Recent Viewings, Part 2

[FatFreddysCat]

Picking up my "watch the James Bond series in order" marathon where I left off months ago:

"The Living Daylights" (1987)
In Timothy Dalton's first turn as 007, Bond romances a young cellist and travels from the Czech Republic to Morocco and Afghanistan, on the trail of a rogue Russian general who's partnered with a major arms dealer in an opium-for-weapons deal.  
Dalton's performance is fine, but "TLD" never quite finds the right tone -- the series clearly wasn't sure where to take the Bond character at this point. At times they seem to be trying to hang onto the campy Roger Moore feel, but they also crank up the ultra-violence to give the film a more "modern" action movie tone. Maryam d'Abo is quite possibly the blandest Bond girl in the entire series. I liked this installment when it was current (I saw it 2x during its theatrical run) but it hasn't aged particularly well.

[lester1/2jr]

Ida - I think I saw this before but I cant remember. A nun leaves her convent to search for the truth regarding her family. In doing so, she encounters uncomfortable truths and temptations and so forth. It doesn't coalesce into a great film by any means but is a decent art snack. The director has excellent taste but can't quite rise to the occasion sorry buddy

3/5

[Trevor]

Ida - I think I saw this before but I cant remember. A nun leaves her convent to search for the truth regarding her family. In doing so, she encounters uncomfortable truths and temptations and so forth. It doesn't coalesce into a great film by any means but is a decent art snack. The director has excellent taste but can't quite rise to the occasion sorry buddy

3/5

A good film produced by Eric Abraham, South African born double Oscar winner.

[Rev. Powell]

MEMORIA (2021): A Scottish woman (Tilda Swinton) traveling in Columbia thinks she's losing her mind when she intermittently hears a mysterious thumping sound. Apichatpong "Uncle Boonme" Weerasethakul makes another slow, inexplicable and beautiful piece of art that's almost as much like perfume as it is a movie. It's one of those movies you watch recognizing that it's great, but then can't think of anyone you could actually recommend it to. 3.5/5.

[Dr. Whom]

MEMORIA (2021): A Scottish woman (Tilda Swinton) traveling in Columbia thinks she's losing her mind when she intermittently hears a mysterious thumping sound. Apichatpong "Uncle Boonme" Weerasethakul makes another slow, inexplicable and beautiful piece of art that's almost as much like perfume as it is a movie. It's one of those movies you watch recognizing that it's great, but then can't think of anyone you could actually recommend it to. 3.5/5.

Usually that would be me.

[Trevor]

Picking up my "watch the James Bond series in order" marathon where I left off months ago:

"The Living Daylights" (1987)
In Timothy Dalton's first turn as 007, Bond romances a young cellist and travels from the Czech Republic to Morocco and Afghanistan, on the trail of a rogue Russian general who's partnered with a major arms dealer in an opium-for-weapons deal.  
Dalton's performance is fine, but "TLD" never quite finds the right tone -- the series clearly wasn't sure where to take the Bond character at this point. At times they seem to be trying to hang onto the campy Roger Moore feel, but they also crank up the ultra-violence to give the film a more "modern" action movie tone. Maryam d'Abo is quite possibly the blandest Bond girl in the entire series. I liked this installment when it was current (I saw it 2x during its theatrical run) but it hasn't aged particularly well.

I always thought that Tanya Roberts was pretty bland in A View To A Kill.

[Rev. Powell]

MEMORIA (2021): A Scottish woman (Tilda Swinton) traveling in Columbia thinks she's losing her mind when she intermittently hears a mysterious thumping sound. Apichatpong "Uncle Boonme" Weerasethakul makes another slow, inexplicable and beautiful piece of art that's almost as much like perfume as it is a movie. It's one of those movies you watch recognizing that it's great, but then can't think of anyone you could actually recommend it to. 3.5/5.

Usually that would be me.

Maybe, but I'm not so sure about this one. If you like Tarkovsky look out for it. One caveat: it's not on VOD or physical media, and they claim they won't be putting it out that way because it's solely intended as a "big-screen experience." I would bet they relent after a while, though.

[FatFreddysCat]

I always thought that Tanya Roberts was pretty bland in A View To A Kill.

Tanya (God rest her) couldn't act worth a damn, but she sure filled out a set of satin jammies nicely. :D


Maryam, on the other hand, did nothin' for me. I think it's that damn Dutch Boy haircut.

