Recent Viewings, Part 2

[M.10rda]

PRISON BREAK (1969):
A curious title for a film which spans a few years, mostly concerns a man's quest for revenge against his father's murderers as well as a complex yakuza gang war, and only features the eponymous event for about 5 minutes in its final third. That aside, this really impressed me. I love lots of Japanese films (particularly from the 90s and this century) but many of the famous Japanese crime films from the 60s and 70s, such as those by Fukasaku and Suzuki, fail to move me.

PRISON BREAK, on the other hand, moves at a good clip (at least by the standards of Japanese cinema), packs a lot of story and action into 85 minutes, and is blessed by an ensemble of actors doing good work creating distinct and memorable characters. Best of all is lead actor Hiroki Matsukata, who gives a performance that's a lot closer to the American method acting of the 60s and 70s. In particular he has one great scene in prison where he hears bad news and silently suggests at least five different emotional reactions in about 30 seconds, only with his facial expressions and tilts of his head. It's exactly the kind of acting that Deniro and Pacino would become famous for in the next few years, and in fact PRISON BREAK feels a lot closer to THE GODFATHER or MEAN STREETS than it does to other Japanese crime movies of the 60s (though it obv precedes both).

Also some very satisfying and bloody violence at the end. Refreshing and recommended! 4/5

[lester1/2jr]

Bad to the Bone 40 years of BBBBBBBBad - A lot of stuff gets described as "fun" but I really thought this was. George Thorogood and his band are interviewed about their most well known song.

On tour in 1981 with the Rolling Stones and J Geils Band, Thorogood noticed that the other groups had songs that really got the crowd going. The opening riff in "Start Me Up" in particular seemed to get peoples attention. "We need to have a song like that" they thought. At the same time, Thorogood is very steeped in Chuck Berry and the blues and so forth, so it couldn't be a total sell out. Also key is the saxophone solo, which he feels is the zenith of the whole song. Thankfully, his band was up to the task. The music video also worked well and the rest is history.

I recently learned Thorogood is worth 60 million dollars, probably off of royalties for this number. on youtube like 40 minutes long

5/5

[M.10rda]

I recently learned Thorogood is worth 60 million dollars, probably off of royalties for this number.

Never in a million years would I have imagined he was worth $60 mil. Licensing fees and royalties are truly where it's at........ music snobs used to mock hip new indie rock bands for selling their songs to Apple commercials, but those sales probably put a lot of indie rock band kids through college.

I actually gasped aloud when "Glass Onion" started playing over the closing credits of GLASS ONION. Licensing the Beatles: the original NFT of ultra-baller power moves.

[lester1/2jr]

When "Bad to the Bone" is played in a movie or commercial it always starts at that opening riff, not the verse or the chorus. no surprise the whole idea began with that

[Gabriel Knight]

HARDCORE (1979)

A conservative Midwest businessman ventures into the underworld of pornography in California to look for his runaway teenage daughter who is making porno films in California's porno pits.

I couple of years ago I saw 8MM and learned about this movie, which supposedly served as an inspiration. It's true, they're both very similar. The plot is different, but the essence is pretty much the same. A regular man gets involved in the sleazy world of pornography, where he discovers the worst of mankind.

In this case, the point is taken to the extreme, because they spend like 10 minutes making sure we understand that the main character is a devout, religious man. Therefore, the impact of seeing his daughter in a porno movie is greater: indeed, we see him go nuts in the cinema, with the memorable shout of "turn it off!!!".

We can see Jake, the protagonist, slowly become entrapped in this world. An usually calm and respectful man, he resorts to violence in more than one occasion, product of his disgust and frustration, and we suffer alongside him. The way he finally manages to get to his daughter back is well done, although I do have two major complaints regarding this part of the movie.

First, the ending is rushed. We don't see the aftermath nor the consequences of his crusade, and everything basically wraps up in a matter of minutes; not to mention, we don't know what happens to Niki, the prostitute who he enrolls to help him. Second, his daughter pretty much tells him that she did it willingly because he never loved her. The problem I have with this, is that we never see this lack of love. Quite the contrary, in fact. At the beginning he seems to be a loving and caring father, so it was a little bit jarring to have her say that.

Still, it's a very powerful and entertaining movie. The lack of explicit violence or sex, except some boobs here and there, actually makes it more profound, instead of exploitative, like 8MM.

Very recommended! 8/10

[Rev. Powell]

HARDCORE (1979)

A conservative Midwest businessman ventures into the underworld of pornography in California to look for his runaway teenage daughter who is making porno films in California's porno pits.

I couple of years ago I saw 8MM and learned about this movie, which supposedly served as an inspiration. It's true, they're both very similar. The plot is different, but the essence is pretty much the same. A regular man gets involved in the sleazy world of pornography, where he discovers the worst of mankind.

