Recent Viewings, Part 2

[Rev. Powell]

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM (2023): The relationship of a man and his son is strained in the midst of a plague which is turning ordinary people into human-animal hybrids, and which has already claimed their wife and mother. Essentially a magical realist familial drama with decent (but too rarely glimpsed) manimal costumes; it could serve as a metaphor for society's treatment of any kind of outcast (but probably aligns best with transphobia). 3/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Special Mission Lady Chaplin" (1966)
Third and final film in the series of Spanish/Italian 007 knock-offs starring American bit player Ken Clark as super spy Dirk Malloy, aka "agent 077" (eye roll), who's on the trail of a payload of nuclear missiles stolen from a sunken U.S. submarine. Former Bond babe Daniela Bianchi of "From Russia With Love" fame is the title villainess, a fashion designer who also dabbles in illegal arms dealing on the side.
Most of these Sixties "Euro-spy" Bond wanna-be's suck, but this is one of the better ones. Cheesy but enjoyable low budget cloak-and-dagger junk.

[Rev. Powell]

MY OLD ASS (2024): In the summer before she leaves for college, a girl takes a mushroom trip and meets the time-traveling 39-year-old version of herself---who gives her advice and a warning. Well-acted, youth-positive, light comedy/coming-of-age romance that will probably appeal to older teen girls. I'm not an older teen girl. 2.5/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" (1974)
An armed gang of criminals led by the great Robert Shaw take over a New York City subway train, threatening to kill the hostages unless they're paid a $1 million ransom (that kind of money went a lot farther in 1974, haha). A Transit Police officer (Walter Matthau) and his team race against time to save the kidnapped passengers.
This is one of the all time great '70s thriller films, it hits the ground running and never lets up. The 1970s New York location shots are a real time capsule, too. An excellent film all around. "Pelham" was remade in the early 2000s with Denzel Washington in the Matthau role and John Travolta in the Shaw role, but the O.G. is definitely the better pick.

"The Omega Code" (1999)
A journalist (Casper van Dien) covering the rise of a billionaire (Michael York) to global prominence soon realizes that the man is using a secret code hidden in the Bible for nefarious purposes in order to gain power and take over the world. Hmmm, could he beeeee.... SATAN?
Tedious Christian prophecy nonsense disguised as an action thriller. This flick was funded by televangelist Paul Crouch and his Trinity Broadcasting TV network. They obviously put some work into Omega Code - it's a nice looking movie, with plenty of exotic foreign locations, and there's some legit performers in it. Casper Van Dien is still the most wooden actor of his generation, but the always welcome Michael Ironside appears as a murderous heavy and  but the movie is mostly a pointless slog. At least Kirk Cameron is nowhere in sight.
Followed in 2001 by a sequel "Megiddo: Omega Code 2," which I will probably watch soon because I'm a glutton for punishment.

[zombie no.one]

CAPE FEAR (1962)

first time watch... and I saw the remake virtually when it came out.

Although it inevitably suffers from what I will call 'black-and-white-film-itis' my attention was held. Mitchum is a really good actor, captivating at times. The atmosphere doesn't get too contrived or overbaked. Although I do have a soft spot for the remake , this is the better film.

I'm not an older teen girl.

dang, and I've spent the best part of the last 20 years thinking you were....

[RCMerchant]

CAPE FEAR (1962)

first time watch... and I saw the remake virtually when it came out.

Although it inevitably suffers from what I will call 'black-and-white-film-itis' 

I never understood why people can't enjoy a movie just because it's not in color. You're denying yourself of some great and classic films.

[Rev. Powell]

CAPE FEAR (1962)

first time watch... and I saw the remake virtually when it came out.

Although it inevitably suffers from what I will call 'black-and-white-film-itis' my attention was held. Mitchum is a really good actor, captivating at times. The atmosphere doesn't get too contrived or overbaked. Although I do have a soft spot for the remake , this is the better film.

I'm not an older teen girl.

dang, and I've spent the best part of the last 20 years thinking you were....

