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Member	Movie		Comment / Review
South Shields Football Club 22nd Sep 2024		The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner (1962)	The Loneliness of The Long Distance Runner released in 1962 starring Tom Courtenay as Colin Smith who stole the money from The Bakers alongside with his friend Mike played by James Bolam and Sir Michael Redgrave as The Governor of Ruxton Towers. Made by British Lion Films at Shepperton Studios. Terry
South Shields Football Club 22nd Sep 2024		Horrors Of The Black Museum (1959)	Horrors of The Black Museum is the great British film of 1959 starring Michael Gough as Edmond Bancroft is the writer made by Merton Film Studios in London and Gail Dunlop killed in her flat and her eyes covered in blood is the great master classic of 1959. Terry
Dr Doom SUBS 21st Sep 2024		Şeytan (1974)	Rated 7/10 An unofficial Turkish remake of The Exorcist. I expected this to be entertaining but made to the same inept standard as the infamous Turkish Star Wars The production values are actually much better and it's reasonably acted. The only bit they seem to struggle with is making decent demonic vomit - it looks like plasticine! Well worth a watch if you're familair with the original 2 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 17th Sep 2024		Heathers (1989)	Rated 10/10 A cut above the rest. Finally took the plunge, and snagged myself a DVD copy of this - frankly exhausted waiting for it to reappear on TV... ...And having rewatched it, I can now see there is definitely very good reason for that: This is probably one of those movies that parents do not want their kids to see, and any network is terrified of showing for that reason - That in the current climate, and in this modern world where teens in particular seem to be very nihilistic, not top mention "stabby" and "shooty" - with scarcely a week going by when they are not having at each other - seriously, it seems like it's becoming a hobby or a pastime for "kids these days" (<old man speaking! :)... ...But perhaps I shouldn't make light of this topic... But then, this does exactly that. Whereas other movies deal with such issues in a lighter manner, such as Mean Girls, and The Craft (Both clearly inspired by this): A gang of popular girls set against the protagonist and making life hell for all the other kids at the school, and you may say that behind the serious frowny face they give, there's something of a wry smile, this is the opposite: having, as it does, behind the wry smile of a jet black humour, something more, well despairing and malignant. So, with the "Heathers" running the place, one girl, on the periphery of the group, uneasy about being in their clique, takes up with "rebellious", edgy new guy, played by Christian Slater, and thence ensues a Bonnie and Clyde exacting of revenge on them, but kicks up a gear in the final third when she tries to free herself now, not from their influence, but his, as her turns out to be a genuine psycho, way beyond any romantic, Romeo And Juliet visions she had or conceptions of what they were about together... and form there, it turns into a prototype Joker and Harley Quinn dynamic: She's trying to stop him manipulating her, and at the same time, stopping his psychotic, evil schemes. The one liners in this are grade A writing, my faves being deadpan nuggets like: "Well F"$k me gently with a chainsaw!", and: "Did you have a brain tumour for breakfast?" In style and tone, I can only describe it as being like a John Hughes teen drama counterpoint in the style of Mean Girls, but scripted and produced by the Coen brothers and directed by David Lynch, in one of his more "Blue Velvet" moments. Probably one of those like Joker, that powers that be are terrified it's target audience will watch, as it may strike too close to home, and makes everyone distinctly uneasy about, in case it "puts ideas in people's heads - but conversely, maybe that's the exact reason it should be watched, having grown, disturbingly, in relevance over time. Well, at least it's not a musical... that would be misguided, cynical, and truly sinister. (I hate musicals, by the way, with a fiery passion... drama, or music dude? pick a lane!) ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 17th Sep 2024		Her Alibi (1989)	Rated 7/10 Strange one this... ...I've always liked it since seeing it in the cinema, but haven't seen it again in quite few years, so wanted to see how well it held up. The essential premise is another one of those Hitchcock pastiches: A guy falls for a woman and suspects her motives, and begins to think she's out to murder him - but played for laughs, very much the same as the later Mike Myers movie: So I Married An Axe Murderer (Also good)... ...She being a Romanian accused of murder, with a strong suggestion of espionage and murky international political intrigue as her motive - Selleck, being a fading, down on his luck schlock, dime store crime fiction writer, attending court for inspiration, beholds her as she is presented to court, and is instantly smitten... So much so he puts himself forward as "her alibi", and takes her in, where all the comedic farce of suspicion ensues. Granted the premise itself is a bit creepy now, and there are more than a few "yikes" moments throughout, but otherwise it's still funny, and amusing, with a great framing device, of his narration of events (in his capacity as a writer) inspired by what's happening, and of course, placing himself as the hero in this wildly exaggerated "version" of events, contrasts wildly with the reality of his bungling, haphazard, and comical behaviour, gives it a knowing, self aware, and self deprecating tone. A fairly short movie, somewhat absurd, but still fun. ..And with the added bonus of one of those end credit songs I'd long forgotten, but instantly recognised when it played, and now can't get out of my head... that being this one, by Randy Newman: [YouTube Video] ✔︎ Helpful Review?