In this case, the point is taken to the extreme, because they spend like 10 minutes making sure we understand that the main character is a devout, religious man. Therefore, the impact of seeing his daughter in a porno movie is greater: indeed, we see him go nuts in the cinema, with the memorable shout of "turn it off!!!".

We can see Jake, the protagonist, slowly become entrapped in this world. An usually calm and respectful man, he resorts to violence in more than one occasion, product of his disgust and frustration, and we suffer alongside him. The way he finally manages to get to his daughter back is well done, although I do have two major complaints regarding this part of the movie.

First, the ending is rushed. We don't see the aftermath nor the consequences of his crusade, and everything basically wraps up in a matter of minutes; not to mention, we don't know what happens to Niki, the prostitute who he enrolls to help him. Second, his daughter pretty much tells him that she did it willingly because he never loved her. The problem I have with this, is that we never see this lack of love. Quite the contrary, in fact. At the beginning he seems to be a loving and caring father, so it was a little bit jarring to have her say that.

Still, it's a very powerful and entertaining movie. The lack of explicit violence or sex, except some boobs here and there, actually makes it more profound, instead of exploitative, like 8MM.

Very recommended! 8/10

You may not see him not loving his daughter, but you see him not loving his surrogate daughter, Niki, heartlessly discarding her when she's not useful to him anymore. So you can imagine the rest. I haven't seen it in a while but it's a pretty great movie.

[Trevor]

HARDCORE (1979)

A conservative Midwest businessman ventures into the underworld of pornography in California to look for his runaway teenage daughter who is making porno films in California's porno pits.

I couple of years ago I saw 8MM and learned about this movie, which supposedly served as an inspiration. It's true, they're both very similar. The plot is different, but the essence is pretty much the same. A regular man gets involved in the sleazy world of pornography, where he discovers the worst of mankind.

In this case, the point is taken to the extreme, because they spend like 10 minutes making sure we understand that the main character is a devout, religious man. Therefore, the impact of seeing his daughter in a porno movie is greater: indeed, we see him go nuts in the cinema, with the memorable shout of "turn it off!!!".

We can see Jake, the protagonist, slowly become entrapped in this world. An usually calm and respectful man, he resorts to violence in more than one occasion, product of his disgust and frustration, and we suffer alongside him. The way he finally manages to get to his daughter back is well done, although I do have two major complaints regarding this part of the movie.

First, the ending is rushed. We don't see the aftermath nor the consequences of his crusade, and everything basically wraps up in a matter of minutes; not to mention, we don't know what happens to Niki, the prostitute who he enrolls to help him. Second, his daughter pretty much tells him that she did it willingly because he never loved her. The problem I have with this, is that we never see this lack of love. Quite the contrary, in fact. At the beginning he seems to be a loving and caring father, so it was a little bit jarring to have her say that.

Still, it's a very powerful and entertaining movie. The lack of explicit violence or sex, except some boobs here and there, actually makes it more profound, instead of exploitative, like 8MM.

Very recommended! 8/10

You may not see him not loving his daughter, but you see him not loving his surrogate daughter, Niki, heartlessly discarding her when she's not useful to him anymore. So you can imagine the rest. I haven't seen it in a while but it's a pretty great movie.

Another great movie banned under apartheid because the censor board found it offensive. 

[Gabriel Knight]

You may not see him not loving his daughter, but you see him not loving his surrogate daughter, Niki, heartlessly discarding her when she's not useful to him anymore. So you can imagine the rest. I haven't seen it in a while but it's a pretty great movie.

Well, actually, that was one of my gripes. At the end, he sees Niki among the crowd and ask the detective how he can help her, to whom he replies "go away, there's nothing you can do". Yes, he could've tried harder, but he did had intentions.

I understand your point, but I felt it was kinda vague. It could've easily been solved with a few scenes at the beginning of him ignoring his daughter, instead of so many forced "look at me, I'm religious" scenes.

[FatFreddysCat]

"The Guest List" (2022)
This documentary about the Station Nightclub fire in Rhode Island, where 100 people were killed when a blaze broke out onstage during a Great White gig, originally aired on the REELZ cable channel. It tells the story of that awful night and the lingering effects it's had on the town, on the survivors, and the families of those who died. Pretty harrowing stuff, based on the book "Killer Show" by John Barylick, which I read about ten years ago.

