Recently Watched Films

Pretty good, even though I continually questioned why the guy kept fucking driving after the trucker really starts to mess with him. I know he was on a business trip and wanted to make his meeting, but he actually said early on that he was never going to make it because of the trucker's actions up until that point. I think that after the stop with the caged snakes et al and the trucker destroys the phone booth and afterwards he hides and falls asleep for a while...it's obvious he's not making that meeting by then. Why the fuck did he not turn around and go home? I know that wouldn't make much of an ending, but narratively it makes no sense. Neither does the trucker continuing to drive off a cliff at the end for that matter. 

I did greatly enjoy the movie, but it's so full of plot holes.

It's a entertaining enough action western, but to me the style of how the movie was made felt really off for a western. The music seemed inappropriately modern and some of the scenes ranged from cheesy to unrealistic. The scene where the group is deputised and the shot of them all together afterwards...I almost expected them to morph into bloody power rangers. I might forgive some of the unrealistic stuff in an earlier western, but this was made in the 80s. Definitely the weakest Billy the Kid film I've seen. 

A brilliant war film though too long for me to do in a single sitting, being the 3 hour, 20 minutes director's cut version (which isn't even the longest one out there). 

The premise of this movie didn't sound too interesting to me but I like Paul Thomas Anderson's work and was able to pick this up for just 20p yesterday. Pleasantly surprised by it actually. More psychological and twisted that it appears on the surface. 

Better than the previous one, which bored me.

Very odd movie.

Satisfying enough end to a trilogy but I can't say that I was overly enthralled by the series as a whole, even as far as the young adult dystopia trend goes. 

It was titled The Bunker instead on the copy I picked up. One of those DVD's with a completely misleading cover that had nothing to do with the movie. Despite that it wasn't too bad, but some poor acting from some of the supporting characters dragged it down throughout, as did some of the stupidity written into all the characters in the first place that went with it which by the end affected even the protagonist who escaped the terror she was in only to make a fucking terrible last minute decision which resulted in the movie ending really badly for her. Kind of ending that makes an already mediocre film fall completely apart. Frustrating movie in other words. 

Also I'll never watch Storage Wars the same way ever again. 

Pretty solid action movie.

A weaker Hitchcock, but I enjoyed it more than it's reputation implies I should. 

 

 

 

Sunset Boulevard (1950) - 4.5/5 - wouldn't rate it as the best noir like it is on RYM, but very, very good.

Triple Frontier (2019) - 4/5 - a solid heist film with a strong cast, but somehow it never manages to reach being excellent.

Changeling (2008) - 5/5 - probably the best Clint Eastwood directed movie that he doesn't star in and I say that as a big fan of Mystic River. This true crime movie was one of the most horrifying I've seen. 

Dead Reckoning (1947) - 4.5/5 - It's film noir starring Humphrey Bogart. What's not to like?

Broken Arrow (1950) - 4/5 - This James Stewart western is solid enough and tells an important tale, but it never reaches the heights of the ones he did with Anthony Mann. 

Ghost in the Shell (2017) - 3.5/5 - I've never watched the anime of this. Basically I only watched it for Scarlett, even though I know her casting was considered controversial (except for in Japan apparently and ironically - isn't it always the way whenever politically correct issues are raised that the ones supposedly offended are the least bothered by something?). It's a stylish sci-fi movie with some good action scenes, but the plot itself didn't compel me too much.

The Arrival (1996) - 4.5/5 - Very good lesser known sci-fi gem. 

Locke (2014) - 4/5 - For a movie which takes entirely inside a car during one long nighttime journey, this is actually quite compelling. Of course it helps that the one actor on screen is the excellent Tom Hardy.

Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom (2018) - 4/5 - People hyped the last one which I found essentially a rehash of the original. This one actually felt a bit more fresh.

Gone Baby Gone (2007) - 3.5/5 - Nowhere near as compelling as I'd expected it to be, based on it's good reputation. I disliked the end as well, though I guess it was at least a realistic conclusion.