zabadak 14th Sep 2024		The Animatrix (2003)	Trailer :happy: [YouTube Video]
Magic Marmalade 12th Sep 2024		Howard The Duck (1986)	Rated 7/10 I feared the worst... and was very, very pleasantly surprised. For those younger movie fans, you will be familiar with this guy via an end credits scene in one the Avengers movies, where "The Collector" has a Duck in a glass case, smoking a cigar, and mutters something I forget (A little easter egg for all us old enough to remember Howard). I recall having seen it a couple of times on a pirate VHS back in the day, and not being enitirely unhappy with it, according to memory, although intervening years seem to have played to the cirtics opinion of the time, that it is one of the worst movies ever made. It isn't. Far from it. Granted, it is not a masterpiece, by any stretch, but great fun, and worthy of an amused smile thoughout. Duck gets accidentally transported through space form his duck homeworld, via earthman laser, which also accidently unlocks and transports a demon form nether regions of space, and Howard must become the hero. Of course, it's absurd, stupid, and surreal, but, I think, knowingly so... I must place the caveat here that my recent watch was of the "uncut" version, which internet reveals has more adult oriented humour added (nothing obscene, just more of style only adults will get), and this context allows you to enjoy it for what it is - the 12 certificate is technically accurate, but i'd say that's stretching it a bit for that age group, maybe a couple of years older might allow them to "get" the self effacing, self depredating absurdist element a bit better. I was worried about one thing, which I thing had been implanted as a false memory in my mind in the intervening years, I think through popular urban myth: That Lea Thompson's character has sex with Howard...the duck. Phew, thankfully not, but it does for a moment, seem like it's going that way, until it is revealed as a tease, or "prank" by Thompson's character, so you can rest assured on that one, but it does indicate the level of humour this movie operates at. The animatronics and effects are still top notch, and the whole production is great quality for the time, given this is a Lucasfilm production too. And the DVD I watched it from, looks cracking, really crisp, clean and spiffy, even on a big telly. Worth revisiting, and reappraising, if you've not watched it for a while. 1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 12th Sep 2024		Encino Man (1992)	Rated 7/10 Still great fun, after all these years! A really quite short movie (1hr 27 mins by my clock), that just gets straight to it, moves briskly through, in what a more highbrow critic might call "dumb fun", but suits me down to the ground. A young Sean Astin is digging a hole in his garden for a pool, in order to up his cool factor at school, and accidentally unearths (with the aid of a minor earthquake, and chum Pauly Shore) a block of ice, with a cave man (Fraser) inside... ...He goes off to school, and upon his return, discovers the Ice has melted, and said cave man is loose in his house. Astin and Shore (Dave and Stoney) befriend him decide to modernise him, and take him to school and help them become popular. The uncivilised Fraser (Link) introduces a little anarchy and lots of amusing hijinks. The basic set up of uncool kid seeking popularity, especially with childhood sweetheart, in opposition to school bully is certainly not new, and is indeed, a hang over from the eighties of the kind of John Hughes style teen drama, but for laughs. Brendan Fraser's largely mute performance, bar occasional grunting, and the odd word, is charismatic and engaging nevertheless, even, at one point, quite touching, when he realises he's been stranded out of his time. Even Pauly Shore gives a relatively muted performance, thankfully, as you can certainly have enough of that guy, and whatever that Schtick of his was back then. For fans of said eighties teen dramas, but in a comedy sense, as well as movies like Airheads, Empire Records, and other throwaway cheap and cheerful, fun comedies of the nineties. