VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented

[SuperBacon]

On 1/13/2025 at 8:59 PM, Devon Malcolm said:

A Real Pain (cinema)

A film that you will like / dislike entirely based on how much of Jesse Eisenberg you can stomach. CM Punk stan Kieran Culkin is awesome as reported and there are a couple of memorable scenes. But Eisenberg really Eisenbergs the hell out of himself here - he also directs this.

I loved this. Culkins performance is quite haunting, and I'm not sure I'll see a better one this year. Wonderful. 

[Rossman]

The Silent Partner (Talking Pictures)

Elliott Gould plays Cullen, a run of the mill bank clerk who has suspicions the bank will soon be robbed by Reikle. (Christopher Plummer) Cullen steals the money before Reikle has his chance. And now Reikle wants his money and revenge. Surprisingly good, cat and mouse thriller. Christopher Plummer was really good as the psychotically, sadistic Reikle. Quite a low budget for the time, but very engrossing. Made and set in Canada, as part of a tax shelter scheme, to increase the film entertainment business there.

Screenplay written & produced by Curtis Hanson who went on to write, produce and direct L.A. Confidential.

A young, John Candy has a bit part in there too. 

 

[HarmonicGenerator]

On 1/18/2025 at 4:38 PM, SuperBacon said:

I loved this. Culkins performance is quite haunting, and I'm not sure I'll see a better one this year. Wonderful. 

Agreed, he is excellent and deserves all the praise he’s getting for it. I hope he becomes the first actor to win an Oscar for a performance that includes the Bushwhackers walk.

[Chris B]

19 hours ago, Rossman said:

The Silent Partner (Talking Pictures)

Elliott Gould plays Cullen, a run of the mill bank clerk who has suspicions the bank will soon be robbed by Reikle. (Christopher Plummer) Cullen steals the money before Reikle has his chance. And now Reikle wants his money and revenge. Surprisingly good, cat and mouse thriller. Christopher Plummer was really good as the psychotically, sadistic Reikle. Quite a low budget for the time, but very engrossing. Made and set in Canada, as part of a tax shelter scheme, to increase the film entertainment business there.

Screenplay written & produced by Curtis Hanson who went on to write, produce and direct L.A. Confidential.

A young, John Candy has a bit part in there too. 

 

I'm very fond of this one. It's properly nasty in places, and really quite tense. Well acted and made too. It's on again tomorrow night.

[Mr_Danger]

Godzilla x Kong: A New

Not sure what happened to this franchise but it’s suddenly got good. Ok, Dan Stevens is what happened but his wonderful batshit performance aside there’s a baby Kong, a naughty ginger Kong and a mech Kong arm. I’m well on board for whatever mad shit comes next. Loads of fun.

[Devon Malcolm]

Presence (cinema)

Neat gimmick in an overall solid horror from Steven Soderbergh, who apparently has another film out in March. A couple of unnecessarily daft moments and there's one really bad performance but the ending's great and it's something a bit different.

Wolf Man (cinema)

Man, this is getting a real panning but I thought it was very decent. Really liked the passage of time and the slow transformation, and Julia Garner's always great. Not sure what the problem is with it, to be honest.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (Prime)

Not sure what's got into Guy Ritchie recently. He's putting out two films a year - and they're all good. An old-fashioned men on a mission war caper, a bit too light on action at times, but a good laugh. Most importantly, Henry Cavill's got the facial hair back. Somebody confiscate his razors.

Trap

Nope, absolutely not. Not one of Shyamalan's worst but anyone saying Josh Hartnett is good in this is off their rocker. Mind you, he's not as bad as Shyamalan's daughter. Fucking hell.

The G (whatever More 4 is called this week)

Really good crime thriller about an old couple that are scammed out of their house. Dale Dickey gets a rare lead role and unsurprisingly kills it. Jumps a bit with its scene-to-scene transitions but this was a good time.

