I lost count but thanks for the correction. Point is that it's been moved many times and glad I FINALLY get a chance to see it on Thursday. We'll see how Fox treated their last X-Men property before Disney bought them out but I'm more pessimistic going in than optimistic.

NIGERIAN PRINCE (2019)

In this Netflix movie, Eze, an American teenager born to Nigerian immigrants, is sent by his mother to Lagos to live with his stern aunt and be immersed in his native culture. He immediately falls in with his older Nigerian cousin, Pius, and is immersed in the Nigerian National Pastime--scamming--and in the all-pervasive official corruption that sustains it. The culture of scamming makes everyone betray everyone else, family and friendships be damned. A well-acted, well-directed, well-written look at an unfamiliar culture.

THE NEW MUTANTS

After multiple delays, rumors, and a buyout from Disney, Fox's last lap in the X-Men/Marvel swimming pool is just what you expected it to be: mediocre. The film slowly builds as we're introduced to Danille Moonstar, played by Blu Hunt. After a tragedy, she wakes up in a hospital, unaware of where she is or why she's there. She's met by Dr. Reyes (Alice Braga) who fills her in on the details. She's soon introduced to the rest of the group, who are all given there travel size backstories. The women are out front for most of this film, while the boys play second fiddle. The star of the show is easily Anya Taylor-Joy, as the bullying and headstrong Illyana Rasputin (aka Magik). She swallows up every scene that she is in with a spectrum of emotions from strong, to frightened, with not much else in between. Never a good sign, the film was plagued by problems and it showed onscreen. While the performances were there and the actors tried to make it work, the script (or lack thereof), held them back unfortunately. Now that Disney/Marvel finally have the characters back in their possession, they'll make the X-Men movie fans have been clamoring for for years. 5/10

PATTERNS (1956)

Fred Staples (Van Heflin), manager of a plant owned by a big NYC conglomerate, is promoted to the executive suite of the parent company. He doesn't know that ruthless CEO Walter Ramsey (Everett Sloan) brought him in to replace ageing Bill Briggs (Ed Begley in a rare good guy role), whom Ramsey is driving out by constant humiliation and criticism, pitting Staples' ambition against his humanitarian concern for Briggs. The brilliant script by Rod Serling unmercifully and realistically portrays the ugly infighting and survival-of-the-fittest competition in Big Business--a rarity in the complacent Fifties. The acting, especially by Sloan, Begley and Beatrice Straight as Staples' wife, is superb, as is the on-site cinematography in NYC's financial district. This is a Grade A drama that you won't forget.

Rocco and His Brothers with Alain Delon, 1960 in B&W. It's about a widowed mother and her several adult boys who emigrate from southern Italy to Milan and endure the frustrations of supporting themselves and the urban environment. It's subtitled.

European films just have a way of portraying the nitty-gritty of their subjects as this one does also. The plot is almost irrelevant because of its realism. It has some boxing scenes, in some ways like The Raging Bull, but not like Rocky. Again, the realism is there. It's long, over three hours.

TENET

Christopher Nolan is back and Hollywood, as well as movie theaters, are hoping this blockbuster will be enough to bring back the crowds. As I sat in the audience before the lights went out and the film started up, socially distancing within a movie theater and wearing a mask, I was optimistic and believed this could do just that. However, after seeing it, I'm more pessimistic now. While this is visually stunning in IMAX, Nolan tries too had here. I appreciate the originality but even at the beginning of this film, when they first introduce the inversion concept of the story, a character says to John David Washington's character to, "try not to understand it." Essentially, asking the audience to at the same time, enjoy the ride. And for the better part of the movie, that's exactly what I did. A film about an agent (Washington), attempting to prevent an arms dealer from committing world annihilation. Washington is fantastic in this with the swagger and power performance he brings to the screen. Meanwhile, Robert Pattinson is his trusty sidekick, Neil, who he quickly attaches himself to and they're off on their mission. Elizabeth Debicki plays Kat, a woman who is trapped in a loveless and violent marriage by the films villain Andrei Sator (played by Kenneth Branagh). Branagh is passable as the villain, but not menacing enough for my taste (too subdued most of the time save for the occasional outburst). Between the second and third acts is where the film begins to go off the rails as they return to the inversion aspect of the story introduced earlier, which takes us through the finale (which is a mess). A film that will be more forgettable like INTERSTELLAR, than his usual can't miss pedigree. 6/10

I saw "Rocco and his Brothers" when it hit the NYC "art movie houses" in '61 or '62. Brilliant performances by Delon and Salvadori. Italian cinema, especially in that era, was the best, IMO, but this movie was way too long.