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 12th Sep 2024		Drop Dead Fred (1991)	I think a lot of this humour would have gone over my head if I had been ten years old when watching it first time, but I was - er - 16, according my reckoning, so I thing I was a bit betwixt and between, and it seemed odd, basically, like a very particular kind of British humour shoe-horned into a Hollywood production, and I don't think they matched the two elements at all well. (After all, we were all used to Rik in Young Ones, as Lord Flash in Blackadder, and later in Bottom, which is kind of the performance he gives here, which would probably leave a lot of jaws hanging elsewhere in the world, and lacking the former context, it's a little jarring.
MR B PAGE 10th Sep 2024		Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)	R.I.P. James Earl Jones who voiced Darth Vadar and passed away on the 9/9/2024.
alexlincs 9th Sep 2024		Drop Dead Fred (1991)	@Magic Marmalade I'm a big fan of Rik Mayall and it was his attempt to break America. I think Phoebe Cates was a great choice, but as you say the script was too vulgar and mean to have a huge international appeal. However, I saw it when I was about 10 years old and loved it then. I'm not doubting the acting is great from all involved and the plot hasn't really been done since. I can see the Tim Burton style, as well as Alice in Wonderland and Rik Mayall's own violent brand of slapstick. I think where Rik Mayall failed to break America Simon Pegg succeeded. Both appeared in Guest House Paradiso which I found disappointing and they were both distributed by Vinegar Syndrome. I think ultimately Rik Mayall was seen as a bit of an unlikely sex symbol and the best vehicle for him for international appeal might have been his Rik Mayall Presents series.
Magic Marmalade 8th Sep 2024		Drop Dead Fred (1991)	Rated 4/10 There seems to be an attempt underway to redeem, or position this as a "cult classic". Cult... maybe. classic... no. Rewatching it after all these years, it's just as disappointing. The music, cinematography, and dialogue are cheap, and bad sub-tv standard. Effects look equally cheap, even for the time too. The real problem is Rik Mayall's manic, gross out for-kids performance looks embarrassing in this cheap environment, and the subject matter is too adult for kids, but the execution is too juvenile for adults, especially when it tries to deal with topics concerning "mental health issues", and it is therefore borderline insulting. Phoebe Cates characterisation too, of the woman who's childhood imaginary friend returns later in life when she is having a hard time in life - Overbearing mother, philandering husband, losing her job etc. is too flat, and monotone - no evident sadness when depressed, no apparent joy when happy (er), which only serves to highlight, in a negative way, how loopy Mayall is. The dialogue is grossly misjudged, seeming spiteful and psychotic , in attempting to say things kids who don't know what the meaning of what they are saying really come from the mouths of adults, which is just plain sinister. There are a couple of good points though, such as the other imaginary friends of patients in a psychiatrists waiting room can each only be seen by the people who's imaginary friend they are, so to those people, their imaginary firend appears to have an imaginary firend... which is quite original. And the end, too borders on the poetic. But it is an obvious attempt to try and make a Tim Burton style movie, by someone who isn't Tim Burton...oh dear. I can't help but imagine how truly great this story could have been if Tim Burton himself had actually made it. Remake, anyone? But this is mostly rubbish. 1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
MR B PAGE 4th Sep 2024		The Guns Of Navarone (1961)	R.I.P. James Darren who plays Pappadimos in the 1961 film.