Well I may have once been, but 20 years have passed.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Meet Wally Sparks" (1997)
Rodney Dangerfield is a trash-TV talk show host in the Jerry Springer vein, whose show is about to be cancelled unless he can clean up his act. A chance meeting with a Southern political candidate gives his ratings a much needed boost, but also leads to massive amounts of cartoonish chaos in the halls of power.
A dumb-as-rocks comedy that's basically an excuse for Rodney to throw off an endless stream of smutty one liners while the impressive supporting cast (Burt Reynolds, David Ogden Stiers of "M*A*S*H*," Cindy "Laverne & Shirley" Williams, Debi Mazar, and more) does their best to keep the threadbare plot rolling. Just turn your brain off and enjoy the silliness.

[M.10rda]

"The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" (1974)
This is one of the all time great '70s thriller films, it hits the ground running and never lets up.

I saw it for the first and only time within the past 5 years, iirc. It's very good, but there's one extremely offbeat thing about it - I'm not complaining exactly and in fact I might be applauding - the A plot comes to a major anticipated climax and then the film... keeps going for about another 10-15 minutes as Matthau attempts to wrap up a small loose end from the case. It closes on a very muted, low-key note... or I guess you could just call it subtle. Again, not criticizing it - rather I'm impressed that a film could take such an unlikely, literally anti-climactic turn and still catch plenty of laurels and a lasting positive reputation.

[zombie no.one]

I never understood why people can't enjoy a movie just because it's not in color. You're denying yourself of some great and classic films.

my loss right? I can't really do subtitles either, it just completely takes me out of whatever I'm watching...

but there's a couple of exceptions in each case

[indianasmith]

DIARY OF THE DEAD (2007)  - This is the George Romero zombie movie that doesn't get mentioned much, but I truly enjoyed it when I first watched it, back in 2007, and when I viewed it again on Tubi earlier this evening.  A group of film students are shooting a horror film in a rural area when the zombie apocalypse breaks out all over the world.  Knowing they must steer clear of the large cities, they drive around in their travel trailer, looking for uninfected humans and trying to find a safe place to ride out the undead storm.  Well done overall, with some decent gore effects and fascinating scenarios.  Not as good as the 2004 DAWN OF THE DEAD remake, but still a remarkable film.  4/5

[FatFreddysCat]

"Skyscraper" (2018)
An FBI agent turned security expert (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) is in Hong Kong for the grand opening of the world's tallest, supposedly safest luxury building. When some terrorists start a massive blaze in the middle of the structure to cover up a robbery, Dwayne must brave the flames to stop the bad guys and save his family, who are trapped inside.
A technically well made, but overly familiar big budget action/disaster flick that simply staples "Die Hard" and "The Towering Inferno" together. Johnson is in fine butt kicking form and the special effects and stunt work are impressive, but overall I got a major "seen this all before" feeling from this movie. Not terrible, but not a must watch either.

[Dr. Whom]

Orbita 9 (Orbiter 9)

Helena is the sole occupant of a ship on a decades long voyage to colonise a distant planet. The ship develops a malfunction and a rendez vous is made with a maintenance engineer. This encounter will have important unintended consequences.

I won't give any spoilers, as that would ruin the effect. This is a very understated movie, with muted colours and much reliance on atmosphere and indirect storytelling. I quite liked it, but your mileage may vary. My main gripe is that there is not much there: the plot is a bit thin and most of the themes we have seen before.  But then again, it is a debut.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Viva Las Vegas" (1964)
A race car driver (Elvis Presley) arrives in Las Vegas to compete in a Grand Prix road rally. He needs money to put a new motor in his car, so he takes a job as a hotel waiter, where he meets and of course eventually romances the hotel's gorgeous swim instructor (Ann-Margret).
Widely considered to be The King's best movie, "Viva" is silly fluff, of course, but it's worth watching just to ogle Ann-Margret, who was at her absolute peak of hottie perfection at the time. Elvis and Ann had chemistry off screen too -- they famously had a romantic fling during the making of the movie, and I don't blame The King one iota! :D

[FatFreddysCat]

"It Came From Aquarius Records" (2022)
Documentary tracing the long history of Aquarius Records, a landmark, highly influential indie record store in San Francisco that proudly flew the flag for independent/weird/underground music starting in 1969 until it closed in 2016. Strangely, in spite of its San Fran location, there's barely any mention of the famed Bay Area Thrash Metal era of the 80s, aside from an Exodus poster on the wall. Otherwise, this is a heartfelt trip through time with commentary by former employees/owners, customers, and musicians who treated the store as their home base. Everyone needs a record store like this in their lives.