Black Rain (1989)

5 April 2014

Directed by Ridley Scott

Starring Michael Douglas, Andy García, Ken Takakura, Kate Capshaw, and Yūsaku Matsuda

I just finished up watching Black Rain, an extremely weird film, to say the least. Some of it works well enough. But a lot of it seems to be a mishmash of the 80s.

The Social Network (2010)

 5 February 2015

"The Social Network" was the first film for Spring 2015. I took the time to watch it last night. Not only was the film as good as advertised, but it was also a little mind blowing. I'm honestly a little angry with myself for having taken so long to watch it.

The Lives of Others (2006)

15 June 2011

Another one from Netflix. Its a German film that won a Best Foreign Film Oscar a few years ago. And deservedly so. It is an amazing film.

Winter's Bone (2010)

27 March 2015

Starring Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes.
Directed by Debra Granik.

Okay, so after being super impressed with J-Law in "Silver Linings Playbook", Jacob and I decided on "Winter's Bone."

Argo (2012)

Starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and John Goodman.

Directed by Ben Affleck.

I came across "Argo" on Netflix last night and checked it out. "Argo" is not a bad period drama-thriller set around the time I was born. But I came away from it less impressed than I expected considering the accolades I know the movie got back in the day. Let's talk about it a little.

Nightcrawler (2014)

I finally got around to watching "Nightcrawler" last night. And it was one hell of a movie.

Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

13 March 2015

I watched SLP on Monday night. It was late and I wasn't really wanting to take the time to watch it. But long before the credits rolled, I was hooked. My review is a little haphazard; there is so much to like about "Silver Linings Playbook".

Brooklyn (2015)

25 June 2016

Last weekend, Jacob and I sat down to watch Brooklyn. I think I had heard of it before when it came out. And from the little I read about it, I knew it was acclaimed. Let's get into it.

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

29 August 2016

Marvel's The Avengers (2012)

7 November 2016

Jacob sat down to watch this the other night and I joined him for most of it. I see why "The Avengers" is so well liked and why so many are invested in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

I watched Solo a couple of weeks ago. All issues aside, I liked it. It's a pretty fair movie. And it's excellent at Star Wars worldbuilding, maybe the best effort since A New Hope. This post really isn't a review of the movie, but more my thoughts about it's Star Warsiness.

The Duellists (1977)

Starring Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel, with a pretty good who's-who of British actors over the last thirty-plus years. Oh yes, Ridley Scott's directorial debut. I came across this film just the other day, I don't remember how. So it's been on the brain. And I was spinning my wheels this evening, so I dove in and watched the film on Amazon Prime.

Brothers (2009)

26 March 2010

"Brothers" was weird.  It was disappointing. But I still liked it.

The Ice Pirates (1984)

Starring Robert Urich, Mary Crosby and Michael D. Roberts; other notable featured actors are Anjelica Huston, Ron Perlman, Bruce Vilanch, John Carradine, and former football player John Matuszak.  The following review was first posted at Fanfare.

This movie has for the last few years gotten a lot of play on TCM of all channels. Late night, but still, TCM. Of course, it is is now almost 35 years old and from the MGM library, so I suppose. Still, I really was surprised when I first saw it in the TV guide a few years ago.

Running on Empty (1988)

Starring Judd Hirsch, Christine Lahti, River Phoenix, and Martha Plimpton.
Directed by Sidney Lumet.

Long ago, I first saw portions of this movie.  The lunch scene comes to mind.  Then later as an adult I saw it all the way through.  Last night it was on TCM, so I sat down to watch.  Let's get into it.

Zodiac (2007)

21 November 2014

Friends, I reviewed "Zodiac" after the first time I saw it four years ago. Even then, I was itching to see the film again. Jacob and I have had "Zodiac" on Blu-ray for awhile and has given us a reason to sit down and it watch it together. So, after four years of expectations and with a better appreciation for films, I give you my 2014 review of "Zodiac".

Inception (2010)

10 February 2016

Another A-movie I've finally gotten around to watching. Unlike The Social Network, Inception was underwhelming.

The Mosquito Coast (1986)

19 January 2016

Finally, FINALLY, I watched "The Mosquito Coast", which as been on my radar since forever. Let's get into it.

Learning to Drive (2014)

Starring Sir Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson
Directed by Isabel Croixet

Wendy (Clarkson) and her husband Ted (Jeff Weber) go out to eat and he drops the bomb: he's leaving her for another woman.  Things heat up and he leaves and gets into a taxi with Wendy chasing after, angry and calling him out for his philandering.  Ted has climbed into the cab of Darwan (Kingsley) and Wendy manages to get in behind him to continue her angry interrogation of Ted, which only gets more intense when he gives Darwan the address of his girlfriend, not his home with his wife.  He ends up not being able to take anymore and gets out, but not before giving Darwan money to take his wife home.

Ordinary People (1980)

With Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, and Timothy Hutton.
Directed by Robert Redford.

I haven't seen many of the films from the late seventies and early eighties aside from the big ones like Apocalypse Now.  Ordinary People has always been kind of the big one, the Best Picture winner from the year before I was born that was never on TV as i grew up and really isn't mentioned when people talk about great movies   Even the tltle, Ordinary People, is   kind of extraordinary in its ordinariness.  I decided awhile ago to put it at the top of my Netflix queue and this weekend I sat down to watch it.