Magic Marmalade 31st Aug 2024		Be Kind Rewind (2008)	Rated 8/10 What it's all about. This is a deliberately cheap. low budget looking love letter to the people who love movies... but more, it's about the sense of community that comes through the medium of movies, and people's love for them. To understand this, it's best to consider the word: Media. (Physical Media being the term that is increasingly becoming the catch-all buzzword of our age, not just for the ranks of collectors of various media, be it records, CDs, or DVDs - I 'd lay money on it that this term will be entered into the Oxford Dictionary before too long!) For, beyond the specific media, or medium (VHS, DVD, CD etc.), collectively, these are a medium for something else: Social interaction, and connection, with other people. Whether it be gathering at your local record store, Blockbuster, or other, these media facilitate this reason to connect, that the content provides. Ironically, the prime thing that streaming, and the internet as a whole, has taken away from us, and the one thing we really needed from them. Now, all this pretentious waffle of mine only serves to illustrate what this movie is about, and encapsulate... the desire to reconnect with others around you in person, physically present. AS when Jerry (Jack Black) becomes magnetised after an attempt to disrupt a local power station he suspects is sending out subliminal signals to influence his mind, he returns to the desperately struggling VHS video store he works at with long suffering friend Mike (Mos Def), and owned by Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) and his magnetic presence causes all the tapes to be blanked. Mike quickly formulates a plan for him and Jerry to make their own versions of the movies lost, and rent those out instead. Ghostbusters is their first attempt, and unexpectedly, creates a cult like stir in the community, who are soon knocking at the door for their other favourites to be "Sweded", or remade by the duo. And as things go, the ore they draw in others in the community to help them out. This is not a laugh out loud, tears streaming down your face, side splitting type of comedy, but rather a very quirky, surreal-ish eccentric smiling movie, that has you chuckling all throughout, while leaving you feeling very warm and cosy at the heart-warming, and uplifting finale. As well as making you want to immediately go out and "Swede" your own favourites :) Sweet, sublime, and really quite a beautiful little film. 2 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
mikewn 29th Aug 2024		Blackball (2003)	Preview... [YouTube Video]
henry29 23rd Aug 2024		Inside Out 2 (2024)	Real titles from the Movie added, Nod to zabadak. H.
Magic Marmalade 23rd Aug 2024		The Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call: New Orleans (2009)	Rated 8/10 What on earth were they thinking?!!! ...Not regards the movie itself, but giving this great movie this crappy title. If you want to hamstring your movie before it's even released, why not give it the same principle title as an already cult classic movie (Starring Harvey Keitel), to make people think it's a sequel to that one... not only that, add the extra qualifiers in there too, to make it sound like cheapo, straight to DVD bargain bin fodder movie that is going to be Godawful? And I imagine it is this very thing that has put people off watching this from the get go, and why it continues to be overlooked. Of course, it shares the idea of a "Bad Lieutenant" as does the other one, but this has plenty of it's own beats. So do yourself a favour, and ignore the title! Look instead, at the fact that this has, perhaps, the most Nicholas Cage performance Nicholas Cage has ever given... in that it is all, and everything he is and does in one movie, like this is what he's been aiming at all his career, as his character begins somewhat soberly enough, although somewhat morally corrupt, but then goes spiralling out of control with ever crazier antics, and behaviour - Cage goes bouncing off the walls eventually, but it's his portrayal of a man trying to contain it at first, and then the transition to Mr. crazy man that blows you away. Add to that, it's Directed by Werner Herzog. Werner Herzog... Nicholas Cage. ....Nicholas Cage... Werner Herzog. That's the movie you're getting. ....And that's got to be worth a couple of hours of anyone's time. 5 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
zabadak 20th Aug 2024		The Room (2003)	Trailer :happy: [YouTube Video]
MR B PAGE 19th Aug 2024		The Concorde...Airport '79 (1979)	R.I.P. Alain Delon.
