Recent Viewings, Part 2

[lester1/2jr]

ffc-  in ""me too" 's defense there is some slightly objectionable stuff in terms of like violating peoples privacy, assault via deception but it is just a movie after all and is super funny

[FatFreddysCat]

ffc-  in ""me too" 's defense there is some slightly objectionable stuff in terms of like violating peoples privacy, assault via deception but it is just a movie after all and is super funny

Oh yea, of course half of the sh*t in that movie wouldn't fly if it were made today!

There have been a few attempts at a "Nerds" remake over the past decade or so and none of them have gotten off the ground. I imagine that's because the writers look at the original script and go "Hmmm, okay, so how do we make rape by deception, revenge porn, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor funny?"  

[FatFreddysCat]

"The House Bunny" (2008)
A dim-witted Playboy bunny (Anna Faris of "Scary Movie") gets kicked out of her cushy digs at the Playboy Mansion and ends up as the unlikely "house mother" to a group of dorky sorority girls at a local college. Of course, Faris' Bunny know-how slowly turns her charges into the hottest group on campus, much to the dismay of the snobby rich-girl sorority across the street and their blue-blood house mother (Beverly "Vacation" D'Angelo). Hef even makes a few well timed cameo appearances!
There's plenty of eye candy in this cross between "Legally Blonde" and "Revenge of the Nerds," and quite a few genuine laughs. Fluffy but fun cinematic junk food.

[M.10rda]

There have been a few attempts at a "Nerds" remake over the past decade or so and none of them have gotten off the ground. I imagine that's because the writers look at the original script and go "Hmmm, okay, so how do we make rape by deception, revenge porn, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor funny?"  

I imagine some quarters would also now accuse the Lamar character of "grooming". 

[M.10rda]

SPIN ME ROUND (2023):
A romantic comedy w/ thriller elements that stars Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, and Fred Armisen and takes place in a gorgeous foreign locale... if somehow it had magic and superheroes and British actors and it took place at a wedding and the bride and groom were complete strangers prior to meeting at the altar, we'd have just about a perfectly overlapping Venn Diagram of my partner Madame 10rda's viewing preferences.

Brie is the Manager of a tacky O.G./Carraba's style franchise Italian restaurant in Bakersfield who lucks (...) into an all-expenses paid professional development trip to Italy. There she finds romance, romance, possibly danger, and comic irritation. I recommend this to patient viewers in a relaxed mood who only require some chuckles and eye candy (of several varieties). The trailer makes it look kind of like a goofier version of THE MENU (it's not) and the film itself occasionally head-feints towards GET OUT (even including the appearance of Lil' Rel Howery)... but its promise of genre horror is all a tease. Also, it's not as wacky and shticky as one would expect from a movie co-starring Plaza, Armisen, Howery, Tim Heidecker, and Molly Shannon. (Though there are several legit LOLs.)

Ultimately this is more of a humorous character study of a lonely, not super-sharp woman - or perhaps a handful of such women - who is/are an ideal mark/s for exploitation. Brie (who also co-wrote) invests a lot of energy in earning the audience's sympathy for her character instead of just leaning into a victim role for laffs. It doesn't hurt, I suppose, that she is gorgeous. I'll also add that Alessandro Nivola plays Brie's love interest with a complete absence of charisma or any kind of emotional appeal, which is super-annoying for two-thirds of the film. At a climactic moment, however, Nivola beautifully delivers a monologue of astonishing narcissism and insincerity. And in the film's final scene, where Richard Gere traditionally would ride up in a chariot to sweep Julia Roberts away to his palace, Brie and Nivola have a final meeting that delivers a highly satisfying payoff for the critical-minded viewer.

3.5/5
Not enough Plaza, but a filling serving of Brie

[Dr. Whom]

Furies/Thanh Soi (2022)

Toc Tien is in this one, so I had to see it. Turns out it was directed by Veronica Ngo/Ngo Thanh Van, last seen in The Princess, who also plays one of the main characters. It is a sort of prequel/spin off of 2019 Furie/Hai Phuong, which apparently was a great succes (I know next to nothing about Viet cinema). It is a fairly straightforward martial arts/exploitation movie. A woman (Veronica Ngo) rescues girls from the streets and trains them to be assassins to take down a vicious crime lord.

I found it a bit disappointing. A movie like this needs either heart or a breakneck pace, and this has neither. It does have its moments though, and it quite brutal at times. The action scenes are hit and miss and tend to be confusingly filmed. Visually it is very stylish, with atmospherically garish neon hues.

A classic case of a glass being half full or half empty

[FatFreddysCat]

"Looker" (1981)
A plastic surgeon (Albert Finney) is the prime suspect in the mysterious deaths of three of his former clients -- all of whom were actresses that took part in an experimental new TV advertising system. Michael "Jurassic Park" Crichton wrote and directed this high-tech mystery/thriller which features some of the first CGI graphics ever used in a movie.   