Nolan's movies are like filmic Rubik's Cubes. I think he tries to be too clever for his own good and ends up coming across as silly. Maybe people are catching on? A truly great movie will attain rewatch value and reward the viewer with new interpretations in an organic manner. I feel that Nolan tries to construct a puzzle piece first and then writes a movie around that. It's all highfalutin concept, striving for artistic merit, yet depends on the same gimmickry and budget as other, oft-derided, movies.

The Prestige was a good movie but it was too complicated and messy for its own good, constantly playing around with the timeline and using the "twin" trope as tools to manipulate the viewer's ability to follow the movie properly.

Needlessly pretentious!

I definitely agree with most of what you said here. The last Nolan movie I loved was THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. INCEPTION, INTERSTELLAR, DUNKIRK, and TENET I felt he tried too hard and didn't understand all the "love" surrounding them. Although, I am a big fan of THE PRESTIGE!

RICHARD JEWELL (2019)

Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) was a security guard at the '96 Summer Olympics in Atlanta whose vigilance saved many lives when he spotted a suspicious backpack that held a powerful nail bomb. Since no good deed goes unpunished, the news media and FBI ganged up on him as a "person of interest," and made his life miserable before finally clearing him. Jewell seems simple- and single-minded in his (over)zealous devotion to law enforcement, but he retains enough smarts to keep his head above water--and is helped by a dedicated lawyer (Sam Rockwell) and his devoted mother (Kathy Bates). How Hauser didn't get an Oscar for this movie is beyond me--he is just superb and completely believable--always sympathetic, often naive but never pitiful. Well done!

I liked RICHARD JEWELL but not Eastwood's finest film but I do agree Hauser did a great job. He's always brought it no matter what the film has been (JEWELL, I, TONYA, BLACKKKLANSMAN).

I cannot stand Sam Rockwell as an actor.

Off the top of my head, he was in Poltergeist, which I remember being a terrible remake; his overacting was the worst thing about The Green Mile and in marked contrast to fine performances by the rest of the cast; and he had the subtlety of a sledgehammer in Three Billboards, although, tonally, that movie was a mess.

THE T.A.M.I SHOW (1964)

This classic icon of R&R history showcased some of the top acts of '64: Chuck Berry, Marvin Gay, Supremes, Miracles, James Brown, Lesley Gore, Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Barbarians, Rolling Stones, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Gerry and the Pacemakers. It was done, live, as a TV broadcast from Santa Monica, and it still holds up because there was no lip-synching--they all played and sang their music. Every act was better than good--amazing quality. As was [i]de rigeur[/i in those days, go-go dancers (including future Oscar nominee Teri Garr) enlivened the proceedings, as did hordes of screaming girls. You see the Hardest Working Man in Show Business working hard, and the Stones, who were terrified to follow him, rising to the occasion. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Mob Town with Robert Davi as Vito Genovese (2019)

Definitely a B (maybe even a C) movie of the Mafia genre. Although about the Appalachin meeting, it's forgettable, but Davi's performance was pretty good. Along with Armand Assante, he is the ultimate portrayor of Mafiosi.

The film is unusual though because it focuses on the role of the New York State Trooper who discovered that the Appalachin meeting was underway. It goes into depth about how he doggedly pursued some leads that something big was happening in that rural New York town. One other notable performance was the actor who portrayed Joe Barbera. One reward if you watch it is the very cool cars of that 50s era.

That was Nick Cordero last movie. You are thinking of Danny Abeckaser. He plays in a lot of gangster flicks, he is attached to the new Lansky movie. His performance in the film was pretty good as Joe Barbara, he is also the director. Jennifer Esposito is always a solid support actor. The film itself is mediocre. Robert Davi is usually a solid villian, his performance in this movie is good. The big letdown for me was Gino Cafarelli as Carmine Galante, the actor has done some good movies with his acting, but his performance in the movie was eh. He played Vinny in the Sopranos. Speaking of the Sopranos, Jamie-Lynn Sigler who played Meadow Soprano in the Sopranos, plays Joe Barbara's wife Josephine.

