Recent Viewings, Part 2

[M.10rda]

And now for something completely different (for me, at least as of late)...

ADULT BEST FRIENDS (2025):
This was Madame's pick, I imagine just from the algorithm presenting it based on other stuff she watches. It looks like the kind of mid-budget edgy comedy that people who co-star on sitcoms end up starring in but it doesn't appear that lead actresses Katie Corwin and Delaney Buffett (who also directed) have been in anything whatsoever I've heard of. Indeed the only actor we recognized was Zachary "Nu-Spock" Quinto, who has like 3 or 4 (good) scenes as Corwin's brother. But, I don't ask questions, I just like to sit next to my wife on the couch.

Corwin and Buffett (as "Katie" and "Delaney", which raised my eyebrows) are lifelong besties who have evolved (or not as the case may be) at different speeds. Katie is now engaged to a nice, earnest, kinda' lame guy while Delaney just wants to get blackout drunk, do cocaine, and hook up w/ randos every weekend. In an attempt to salvage the friendship, Katie takes Delaney for a girls weekend out-of-town, they meet three dudes having a bad bachelor party trip, and things unravel further. ABF is a Judd Apatow premise that is frank but doesn't get overly gross and ends up deriving most of its comedy from relatable human truths. It's rather artlessly made but the writing and acting are smart, both leads are good, and Quinto is actually quite funny as a monstrous narcissist who projects on everyone else. This was nice normcore sorbet for the palate after watching a lot of sleaze!

3.5/5
They listen to Jimmy Buffett music at one point and there's a dedication to him at the end of the credits. Turns out Delaney is his daughter, which probably explains the financing, too.

[Rev. Powell]

LITTLE WOODS (2018): A pill-smuggler in North Dakota wants to go clean, but decides to take a gamble when her poor stepsister needs to raise money for a series of emergencies. A female spin on a "one last job" type of crime drama you've probably seen before, with excellent performances by Tessa Thompson and Lily James. 3/5. 

[Rev. Powell]

THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM (2018): A wildlife photographer and a cook decide to buy and renovate a decrepit California farm, overcoming plagues of pests and predators like gophers and coyotes, plus Mother Nature's droughts and wildfires. Great cinematography (the best filmed snails I've ever seen) highlight this advertisement for "traditional" farming. 3/5.

[Trevor]

Predator 2 (1990)

This was the first film I'd seen that felt like an adult-comic book on screen.  Everything about the film is over the top and some of the photography puts me in mind of comic frames.  It might not be intenional as I remember on the first few viewings thinking it was trying to emulate the tension of the first film by using vapid noise and violence instead of creating an atmosphere.  If it had slowed down and created it's world better then it would be a much better film.

But Danny Glover is good.  Him punching out the reporter is one of my favourite movie scenes.  The Predator patching itself up using bathroom tiles is another good sequence.  The film is set during a heatwave and that comes across very well.  The opening 10 minutes or so are pure comic book.  It's a violent and almost charmless film but it just about gets by due to it's design and Glover.  It would be great to see him return in another Predator film.

If only they'd played more on the "f**king voodoo magic, man" aspect it'd be much better.  But saying that, I keep returning to it more than the original.

King Willie was my fave character 😃😆

[lester1/2jr]

The Gospel According To St Matthew (1964) - Pier Pasolini directed this low budget but enjoyable dramatization of The Gospel of Matthew, which is the one that has all the sayings. Many if not all of them are here "easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle..." "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's" there is virtually no dialogue added that's not in the book. From what I understand, Palestine/ Israel area is pretty Mediterranean so the casting works even though it's all Italians. They don't change the story or take out the birth narrative or any of the supernatural sort of elements. 

A young man in rural Israel...no just kidding. If you really don't know the plot look it up! Tubi's version is colorized for some reason but it didn't detract.

5/5

edit : Unfortunately, it 's incomplete. It runs 91 minutes while the full Criterion Collection version is 2 hours and 17 minutes.