[FatFreddysCat]

Bond-o-thon continues:

"Licence to Kill" (1989)
Timothy Dalton's second and final Bond outing is an action packed, vast improvement over the uneven "Living Daylights." This time out, Bond goes rogue from MI6 so he can take down a South American drug dealer (Robert Davi) who nearly killed his CIA pal Felix Leiter. "Licence" has a grittier feel that fits Dalton well, and the usual impressive stunts and pyrotechnics (the tanker-truck chase climax is absolutely insane). Unfortunately for Dalton, financial difficulties behind the scenes at MGM put the series on ice for more than five years after this movie, bringing his 007 era to a premature end. Too bad, cuz he was developing into a pretty bad-ass Bond.

[Rev. Powell]

BEING THE RICARDOS: Pregnant commie Lucille Ball tries to put together a show that involves patching things up between Fred and Ethel while wondering of Desi Arnaz is cheating on her. Well-cast and as entertaining as an "I Love Lucy" marathon. 3/5.

[Trevor]

Bond-o-thon continues:

"Licence to Kill" (1989)
Timothy Dalton's second and final Bond outing is an action packed, vast improvement over the uneven "Living Daylights." This time out, Bond goes rogue from MI6 so he can take down a South American drug dealer (Robert Davi) who nearly killed his CIA pal Felix Leiter. "Licence" has a grittier feel that fits Dalton well, and the usual impressive stunts and pyrotechnics (the tanker-truck chase climax is absolutely insane). Unfortunately for Dalton, financial difficulties behind the scenes at MGM put the series on ice for more than five years after this movie, bringing his 007 era to a premature end. Too bad, cuz he was developing into a pretty bad-ass Bond.

Agreed: Timothy Dalton played Bond as he was supposed to have been played: a cultured animal.

[FatFreddysCat]

"GoldenEye" (1995)
After a six year absence from theaters, the James Bond series came roaring back in a big way with the debut of new leading man Pierce "Remington Steele" Brosnan, who was seemingly born to play 007. In his first post-Cold War mission, James has to stop a rogue former double-O and a crazed Soviet general who've joined forces to seize control of an orbiting laser weapon. This one had everything Bond fans wanted: non-stop globe trotting action, hot girls, cool cars and gadgets, and tons of stuff blowin' up. It was the best Bond movie since the '70s. I still remember watching this one in a theater, having an absolute blast and saying "HELL yes, Pierce is THE MAN!" He's still my second favorite Bond, right behind Connery.

"The Space Invaders: In Search of Lost Time" (2012)
A nostalgic look back at the early '80s video game craze, when Space Invaders, Asteroids, Pac-Man and the rest drew hordes of kids with pockets full of quarters into local video game arcades...until the "video game crash" of the mid 80s. This documentary checks up on some of those now-grown video game enthusiasts in the present day, who are trying to re=create that vibe by collecting vintage machines and setting up "home arcades" in their garages or basements. A fun retro study that's bound to bring back memories.

[FatFreddysCat]

"To All a Goodnight" (1980)
A group of sorority girls staying behind in their dorm over Christmas break are picked off by a nutjob in a Santa Claus suit. Yup, that's the entire plot.
This obscure mix of "Black Christmas" and "Friday the 13th" pre-dates the far more notorious killer-Santa flick "Silent Night Deadly Night" by a couple of years, so I guess it deserves some points for innovation. It's not a great movie, but it's got a couple of cute girls in it and a bunch of gory kills. Lord knows I've seen worse.

[Cult_Moody_Movies]

Ghostbusters: Afterlife - Overall I liked it. If you are looking for the Ghostbusters III we wanted since the end of Ghostubsters II, I would suggest playing The Video Game or reading the IDW Comics. With that said this was a surprise. The kid actors felt like kids unlike so much of the modern media shoved onto to us. Mckenna Grace as Phoebe is a real standout.

While Afterlife might not be my favorite of the GB franchise, its a huge jump from the garbage of 2016.

[lester1/2jr]

Estranged - a terrible British family decide to keep a girl who might or might not be their daughter in the basement for some reason. The woman and her very short boyfriend had come home to rest after she was in an accident. The motivations for all the stuff are barely explained. The few flashbacks are cheaply done. It seems like they made a movie of an early draft of a script. Performances are generally okay and I was sort of engaged in parts but in the end I couldn't wait until it did end.

1.5 /5