seems without a union membership, one in which Bud previously owned but has subsequently been removed from due to multiple union violations. In order to gain it back, he enlists the help of his friend cowboy gunslinger Big John Elliott, who is marvelously played by Snoop Dogg. A condition of his reinstatement is that he's followed at all times on the job by a fellow union member and pencil pusher, Seth (Dave Franco). This is a fun B-action film that brings nothing new to the vampire or action genre other than the main stars are black. A few whoas are spent during the action sequences as they are nicely choreographed. Outside of that, it's a fun ride that'll soon be forgotten. 5.5/10

Great reviews i12 …….thanks.

I figure if you dont place the date as you did in past it means its current and 2022