Great! Let’s hope they don’t screw it up.
Forrest Gump, 1994, Pluto.
Inna has never seen this film, which she enjoyed quite a lot. I’m one of the few (on this Board and in real life) who has no problem with FG winning Best Picture - it’s quite a movie, even weirder than PF (which is, at its heart, just a stylized crime drama), and represented some pretty-impressive advancements in technology (Gary Sinise’s CGI’d-removed legs, the integration of Hanks into historical footage, more).
I forgot that Jenny Gump was portrayed by Robin Wright. Jenny might be an even worse romantic interest than Claire Underwood (House of Cards), but her damage was smaller (just herself and Forrest).
Pluto’s commercial breaks are too long though, and too frequent.
Feel free to vote in my "Worst Female Romantic Lead (1990s edition) Poll!
Just saw it last night. I agree that Sinners was excellent, very artfully done, but I wouldn’t regard it as a superior vampire film to Nosferatu, but the vampire parts are certainly original. But it’s an excellent film in its own right and I highly recommend it. And yes, don’t quit after the first credits – there’s a whole other scene, and a longer set of end credits after.
King Solomon’s Mines (1950) (HBO/TCM) In late 19th century Africa, an Englishwoman (Deborah Kerr) hires great white hunter Alan Quatermain (Stewart Granger) to find her missing husband, who disappeared in search of the legendary diamond mine.
Noteworthy because it was filmed on location, and they hired hundreds of indigenous tribespeople as extras. So, as a travelogue it’s pretty cool, and a scene where our heroes are caught in the middle of a stampede is truly thrilling.
However…they really didn’t care about the story. You’d think they’d lean into the proto-Indiana Jones aspects about why King Solomon had a diamond mine in Africa…but you’d be wrong. They follow their treasure map, observe various animals and tribes, sexual tension happens, they find (the remains of) the missing husband in a mine littered with boxes of diamonds, and go home. The end.
Despite being a travelogue they still play fast-and-loose with African ecology. They put cheetahs in the jungle (instead of the savannah) and call a Jackson’s chameleon a scavenger (it’s an insectivore). And I think the film opens with the actual shooting of an elephant, which was horrifying.
As a child growing up in the 60’s, all we knew about Africa was: there’s a tribe over there called Watusi, and they’re all very tall. I think that meme could be traced directly to this film.
My wife and I watched it over the weekend as well and we mostly enjoyed it. The two leads had good chemistry together and just about everything that was over the top kind of worked because it was a buddy action-comedy movie. I did call out the bit with the VP and was disappointed to be right.
Oh yeah, there really aren’t any “twists” to speak of. It’s just a popcorn romp.
Did you catch the obligatory Wilhelm scream?
I did indeed.
All I ever knew about the Watusi was that “Oh, baby, it’s the dance made-a for romance.”
At least according the Orlons in 1962.
Heard an interview with Ryan Coogler on NPR before this movie came out. He talked about the Delta Blues and it’s influence on him. They wanted to get Buddy Guy to do a cameo at the end. Buddy was so enthusiastic, they actually wrote that entire mid-credit scene to utilize him! (trying to be a little cagy here to not give away spoilers).
My wife knew nothing about the movie. I told her about the interview and how he used the music throughout, and how I was excited about the music (I love the Blues!). I didn’t mention the whole “vampire” thing, so she was really really surprised.
No Sinners for movie night tonight, boo. But…
First Man (2018) - To sum up, in a word, “lovely.” Ryan Gosling delivers an understated performance as Neil Armstrong in the story of his harrowing journey to the moon.
There are a few things that make this movie special. The first, is I think it’s the only film I’ve ever seen about space flight where you get almost no exterior shots of the vessel - instead you are in the tin can cockpit, in the dark, disoriented and confused. It’s fantastically effective both for establishing POV and just giving you an idea of how stressful it must have been. I was a bit disappointed they didn’t stick to that with the final mission, but… man, Apollo 11 did look pretty cool.
Second, this is not an overly flattering portrayal of Armstrong, and that is very much to its credit. I’ve always thought of astronauts as superhuman. This depiction is very humanizing without being normalizing. Gosling’s Armstrong is a weird guy, beyond his extraordinary abilities, extremely reserved and emotionally distant, but no less compelling or sympathetic.
The lady who plays his wife, Claire Foy, knocked it out of the damned park. Her role was basically “long-suffering wife” but she made a lot out of it.
I found it compelling from start to finish.
It sounds like this movie got a lot of political flack from all sides, and it just seems totally unwarranted to me. If you take it for what it is, a depiction of an extraordinary person at a specific moment in time, it is, as I said, lovely.
Best Wishes To All
Highly recommended.
This movie goes on my 2025 list even though it was released in 2023 as it has not been viewable in the United States until a few weeks ago. Be careful, though. The same director made a 12 minute short film and then was allowed to go make this full feature length one.
It’s terrific. A teen girl visits her Grandparents and, well, they begin to act really strangely. One thing she has noticed since she was a younger child is that the always ask, “Are…you…happy?” when she visits. OK, that isn’t too strange, but they say it in a very bizarre, almost cult-like way.
Then…they begin oinking like pigs while enjoying the pork meal they are serving and sharing. She calls home and suspects dementia, but begs her parents to come and join them as quickly as possible.
I won’t go further plot-wise, but this movie goes in unpredictable directions and I ended up being completely engaged and surprised. I’d love to talk about it with more open spoiler discussion, but you really need to see this one to understand, well, everything in the second half of the movie.
One of the best of the year.
Streams on Shudder, is in Japanese.
This reminds me in a way of a movie I saw years ago about a young girl who gets a complimentary stay at a charming coastal B&B which eventually is revealed as a house of cannibals.
Saw Sinners last night and liked it bigly. You could feel the electricity when dancers were getting down to “Pale, pale moon” just before trouble showed up. Very creative setting for a horror movie.
The Gorge on Apple. A pretty good variation on a zombie theme, with an ending reminiscent of The Borne Identity.
“I’m thinkin’ with sand here!”
Underrated film I recommend to everyone I know at one point or another. It’s in my dusty DVD collection next to Dogma.
A Working Man 2025 Jason Statham
Sly Stallone cowrote the screenplay.
Another good action film with Statham. I look forward to his films. They’re consistently enjoyable.
The plot is well worn and predictable. Attractive college girl gets taken by Russian traffickers. Statham slaughters his way through bad guys until he finds her. Granted, it’s not the most inspired script. Stallone can write more complex stories.
The fun is watching the non-stop action.
How many times have you seen a movie stakeout? Our hero parks within binocular range of the corrupt business. Well, this time, the bad guys security cameras extended beyond their parking lot. Our hero is seen on camera. 
I’ve often wondered why security systems only watch their own property.
The ending sets up a possible sequel. Maybe in a year or two.
I added the MGM+ option to Prime. That allowed me to watch this film. Otherwise it can be rented.
Yes, to both those films, but Bubba Ho-Tep was a real surprise.
Tea and Sympathy (1956) - 7/10
Riff Raff. A strong cast and great interactions carries a pretty straightforward plot. Jennifer Coolidge and Pete Davidson apparently received the kind of direction they need to be funny without resorting to their usual annoying cartoon characters. And Ed Harris and Bill Murray can do no wrong.