Magic Marmalade 15th Aug 2024		Say Anything... (1989)	Rated 6/10 What a weird movie. It seems to be, on the face of it, chumming along with the kind of Breakfast Club / John Hughes, 80s teen angst / melodrama kind of audience, and yet has a more substantial, and even darker heart in the story, aimed at a more adult audience. In fact the whole teen romance bit between Cusack and Skye seems to fall by the wayside toward the end, focusing more on the relationship between her and her father's "tax troubles", with Cusack eventually receding into the background altogether. Heavy subject matter for the audience you'd expect this to be aimed at. and the kind of movie who's clothes this superficially appears to wear... ...And other than the general look of the film, the two leads and one highly oversold moment (The boombox moment), which lasts possibly less than ten seconds and has precisely zero impact on story or anything, yet has become a cultural touchstone, not least through the likes of Deadpool and Family Guy etc. referencing it, this lacks all the kind of feel of those other movies, the zing, and the dynamic eighties style editing, and so forth...indeed, I'd go as far as to call it quite...flat, by comparison. It almost feels, like this was a more seriously intentioned movie with some great, strong dramatic ideas of it's own, that was either co-opted, or re-purposed to try and shoe-horn it into a John Hughes category of movie, and for that audience. If it had gone either way more completely, it might have been a great movie on it's own: Heavily toward the Dramatic, adult aspects, and it might have been an Oscar worthy movie... treated more lightly, and it it would have been sitting alongside Ferris Bueller in the collective affections, but ends up just befuddling, and underwhelming. One moment, does not a movie make. Meh. 4 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 14th Aug 2024		Out Of Sight (1998)	Rated 9/10 I've "Seen" this twice before, but only watched it for the first time today. Well, I saw a few minutes of it back in the day, off the back of the whole Tarantino thing, but found it boring, and switched it off...then, about ten years ago, I gave it another go, and fell asleep. But now, I thought I'd give it another go, and find it is one of the best things I've seen recently. I think this is because I'm now ready for it - more mature (ish) - as can be evidenced by the fact that among the Tarantino movies, Jackie Brown is the one that has been creeping up through the ranks of my favourite movies of his, as it operates on a more slow burn, lo-fi - effortlessly cool basis, rather than all the pizazz of his other works... ...And that's exactly the kind of space this operates in; If possible, even more effortlessly cool, and lo-fi than Jackie Brown - but not boring. I've also read an Elmore Leonard novel now (Maximum Bob - quite funny!) , and so am more tuned into his intricate yet easy, and naturalistic storytelling... the vibe he was giving in his work, and which both Jackie Brown and this, both adaptations of Leonard's work capture extremely well. This tale of the Hapless bank robber, and prison escapee who comes across the cool, calm, and composed FBI agent, and sparks fly between them, causing her to question her duty to the law while at the same time, trying to catch him , is coolly, and seductively told, against a backdrop of a planned heist among some nefarious yet engaging characters does everything with ease, and without trying too hard to say: "look how cool this movie is eh!?!!!" the way some adaptations of Leonard's work do, or how the Ocean's 11 series do, which are a bit too goofy and overt for my taste. This is more straight up, and is the better for it.... more... subtle. Given I've only really just seen it, is it right that I should add it to my list of favourite nineties movies now? .... ah, what the hell, it's going on there, as I think this getting a few rewatches. (Not only that, I've ripped the movie to hard drive, and I'm keeping this DVD! :) 2 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 8th Aug 2024		A Private Function (1985)	Rated 7/10 Quaint British, quirky, light hearted comedy farce, concerning a village power struggle over an illegally bred pig in the time of post-war rationing... principally: Pork. Quite fun, if light, piece of comedy fluff. 2 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 8th Aug 2024		Network (1976)	Rated 9/10 Rank this among the movies it's most important for you to see... ...Alongside the likes of 12 Angry Men etc. I'd been meaning to see this for as long as I can remember, and it didn't let me down. In fact, it exceeded my expectations by a long chalk, and for one very odd, and specific reason: Irony. The irony here consists in the fact that for those, like me, who have long heard of it, but never seen it, it is notorious for the scene in which the ageing news anchor has an on air break-down, instructing the viewing populace to join him in screaming from their windows: *"I'M MAD AS HELL!!! - AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!!"