A forgettable flick...watched it 2wice & only reedeeming value was time frame...& how do they think that Barbara's wife had an affair w/ Croswell?

On the Waterfront (1954). Very few movies can legitimately be called "powerful." For me, this one is affecting even after seeing it many times. It's almost unique in that.

It is astonishing that this and The Godfather were released only 17 years apart, and Brando wasn't 50 when he took on the role of Vito. It seems like completely unrelated guys.

"Waterfront" is such a timeless classic. When they are in the car, when Brando's head snaps around and he says "it wasn't them, it was you" and the violins start to play I geek out everytime.

INFIDEL

I hadn't heard much about this film save for one trailer recently. I didn't have much of a desire to see it but with so few new releases hitting cinemas due to COVID-19, I took a flyer on it. The film is obviously low budget, not a lot of marketing behind it, and it's not going to break any box office records. People will notice Jim Caviezel as the lead who plays Doug Rawlins, an outspoken American religious blogger. He's invited to a religious conference in Egypt that he attends to discuss the similarities between Christians and Muslims, rather than our differences ("to build bridges" in his own words). While there, he's gets kidnapped and taken to Iran where he's tortured and placed on trail for being an American Spy. Jim is the only redeeming aspect of this film. He's calm, confident, and unapologetic about his beliefs (both in the film and real life). His wife Elizabeth, played by Claudia Karvan, lacks any sort of emotion of a woman who's husband is kidnapped and put on trail for his life. The marriage between Doug and Elizabeth in the film is rocky due to a prior accident that shook Elizabeth's faith but not Doug's. Other than that and one other scene, she's completed detached in her performance. In addition, she's too naive and trusting (especially in a foreign country where strangers seem to know her and want to "offer her assistance," which she accepts before finally questioning if they're being truthful or not). Finally, the story is a bit lite and could have used some more meat to not only flesh out the story but also the characters, and the dynamics of their relationships. 4.5/10

Very true Pete. Brando's line about his brother looking out for him is such a classic as is the whole film.

ANTEBELLUM

I applauded the trailer for this film as it doesn't give away too much of the movie (nowadays I feel like I've seen 75% of movies in their 2-minute trailers). So there was a bit of unknown heading in to this. From what I saw, it seemed like an interesting concept and piqued my curiosity. In doing so, for the better part of the movie you're glued to the story, trying to decipher the time period exactly and it was quite entertaining. I applaud the writers and directors (both Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz), on their originality in developing this story. Once the time period is revealed, however, the film becomes too preachy. Save the performances of leading star Janelle Monae and villain Jena Malone, the film is WAY too heavy handed with it's virtue signaling. The third act is nothing more than an anti-white, I mean anti-right, propaganda piece. I'm surprised more critics are lauding this more as a "timely" film. My biggest grip with the film however, was with Gabourey Sidibe, who plays Dawn and is the best friend of Monae's character of Veronica. I'm sure some will find her performance strong and empowering. Whereas I found her to be nothing more than rude and ill-mannered, displaying her toxic femininity. 5/10

KAJILLIONAIRE

A heartbreaking tale about a family of grifters staring Evan Rachel Wood, Richard Jenkins, and Debra Winger. Throughout the film I'm left wondering how successful these people could be if they focused their efforts on real employment, rather than just trying to skate by in life? At first I was very struck by Wood's portrayal of her character Old Dolio (yeah, I'm not a fan of it either). She's very monotone and practically robotic for most of the film. However, as the relationship between her and her parents unfold, you understand the reasoning behind it. She's being emotionally abused and neglected by her parents, until Melanie enters the picture (played by Gina Rodriguez). The first half of the film is a look at a pseudo-family, while the second half, with the introduction of Rodriguez, introduces us to companionship. A very strong performance by Wood that I'd daresay is borderline Oscar nomination worthy. I say border because the next Oscars will take both films released in 2020 and 2021 into account. 5.5/10

The Brain Eaters 1958

Pretty good Horror I had never seen.
Good story line and acting.
Leonard Nemoy had a small roll, it was fun trying and waiting to spot him.

6.5 / 10

DEEP IN THE DARKNESS 2014

Another good Horror I never seen.