[Rev. Powell]

PLAN 9 FROM ALIEXPRESS (2023): A princess wants to commit suicide but Prince Charming steals her rope, so she goes on a long quest to try to find one. It's the kind of comedy where the heroine just meets one odd character after another, like time-traveling vampires, and the director offers a sacrifice to Cthulu in the middle of the film hoping for a hit; some gags are funny enough, but the lack of structure means it's hard to get invested in the movie. A microbudget Russian movie that probably won't get distribution, done as a lark (I get the feeling the director usually tries more serious projects). 1.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

GIVE ME PITY (2022): A one woman 1970s TV special slides into a psychedelic nightmare. It's a disco ball-lit parody of celebrity TV events (and also of confessional "one woman" shows); it's also a serious critique of the vanity fame-seeking. spiked with LSD freakout interludes. Not for everyone, for sure, but still 4/5 from me.

[Trevor]

"Looker" (1981)
A plastic surgeon (Albert Finney) is the prime suspect in the mysterious deaths of three of his former clients -- all of whom were actresses that took part in an experimental new TV advertising system. Michael "Jurassic Park" Crichton wrote and directed this high-tech mystery/thriller which features some of the first CGI graphics ever used in a movie.   

I wanted to see that back then but my folks wouldn't let me.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Looker" (1981)
A plastic surgeon (Albert Finney) is the prime suspect in the mysterious deaths of three of his former clients -- all of whom were actresses that took part in an experimental new TV advertising system. Michael "Jurassic Park" Crichton wrote and directed this high-tech mystery/thriller which features some of the first CGI graphics ever used in a movie.   

I wanted to see that back then but my folks wouldn't let me.

You didn't miss much.  It was OK, but no masterpiece.

Last night:
"Boston Strangler" (2023)
In the mid 1960s, two female reporters for a Boston newspaper deal with inept police work and struggle against the old-boys' network in their office as they cover the story of a serial killer who targets single women. A well made true crime period piece, streaming on Hulu.

[M.10rda]

"Looker" (1981)

I wanted to see that back then but my folks wouldn't let me.

It's one of those pre-mid-80s PG-rated films w/ full frontal nudity. I mean, it's not constant or prolonged, but they're not exactly shy about it either. The MPAA certainly grew far more conservative through the 80s, and 21st century PG-rated films seem indistinguishable to me from G-rated films in terms of content. I think LOOKER would be an R today, for sure.

[Rev. Powell]

TRIPLE TROUBLE (2022): After a crisis of faith, a priest becomes a plumber and goes insane, becoming obsessed by a conspiracy of fungus. From the cult band Residents, this experimental film throws out a lot of ideas--a malfunctioning drone A.I., an old kidnapping, the protagonist's ghost father (a former member of the Residents), a bunch of dream sequences featuring the Residents, clips from the Resident's abandoned "Vileness Fats" project, and remarkably little music--and follows none of them to a conclusion, settling instead for a lazy-feeling "portrait of a schizophrenic man" approach. Hard to imagine anyone but dedicated Residents fans (or weirdos like me) picking this up on Blu-ray. 1.5/5.

[ER]

"Looker" (1981)
A plastic surgeon (Albert Finney) is the prime suspect in the mysterious deaths of three of his former clients -- all of whom were actresses that took part in an experimental new TV advertising system. Michael "Jurassic Park" Crichton wrote and directed this high-tech mystery/thriller which features some of the first CGI graphics ever used in a movie.  

No way, I saw most of this jetlagged in a foreign hotel years ago but didn't know what it was called. The version I saw had Greek subtitles and was constantly interrupted by the same commercial about high blood pressure that advertised a pill dispensary where all medicines were up to 70% off. I thought I'd rarely seen a movie be so focused on women's butts, then I realized someone had poorly spliced in footage of models' behinds and included these in the original film. It was so strange it became fascinating in a bad movie way, but I still couldn't finish it.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Super" (2010)
After his wife leaves him for a drug dealer, a down on his luck fry cook (Rainn Wilson of "The Office") creates a wrench-wielding superhero identity called "The Crimson Bolt" and awkwardly punishes evil-doers around the city with the help of a kid sidekick (Ellen -- now "Elliott" -- Page).
James "Guardians of the Galaxy" Gunn wrote and directed this hilariously dark, occasionally disturbing, ultra-violent superhero satire that bears some resemblance to the better known "Kick-Ass," but I preferred this one, thanks to a great cast that also includes Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon and Michael Rooker.

"Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs" (1988)
A dorky U.N. translator (Ed Begley Jr.) and his wife are drawn into a web of international intrigue by a secret agent (Harry Anderson) who may or may not be what he seems.
The cast does its best with the thin material, but this dull made-for-TV spy spoof feels like an extra-long episode of a really lame sit-com. AVOID.