[Rev. Powell]

NEW RELIGION (2022): Still grieving from the accidental death of her daughter years later, escort Miyabi's routine is shaken up when she meets a strange client who (at first) only wants to take pictures of her individual body parts. Intensely atmospheric art-horror with great sound design and lighting (and moth microphotography); eerily rewarding if you can handle the slow pace and subdued performances from everyone except the heroine. 3/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Violent Night" (2022)
It's a little late for a Christmas movie, but when this turned up on Peacock, I couldn't resist...
A drunk and depressed Santa (David Harbour of "Stranger Things") who's tired of the whole Christmas thing finds himself in the wrong house at the wrong time when his Christmas Eve visit to a wealthy family's compound is interrupted by a squad of mercenaries looking to crack the vault. So yeah, basically this is "Die Hard" with Santa in the John McClane role (and John Leguizamo as Hans Gruber), with lots of hilariously over-the-top holiday mayhem. An instant cult classic from director Tommy Wirkola of "Dead Snow" fame, with a sequel reportedly already in the works.

[lester1/2jr]

Night of the Comet (1984) - I didn't like this as much as Miracle Mile as far as dystopic 80's comedies. The high point was definitely the blonde from Chopping Mall (and also something called "exorcism at 19,000 feet"according to IMDB). In general, it reminded me of the original Tron in the sense that the look was right on but I wanted a lot more out of it than was delivered.

It's the scenario where everyone dies except the old drunk who was passed out in a metal tub kind of thing. Two sisters and a few others try and figure out what to as a comet wipes out most of humanity. Hampering their efforts are zombie-like creatures and a goofy bunch of government agents who have some sort of plan they are sticking to even though billions of people just died. The action parts just don't rise to the occasion and the point kind of gets lost. If you are an 80's fan it is, on some level, a classic but others will probably be unimpressed and a little bored.

fun fact: my family saw this in the movie theater. I was 9 and fell asleep in 10 minutes, but I went!

3.75/ 5

[indianasmith]

ENCANTO (2022) - My wife wanted me to watch this one with her last night, and I did.  It was a fairly typical Disney animated film, the songs better than average (written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, so of course they were!), and the storyline quite fun.  I enjoyed it.  4/5

LOST LAKE (2020) - A woman and her fiancee head to the deserts of California to search for her missing Uncle, who is an amateur ghost hunter.  They find the creepy abandoned town, and then the find him, and bad stuff happens . . . very bleak film. 3/5

[M.10rda]

Night of the Comet (1984) - I didn't like this as much as Miracle Mile as far as dystopic 80's comedies. The action parts just don't rise to the occasion and the point kind of gets lost. If you are an 80's fan it is, on some level, a classic but others will probably be unimpressed and a little bored.

fun fact: my family saw this in the movie theater. I was 9 and fell asleep in 10 minutes, but I went!

3.75/ 5

Thanks for the "3.75" though I'm sorry to hear you didn't get more from this one. I saw it first on HBO when I was about 8 or 9, saw it again on VHS two or three years later, and have revisited it occasionally since. Nostalgia must have it's claws deep in me w/ NIGHT OF THE COMET, because I find it as charming now as I found it mystifying and cool the first few times.

It's true the action is less present for the sake of thrills and more to punctuate the offbeat/bittersweet premise. Two young women cope with their distressing circumstances by doing what they would do in any case (shop and dance to fun 80s music) only now without having to deal with store hours or mall security or money. Alas the mutant creeps and military mad scientists keep gettin' 'em down.

Let's face it, it's a fun movie made for teen girls in the 80s, not for adult men who love flesh-eating. It satisfies me anyway, w/ terrific use of locations, a worrisomely carefree final scene (maybe Thom Eberhardt planned a ZOMBIELAND 2-style sequel), a legitimately outstanding performance by Mary Woronov, and perhaps best of all, the endlessly winsome Catherine Mary Stewart. Even before I was in love with Winona Ryder in BEETLEJUICE and HEATHERS, I was in love with Catherine Mary Stewart.   Sigh!

Finally... is MIRACLE MILE a comedy?! I thought it was a horrifically bleak tragedy with an ending that still makes me wince to recall! Maybe I am watching these movies incorrectly.

[FatFreddysCat]

"A Chorus Line" (1985)
Film version of the long running Broadway hit, about a group of hopeful dancers enduring a particularly grueling audition process for a new show. Musicals usually aren't my thing but this one is well staged, the choreography is impressive, and since it was made in the '80s, it's full of hot girls wearing spandex dance wear. Therefore I had no complaints.

"The Pez Outlaw" (2022)
Strange-but-true documentary about Steve Glew, an eccentric from Michigan who got unexpectedly rich by importing European PEZ dispensers (featuring designs which were not available in the U.S.) to the States and selling them to fanatical collectors of PEZ memorabilia. When the head honchos of PEZ Inc. learned of his grey-market scheme, they began a crusade to bring him down.
I love documentaries that introduce me to something I know nothing about, and this one was a doozy - I had no idea there was such a large, hardcore PEZ collecting community, and the lengths that Steve went to in order to serve his customer base were amazing, especially with PEZ Inc.'s legal eagles nipping at his heels. Even if you have no interest in PEZ, this is still a cool, weird, very interesting story.