7 / 10

HONEST THIEF

Liam Neeson is back as Tom Carter. A former marine who for the previous 10 years has robbed banks without being caught. He meets Annie (played by Kate Walsh), falls in love, and wants to spend the rest of his life with her. As such, he doesn't want to lie to her so he contacts the FBI to turn himself, and the money he stole, in. However, when Agents Nivens (Jai Courtney) and Hall (Anthony Ramos) discover he's not some crackpot and actually telling the truth, they decide to take the money and get rid of him. The story is shallow and everyone, including Neeson, seem to be on autopilot and mailing in their performance. Neeson's performance is tired and uninteresting. Perhaps that's the way he intended to play this character who's under a tremendous amount of pressure between continuing to lie to his girlfriend and the prospect of turning himself in? However, if that wasn't his intention, then this is a rather poor performance by this man and I only hope he doesn't begun to go the way of Bruce Willis. 5/10

I'm trying to locate a clip of the Irishman. The clip I want is of the bowling ally scene where Russell asks Peggy the birdies question. So far, I've perused the web to no avail.

LET HIM GO

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic and a sleepy ad campaign this film will probably fall under most people's radars but it shouldn't. Diane Lane and Kevin Costner play Margaret and George Blackledge. Lane plays the outgoing, stubborn, and when need be, spitfire Mid-West wife while Costner plays the rough and rugged, reserved Gary Cooper-esque, strong and silent type. The film follows the couple who's former daughter-in-law and grandson move away from Montana to North Dakota to be with her new husband's family. Thankfully director Thomas Bezucha uses the beautiful and mountainous state's scenery to provide some eye candy during transitional scenes while the couple is traveling. They come upon trouble when they find where their former daughter-in-law and grandson are now calling home. The Weboy family is quite popular in the Dakota's and the real Queen B of the picture is played marvelously by Lesley Manville, who's the mother of the clan as Blanche Weboy. The scenes involving the Blackledge's and Weboy's are nothing short of tense. Upon arriving at the Weboy house, I was immediately reminded of the house from the original TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and even though this is anything but a horror film, the build up, isolation, and sense of unease quickly develop. The film is well paced and doesn't overstay it's welcome. A very enjoyable ride that again, I hope is viewed by many as it's an all around solid flick! 7/10

Cry of the City with Victor Mature and Richard Conte (1948). t's shame that probably most kids of the last two generations or so have not experienced the acting and production quality of most of those black and whites of the 30s, 40s, and even the 50s.

Mature plays a detective hot on the trail of Conte who is a thief and murdered a cop. I have to admit that I think Mature is one of the best actors ever. He is one of that genre of leading men back then that filled up the screen. When I saw him, I thought that he could have played Michael Corleone. He had that slicked back hair and calm demeanor. The film was also a first for the young Debra Paget who would go on to play roles in The Ten Commandments and Broken Arrow among others. To tell you the truth though, I didn't buy Conte as the cop-killer. His demeanor was much like Barzini's in The Godfather - kind of layed back. The movie was a hit with audiences; give it a view.

https://images.app.goo.gl/PaA6w5XfXPLW7Vcq8

COLD BROOK[b][/b]


Really good movie and 7..5

Two Wolf Man movies:

WEREWOLF OF LONDON (1935, Dir. Stuart Walker): Doctor Glendon (Henry Hull), English botanist, is bitten by a werewolf while searching in Tibet for the rare, moonlight-blooming Mariphasa plant. Back in London, Glendon discovers he's a werewolf--and the Mariphasa is the only antidote. But, his specimen is stolen by Dr. Yogami (Warner Oland of Charlie Chan fame), a polite but determined Asian who is also a werewolf--the same one who attacked Glendon in Tibet. Oland is great but Hull is unsympathetic. Action scenes are few, and much of the movie is wasted on sappy high- and low-society semi-comic scenes. The whole thing looks like a British drawing room stage play. Not very good.

THE WOLF MAN (1941, Dir. George Wagner): Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) returns to England after 18 years in the US, greeted by his father, Sir John (Claude Rains), who wants him to run the family estate. While visiting a gypsy fair, he's attacked by a werewolf (Bela Lugosi). Talbot kills him, but Bela's fortune-telling mother (the inimitable Maria Ouspenskaya) sees the Sign of the Pentagram in Larry's palm; and he's condemned to moonlit monstrosities. Chaney Jr. was an unsubtle actor, but he defined the Wolf Man in this movie, genuinely portraying his agony and his knowledge that he must kill the one he loves most. A well-acted, well directed film.