* ...But little else substantively about the film.... Which is, of course, kind of the satirical point of the movie, that only a sensationalised moment is able to break through to the general consciousness, and all else of substance goes by the wayside. Indeed, when this was made, it was to be considered the most biting satire, but only a few years later, might have been considered purely cynical... Now, of course, it is sadly neither of these to any great degree, so much as it has become mere observation. Observation of an objective fact. A demented, desperate, scurrilous "news" network breaking free form the high minded standards of reporting of the time... (If you believe these ever really existed in this "profession" in the first place) ...In favour of playing on the most primal and primitive parts of the human consciousness: Primarily: FEAR. And so becoming the collection of crazed Disaster Porn Junkies we know and love to despise today, and indeed, duping the populace into becoming such themselves. After initially trying to push their beleaguered news anchor away from themselves like a turd on a stick, the psychopathic, and / or Sociopathic news director (Dunaway) determines how to employ it for the network's (her own, principally) advantage in the ratings war - she's practically having orgasms over stealing the numbers away based on her colleague's psychological, messiah based breakdown, and distress, while Holden, playing his friend watches on with dismay as he is made to become the hero to the masses / cult leader / prophet / seer, believing in his own righteousness. On top of all this, we get to see the various machinations of the most Machiavellian variety of the network hierarchy in attempting to exploit the situation, each of the higher ups jockeying for position off the back of it. What could possibly go wrong? This movie was, at the technical level, most impressive to me for a couple of reasons, over and above each well defined character being played brilliantly by every actor, full of breath-taking monologues and set pieces, and all to a cinematic score of.... nothing. That's right, there's no music in this film, so you just lean right into the dialogue and the scenes unaided by musical manipulation. It will shock any modern audience as to just how prescient it was, and how painfully accurate it's speculations were regarding this morally bankrupt industry. A real eye opener! 3 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 6th Aug 2024		A Kiss Before Dying (1956)	Rated 7/10 A reasonable Hitchcock clone... but lacking that certain something. Robert Wagner's character: college kid, Bud, finds himself in a dilemma when his girlfriend gets pregnant and wants to get married, so he decides she needs to have an "accident" (in particular, a fatal one), and so the first half of this is following him in his convoluted attempts to make this happen... ...The second half then turns into a kind of Agatha Christie Sleuth kind of movie, as the focus shifts away from him, and onto the girlfriend's sister, who won't take "accident" for a reasonable explanation, and begins to hunt down her killer, unknowingly coming into contact with Wagner, who then attempts to weasel his way into her affections... and, by way of marriage, daddy's mining empire. There's an odd cheeriness to the title card music which doesn't seem to fit the movie, and I was more than aware as the movie went along that if you took the music score away, the action is really rather pedestrian, and somewhat lacking in that most essential Hitchcock ingredient: Suspense. There's no real tension in this, and I couldn't help but wonder what kind of masterpiece this would have been if Hitchcock himself had actually made it! But overall, a fairly decent stab at this kind of thing. (Cinematography in places is breath-taking though.. especially the scenes where a car is present) 2 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 6th Aug 2024		Donnie Brasco (1997)	Rated 8/10 Not Goodfellas, and definitely not The Godfather! I remember being somewhat underwhelmed at the prospect of this at time of release, and so was never inspired to watch it. And to be honest, even after the first five minutes, I had a bit of a sinking feeling, as it seemed to channelling a "knock-off Goodfellas" vibe, with a somewhat hammy Al Pacino, seeming like he was way past this kind of thing, and perhaps only signing on