Babes

Really disappointing comedy with Ilana Glazer that is rushed and clearly should have been a sitcom. Problem is I didn't laugh once. Broad City it ain't. Glazer is very annoying in it. You'll probably love it, @SuperBacon!

What You Wish For

For what it decides to be after a certain point, it's nowhere near as violent and gnarly as it should be. It's just all rather plodding and obvious and the performances are bad except for Nick Stahl. Not great.

Fitting In

Comedy about a high school girl (Maddie Ziegler) who's diagnosed with a rare gynaecological condition that prevents her from having sex or children. It's pretty funny and surprisingly sensitive when it's not doing the usual high school clichés. Ziegler is excellent. Sounding the Bacon klaxon again!

The Second Act (Mubi)

Quentin Dupieux / Mr. Oizo's latest absolute fruitloop comedy, all fourth wall breaking and very funny nonsense. Not quite his best but all his films are my thing.

The Taste of Things

French drama about a romance between a gourmet and his personal cook. Very slow, very lovely, beautifully acted, almost certainly for nobody but me, and not just because Juliette Binoche is the greatest of all time. Do not watch this on an empty stomach. Great film.

[Hannibal Scorch]

1 hour ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Trap

Nope, absolutely not. Not one of Shyamalan's worst but anyone saying Josh Hartnett is good in this is off their rocker. Mind you, he's not as bad as Shyamalan's daughter. Fucking hell.

 

What a performance. I believe it was completely AI and she’s not a real person.

 

[Onyx2]

2 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said:

anyone saying Josh Hartnett is good in this is off their rocker

The eyebrows man, it's all begins in the eyebrows!

 

(it ends there too) 

[cobra_gordo]

13 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Trap

anyone saying Josh Hartnett is good in this is off their rocker

 

See, I wouldn't say he was good as such but I enjoyed his performance because he looked like he was enjoying himself and was just plain weird at times.

[Devon Malcolm]

10 minutes ago, cobra_gordo said:

See, I wouldn't say he was good as such but I enjoyed his performance because he looked like he was enjoying himself

I'm glad he was!

[ReturnOfTheMack]

Watched a few this week.

'The Dead Don't Die' on Netflix. A cracking little ensemble zombie horror film with the most insane final 40 minutes I have ever seen. Go in blind, it makes the end well worth it that way.

'Get Away' on Sky Cinema. Nick Frost and Aisling Bea? I'm in! And well worth it, I thought it was a lot of fun, even though I saw the end coming a mile off.

'Star Trek: Section 31' on Paramount+. I loved it, but I enjoy when Star Trek plays about with its darker side.

Edited January 25, 2025 by ReturnOfTheMack
Typos galore

[Jesse]

Went and saw Flight Risk because it was free and if I stay in the house too long I get depressed. Now I've seen it, would have been better off getting depressed.

[Just Some Guy]

Realised at new year that I have never seen a Pink Panther film, so am going to try and watch them all this year. Even the shit ones.

Starting at the begining with The Pink Panther (1963).

A thoroughly entertaining caper with some truly hilarious farcical set pieces.

David Niven leads the cast at his most debonair whilst Peter Sellers is almost subtle in his portrayal of Jacques Clouseau. Subtle compared to what is to come I believe.

I know that actress of that era tended to have shorter careers and drift out of the public consciousness faster than their male counterparts but Capucine and Claudia Cardinale are both gorgeous, funny, and play their parts really well. I've never heard of either of them & I must find out more about their careers.

Henry Mancini's score is wonderfully evocative of the era and holds everything together nicely.

Bonus points for a John Le Mesurier cameo towards the end.

[Devon Malcolm]

22 minutes ago, Just Some Guy said:

Capucine and Claudia Cardinale are both gorgeous, funny, and play their parts really well. I've never heard of either of them & I must find out more about their careers.

You're gonna be watching a lot of French and Italian films then!

[Mr_Danger]

Get on Once Upon A Time in the West for your Claudia Cardinale fix. She features a lot and It’s a great film.