Azrael (2024) on Hulu. Samara Weaving in a post-apocalyptic (post-rapture) dystopia is hunted by her former cult of mutes for sacrifice. As has become her staple, she is battered and bloodied throughout the film but remains undaunted. As much as I love her body of work, this one fell flat for me. Without dialogue there is no real characterization for anyone.
The main point of interest is the ending. I wouldn’t read this or click the links if there’s any chance you might watch this: Birth of the antichrist. Who’s a cute widdle goat-faced baby? You are!Wanna see a picture? (From here.) Of interest is that this may have been intended to be a literal representation of the second coming of Christ, not the anti-christ, as Revelation describes a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes representing God’s perfect vision and power. That goat baby does have seven eyes…
The Omega Man is packed with good 70s cheesiness. It’s a hoot and a half with Anthony Zerbe and Heston competing to see who could consume the most scenery.
This is a funny one, because it ran incessantly on Saturday afternoons in Dallas, and as a little kid I watched it as often as I could. And I found it a bit scary! [along with Gargoyles, another delightful repeat of Saturday matinees]
And yes, Zerbe and Heston were both terrific in it.
Often neglected, this 36-minute version of Matheson’s story covers all the bases quite effectively for its low budget. Admittedly, the lack of Woodstock footage is a detriment.
One of the cool things about Omega Man is that it has a “time stamp” for when the civilized world ends. In the car dealership where Chuck gets his new wheels there is a calendar page shown for March, 1975. That is the same month that the film first aired on broadcast TV.
I was going to argue this point because I remember seeing her in The Waterdance (1992) an Indy film with, of all people, Wesley Snipes and I thought it must be one the first films she appeared in. The only reason I saw that film is because a friend makes a very brief appearance within it. Turns out we were both wrong though, her first film was Rollercoaster (1977).
Right. I assume you realized Trancers was 1984. In fact, even Trancers 2 predates Waterdance. She also stars in Trancers 2 and it was in 1991.
I have to say, my general vibe of Charles Band is that he is a creepy weirdo, but she did make a cameo in Trancers 3 and said she had a good experience on those movies.
Charlie Wilson’s War, Netflix. Inna… born in, but not a fan of the Soviet Union… cheered when the Soviet helicopters were blowing up, so I guess this one hit its mark. Tom Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julia Roberts star in a (mostly) DC-area hagiography of a Texan Congressman who pushed for Afghani weapons to fight against the Evil Communists.
Changing Lanes, also on Netflix. Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson yell at each other in a 2001-era bad-decisions-drives-the-plot movie that would not work in the real world, but was an enjoyable enough for a stay-@-home Friday evening movie & pizza date. 1 hour and 40 minutes, this one isn’t a serious commitment. Legal experts, stay away: I’m sure this one is just rife with Bad Law.
Just finished Gladiator II. An okay film I guess, but Denzel was really miscast in it. He can’t seem to shake his NY accent, and doesn’t even seem to care.
We watched it last week and it was about what I expected: Not very good. Bad History really bothers me when it isn’t compensated for with some new ideas. Every single beat of this film was predictable.
At the risk of starting a whole other debate… does it matter especially? There seems to be an expectation, when it comes to historical epics, particularly Roman ones, that everyone speaks in RP British English, or at least the rich people. It’s a strange trope really.