to associate himself with the rise in cache of the then fresh, young superstar of Johnny Depp... ...But then... .....A little bell went off in my head: "Oh, I get it!" This is intentional in terms of style, as shorn of the kinetic, dynamic (some would say: Glamorous) film-making style of Martin Scorsese, this band of bozos look just like the cheap band of hoods they really are: A bunch of kids who never really grew up, and wanted to play "gangs" - bargain basement Goodfellas - scuzz-oids doing their best impression of mafia men, which makes them all seem a little sad - albeit brutal - to the extent that they even have the expression: "Forget about it!" highly emphasised, and constantly repeating as a wry running joke. The FBI surveillance team even have an actual joke about it in one scene. And now Pacino's performance makes total sense, as the older "passed over" gangster channelling a kind of Midnight Cowboy's Ratso... a quite pathetic, tragic figure at once trying to ease his way out of this lifestyle, and dreaming a little dream of a life elsewhere, while still, either by habit or compulsion, due to the dangers of stepping out of line, or character, playing the part of gangster in that cartoonish way to keep the younger guys from suspecting him. And it is this, that is Depp's FBI character tunes in on, as he allows Pacino to take him under his wing, whilst infiltrating this crew, and the broader mob. Initially Depp himself seems to be doing some kind of Erol Flynn impression, in terms of look, but Pacino gradually knocks him into shape as a wise guy, without realising he is being played by Depp. And this is what this story is, and what makes it it's own thing, rather than an attempt to imitate Goodfellas, or a cheap Godfather clone... This is about the genuine bond that develops between Pacino and Depp, around issues of trust and betrayal against a constant background of danger. ...And this is what makes this both refreshing in a gangster movie, and well worth watching. So put Goodfellas and The Godfather out of your mind, in terms of expectation when going in, else you will be disappointed, but taken for what it is, it's really rather great, as you find yourself increasingly entranced in the development of this relationship, and the anticipation how this story will play out. I would also draw attention to the incredible performance by Anne Heche as Depp's long suffering wife... I don't know what awards she got for this, but it's one of those: Should definitely have gotten an Oscar for best supporting actress performances... And reminds us of the tragedy of the career she could have had based on this. 2 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
W.B.lbl 5th Aug 2024		Square Of Violence (1961)	This movie was part of a 145-film package syndicated by MGM to local TV stations starting in 1968 called 'MGM/7'. This was notable in that neither TV station in New York that split the package amongst themselves - WNBC-TV (Channel 4, which selected 74 flicks) and WOR-TV (Channel 9, which got 70) - would pick up and air this one. But then, this package came out in the same year as the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, plus the mayhem outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and TV stations became instantly skittish over films with titles such as this.
Magic Marmalade 29th Jul 2024		Free Willy (1993)	Review Yeah, not bad... ... Usual heartwarming, life affirming / rite of passage fare of the kind Disney usually makes... In fact, if always thought it was a Disney movie! I have avoided it all these years as I was seventeen or eighteen when it came out, so it wouldn't have been my kind of thing, but it's a pretty well made movie regardless of target audience. Fairly tight, efficient storytelling that doesn't have much flab and is one of the better examples of it's kind. So a super solid family movie, with nothing to make a parent's teeth set on edge, but adults can enjoy it too. This particular adult had two specific reasons to enjoy it: Firstly, a young, point break era Lori Petty... Ahem... Very warm today isn't it... Phew! :) ... And secondly, the total surprise of seeing no less a luminary than Michael Ironside in it! - legend! - (And if you include Michael Madsen, that makes three) Although it didn't have me balling my eyes out exactly, there may have been the suggestion if a tear in one or two places. (I think I'm getting soft on my older age) 4 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 28th Jul 2024		Colors (1988)	Review Still a powerful race relations / gangs- cop movie, which I suspected had aged badly, but really hasn't at all... Except the soundtrack is severely dated, which is otherwise the only thing that takes you out of the movie. But a truly great dramatic story, nevertheless. 