In the early days of autumn I’ve been watching some movies, here in the comfort of my own home. Also, finally finished Orange is the New Black, the second season of AMC’s terrific Dark Winds, Special Ops: Lioness, and, now that I have Max again, have begun season 4 of Barry, season 4 of Harley Quinn, and, finally, have begun to watch The Last of Us. With all this streaming I did have time to see these movies over the past four weeks…
The Slumber Party- A Disney+ movie chosen by my teenage girls. It’s not terrible.
The Mirror Crack’d- This 1980 Miss Marple movie starring Angela Lansbury, Tony Curtis, Rock Hudson, and Elizabeth Taylor should have been a slam dunk. It’s actually kind of boring and Lansbury’s Marple isn’t even in the thing very much.
Belushi- 2020 documentary on John Belushi. It’s quite good. Sort of a “warts and all” story and they spoke to the actual people who knew him best.
They Live- I hadn’t seen this John Carpenter/Roddy Piper flick in many years. I had remembered loving it. I didn’t love it this time, but I still did enjoy it.
War for the Planet of the Apes- A rewatch of the most recent of the new Apes films. They’ve all been good, but I think this one is the best. I do hope they can keep the quality up in any future entries.
THX 1138- A rewatch, after a few years, of George Lucas’ first feature film. I wish they’d release the original theatrical cut, just so I can see it again without all the added stuff he put in a few years back.
Werewolves Within- So this horror/comedy has a great cast (Sam Richardson, Milana Vayntrub, Harvey Guillen, Cheyenne Jackson, and Michaela Watkins) but there’s something about it that just isn’t satisfying.
There Will be Blood- So, this was my first viewing of this movie that people have been raving about for the last 16 years. I thought it was good, but it didn’t bowl me over. It was fine. I’m not a huge Paul Thomas Anderson fan anyway.
Sherlock Holmes- My first rewatch of the RDJ/Guy Ritchie movie in a few years. I still really enjoy it.
Creation- I hadn’t even heard of this Charles Darwin biopic starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly. It’s good, but does get a bit too downbeat. I mean, it deals mainly with his relationship with his daughter who passed away at a young age.
Murder Mystery 2- Ok. I enjoyed the first Adam Sandler/Jennifer Aniston movie in spite of myself. This one does have some fun stuff, but wears thin after about 45 minutes.
Topaz- My first time watching this 1969 Alfred Hitchcock spy flick. It’s not bad, but also not appearing on any list of Hitch’s best.
Shake, Rattle, and Rock- This 1956 jukebox movie stars a pre-Mannix Mike Connors and Sterling Holloway (yes, the voice of Winnie the Pooh). The thin story that is supposed to be the excuse for performances by acts like Fats Domino and Joe Turner, is actually too much of the movie and, other than the two mentioned, the musical acts featured are 3rd tier. Even in 1956.
The World is not Enough- Universally seen as one of the worst of the Bond series. There are a few fun things in it. I hadn’t rewatched this one in a bit and wound up enjoying myself more than I expected.
Weird Science- Another flick I hadn’t taken a look at in a few years. There are still a few laughs but it just doesn’t play like it did when I was a teen in the 1980’s.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem- I know a lot of people seem to like this latest theatrical incarnation of the comic book turtles, and, there is some good stuff, I prefer a few of the previous films over this one.
Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul- This is a reedited version of a 1993 doc, trotted out by TCM for Warner Brothers 100 anniversary this year. It’s a pretty good doc anyway.
No One Will Save You- See full review in TV/Streaming section.
Magnum Force- The first, and probably best, of the Dirty Harry Sequels.
Tucker: The Man and His Dream- I really liked this movie when it came out in the late ‘80’s and hadn’t revisited in since. I enjoyed it again. Much like Peggy Sue Got Married, this is a mostly forgotten, but really good, Coppola movie.
Pearl- This is the sequel to Ti West’s horror movie “X”. I like this one better. The story holds up better than in X.
The Meg- My first time seeing this giant shark flick from 2018. Is it a great film? No, but it’s actually a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to watching the sequel soon.
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