I want to be clear, if the measure of success of a film that’s it’s really compelling and makes the audience invested in the outcome, Oldboy succeeds. And I think the premise is brilliant. It’s just not for the faint of heart.
The River, Mel Gibson, Sissy Spacek (not to be confused with The River Wild), 1984 - An unusual role for Gibson and he does a good job of standing up to The Man without the usual violence one expects from his films. On Netflix.
We watched Civil War last night.
I liked that it didn’t feel like a typical Hollywood movie; it didn’t have ear-shattering background music all the time, and had an indie feel to it.
Not sure what to think of the “story,” though. IMO there was no depth to it. Not even sure there was a story. 
That’s the thing with me too. I mean, I think there was a story that they held on to for most of the movie but then just said, “eh, fuck it,” right at the end.
The Doper above who just said it was “scenes” was kind of right. I’m not sure it is a great movie, just a good one.
Anatomy of a Murder Somehow the wife and I made it to middle age without seeing this classic. We both went into this movie stone cold.
Excellently done courtroom drama, it’s apparently a reasonably faithful retelling of an actual case. Much longer than I expected from a 1959 movie, but it didn’t drag, and you don’t find yourself thinking “why are they wasting my time”.
Lots of ambiguity, except for the fact that the man accused of murder definitely did walk into a bar and kill the bartender. You’re never exactly sure what went down, and there’s no epilog to explain it to you, because that’s real life. There’s also no white hats and black hats to be had, refreshingly real.
One thing that jarred was the cavalier way a woman’s rape was dealt with, even by the victim herself. Product of the times, I suppose.
Saw Furiosa last night and loved it. I was given the impression that it might be a change of pace (slower, more deliberate) than the other Mad Max films but that wasn’t the case at all. This might have more road battles than all the other films put together with a lot of clever new stunts and, as always with George Miller, brilliant world-building and humor.
The Fall Guy.
Yeah, Gosling being Gosling again. Fun in an odd way. E.g., Lots of gratuitous explosions and action scenes used for humorous effects. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Hannah Waddingham is mostly wasted.
There’s no relationship between what is shown in this film and how action movies are actually made. Tons of major last second decisions regarding scenes before starting cameras. (Which still have to get up to speed for some reason.)
Not a waste of time. Which isn’t exactly high praise.
Give it 3 French fluent dogs.
Post-It Note: “Sell French fluent dogs. Buy koala.”
Take Aim at the Police Van. A Japanese noir directed by Seijun Suzuki from 1960. An hour and 19 minutes of almost non-stop action. Nothing serious, really, but a lot of fun.
They were Expendable 1945 Robert Montgomery and John Wayne
PT-109 1963 Cliff Robertson, James Gregory
It’s interesting that They were Expendable covers the beginning of the war through May, 1942. After the US defeat at The Battle of Corregidor. The PT boats were initially unproven and used for messenger service. As the War in the Philippines deteriorated, the PT boats were given combat duty. They helped evacuate Douglas McArthur from Corregidor.
PT-109 starts in Aug 1942 after the fall of the Philippines. U.S. Navy Lieutenant, junior grade John F. Kennedy is fresh out of PT boat training school. The battles are in the Solomon Islands. That of course is when Kennedy helps rescue his crew and is awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal.
It’s known now that Kennedy’s affair with Inga Arvad in 1941/into early 42 and the FBI Investigation made his transfer to the Pacific necessary. 
Both films are heavily fictionalized. But it does give a sense of the PT boats history. The Navy Brass had very little use for plywood boats until the war made them needed.
PT Boats did evacuate McArthur, members of his family and staff in March 1942.
I do marginally recommend both movies. Keep in mind they are fictionalized and intended to bolster public support.
Kennedy’s military service and the movie PT-109 gave him a lot of popularity with the public.
The movies stories are interesting and entertaining. The battle scenes are well done.
Elizabeth Montgomery (born 1933) was 11 during filming. Maybe she was hanging around the set visiting her dad?
Huh, TIL.
It was shot in Florida, so it’s debatable that she would be there. What’s known is that Elizabeth had some serious daddy issues.
They were Expendable is by far a better movie than PT-109.
John Ford put so much dispair and courageous duty into the scenes. The Philippines were a significant and humiliating defeat for the US. There were 75,000 American and Filipino POW’s on the Bataan Death March. Thankfully that’s not in the movie.
The scenes of the Navy personnel transferred to the infantry were gut wrenching. The last aircraft left for Australia and dozens of men were left behind because a 2nd plane didn’t arrive. John Ford was a masterful storyteller.
It’s pretty emotional to watch.
April 9th - a platoon of bicycle soldiers (yep, bicycle soldiers) fights a series of increasingly desperate actions against the Germany Army as it advances into Denmark (on the morning of April 9, 1940). A student of history will have at least a rough sense of how it must end, but I found it quite suspenseful and the writing, performances, and depictions of small unit combat were excellent. The climax is particularly intense. A really excellent depiction of a small unit operating under trying but novel circumstances in an obscure (to Americans, at least) chapter of history.
But maybe I, being a bike enthusiast myself, am just a sucker for the bikes (I was aware that a number of militaries, including most of the major participants in WWII, had dabbled in bicycles going back as far as the late 19th century, but never thought I’d see their military use featured so prominently in a film). They even show a combat repair of a flat bicycle tire!
Anyway, it’s available on Amazon through your prime subscription if you’ve got it. Oh, and of course the film is in Danish—English subtitles are available.
BTW, Montgomery’s character in They Were Expendable was based on John D. Bulkeley. Forty four years after he snuck MacArthur out of the Philippines he was still in the Navy, conducting Inserv ships’ inspections. I was on the quarterdeck when he came aboard; next to me, our chaplain (a goofy guy like many chaplains) whispered “An O-9 with over fifty years in. This guys has to be hauling in beaucoup dinero!”
Thank you for the information.
The movie indicated Montgomery’s character helped setup PT Boat training in the US. He used his battle experience in the Philippines to train a fleet of PT skippers and crews.
TIL of this man and the dime finally drops on why Sten’s tac-ships were Bulkeley - Class. (Fleet of the Damned, Sten Book #4)
Remember (2015). Zev (Christopher Plummer) is a nursing home resident with dementia. With the assistance of another resident (Max, played by Martin Landau) he sets out on a quest to find and kill the Auschwitz block commander responsible for the death of his family. Max, who also lost his family in Auschwitz and also seeks revenge, remains at the nursing home but has provided Zev with money and written instructions to which Zev must constantly refer because of his dementia. Max also helps make some of the travel arrangements as Zev travels around the country, and provides moral support through regular phone calls from Zev.
Expertly done in all respects by director Atom Egoyan, and tremendously well acted by all, especially Plummer, who portrays a sympathetic stricken old man on a difficult mission. An unusual film and a little slow-moving at first – TBH I almost gave up on it – but definitely worth sticking with it because it soon becomes quite powerful, with twists and turns along the way and a final great twist at the end. Recommended.