4 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 28th Jul 2024		Carnival Of Souls (1962)	Review I found this as part of a three-movies-on-a-disc set by bootleg dvd outfit: 23rd century... (The others being: Ape Man, and Mesa - haven't watched yet) ... Pretty decent looking DVD, I have to say! It's not really a "horror" movie, to be honest, as, while there are some disturbing (unsettling) images, there are no real jump scares of graphic horror scenes... It's just more a woozy, hallucinatory tone - the dread Dr Doom speaks of is most accurate - It starts abruptly, with a woman in a car being run off the road and into a river... She survives, but is haunted by fleeing glimpses of a weird looking man who seems to be silently stalking her. After getting out of town she comes to another town and takes a room in a boarding house, but is increasingly obsessed with an abandoned old pavilion she saw on her way into town. The movie basically follows her around... (not many other characters to speak of - bar a priest, a psychologist, the landlady, and the real creep if the story: the guy taking the room across the hall from her's) ... And this intimate portrait of her doubt, and decent into possible madness if the real, true horror of the story... Eerie. The performances are pretty wooden, yet precise, and they have to be, as the real stars of this show are the director, cinematographer, and ultimately, the editor, who conspire to elevate this way above a mere horror movie, but even worthy of being considered a with of cinematic art: Every shot is like a perfectly composed photographic portrait, the actions and words of the characters move fluidly in a brilliantly visually poetic way of telling the story, and the editing... Wow! Spot on. The timing of the edits are absolutely perfect... Leading from one scene, or frame to the next beautifully. A well as the juxtapositions of the cuts. Perfection. No, this is more than a b-movie, or horror movie... It looks, feels, and movies not like a cross between an Alfred Hitchcock movie, and a Stanley Kubrick movie... ... In fact, not only would I say that if either of those filmmakers had made this, they might consider it among their best work, I could well believe they both saw this and wished they'd made it themselves! I could even go so far as to say that this might well be the reason The Shining exists at all, not to mention others if a similar standard, like the sixth sense, or Jacob's ladder Masterpiece. 2 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 25th Jul 2024		The Return Of The Living Dead (1985)	Rated 8/10 All you need is Brains! Just about as good a zombie movie as you'd wish to see. Very simple set up: Young guy gets new job in a cadaver and scientific specimen storage facility, and the older h=guy there showing him the ropes, and bragging a little (oops), tells him about the story behind the original Living Dead movie, and how those pickled zombies are now in the basement, having been contained there by the military... ...Naturally, young guy doesn't believe, older guy, showing off, takes him down to see the "safe as houses" containers, and.... well.... you can guess what from there. Wotsit hits the doodah, and the rest of the movie is just an escalation of events from there. I realise, from this, the essential ingredient in most (although not all, admittedly) zombie movies, over and above keeping the movie tight, economical, and short, is a healthy dose of humour, which this has in spades... (Zombie movies that take the subject, and themselves too seriously are generally an eye-rolling yawn-fest) ...Either satire (social or otherwise) or straight up comedy suits the genre well, and allows you to enjoy the gross -out horror with a big fat grin on your face! This one sits somewhere, humour wise, between the raised eyebrow / knowing satire of those classic Romero movies and Shaun Of The Dead, this latter one being the most obviously influenced by the tone of the humour in this, although this, itself, clearly in feel, look, and tone, feels a perfect fit with those Romero ones. Aside from the mindless fun, this does have a pretty darn impressive thread of zombie lore and bio-logic running through it, which they didn't have to put in there, but is really well thought out, and appreciated, nonetheless. Pretty cool alt / metal / punk soundtrack, a gang of hapless youth-punk / street trash waste-oids, brilliantly pleasing practical horror effects. which are both gross and hilarious, no nonsense, straight in zombie fest. Hugely entertaining, great fun, and and excellent hour and a half all round. (Another tough to find DVD too!) ✔︎ Helpful Review?

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