To me it’s Mary Elizabeth Winsteads role in the wonderful amazon prime series Braindead that I know her from.
Weirdly, we watched pretty much the last two listed movies there over the weekend.
Riders of Justice Mads Mikkelsen in a sort of action role, but not. Bad bikers. Mads in an ex-soldier killing them for some sort of justice. Ragtag of nerds and quite disturbing problems. Overall, I quite enjoyed it.
Also watched Kate, a less cartoonish Gunpowder Milkshake type of revenge movie, and set in Japan, which shouldn’t make it less cartoonish. So kind of Kill Bill too. But rather good bit of action.
And thirdly Malignant, one of the better horrors of the last few months, with a solid bit of effects and not really knowing where it was going till it got there…
I realize it seemed a pointless nitpick but people see stuff on Amazon Prime or Netflix or some other service and assume it’s original to them. But the fact is that a lot of what they show is existing stuff they’ve bought the rights for. (Kind of how some Americans seem to think that every British show comes from the BBC.)
You’re making some assumptions there. I assume nothing of that. However, when I read the recommendation for Braindead, I got the impression it was one of the few amazon originals. I thought so because they weren’t doing a lot of them, the only other one I remembered was The Man In The High Castle.
The reason why I continued to assumed it was, when it seems there wasn’t even the prime logo at the start, was it was too high quality for the likes of CBS in my mind, it seemed like the riskier things which the streaming services do, and too high brow and out there to be network or normal cable.
But it appears not. I’d also have missed it was on CBS being in the UK, and the show didn’t seem to be successful enough to be of note over here (apart from a Guardian critic who evangelised it, and that’s what led me to it).
The Hunt for the Red October on Sundance Channel. I’ve seen it several times. It had been at least 10 years ago.
Love the movie. It’s Alec Baldwin only role that I like. He screwed up turning down the other Jack Ryan movies.
I always notice new plot details rewatching Red Oct. It’s very well thought out. The surprise sub attack at the end seems a bit forced. But they had to create dramatic tension and jeopardy for the characters.
Oddest Casting: Tim Curry as the Russian doctor. Imagine Dr. Frank-N-Furter on the sub. Anyway he made the most of a small role. He was the only officer that didn’t defect.
I watched The Voyeurs . Almost didn’t make it past the first 15 minutes, the lead actors bugged me that much. Justice Smith is the boyfriend .What is up with his voice? I assumed he was not American and was doing what he thinks is a typical American accent based on watching Keanu Reeves. Sydney Sweeney is the girlfriend and was good in White Lotusbecause she was supposed to be unlikable and she nailed it. Here I assume we’re supposed to at least start off liking her. I did not. I think this role just called for a different actress.
That being said, I stuck around and I’m glad I did. I did grow to like the the couple for the most part and it was suspenseful and had me hooked. Lots of improbable situations but hey, it’s a thriller and sometimes you just have to roll with it.
Nocturne - This one came up as a “because you watched…” and the next thing you know I was watchiing another film with Sydney Sweeney. She was much more suited for this one, a tale of twin sisters who attend a music academy and one of them is far more talented. A Faustian tale with some fun touches. I’ve seen some reviews where both Suspiria and Black Swan are referenced, and I agree, there are several parallels but this one has a few goodies of its own. There is also some comment about the ambiguity of the ending (which I won’t spoil) but I thought it was pretty clear.
Just saw this and concur that it’s an excellent addition to the genre. There’s not a lot of surprises plotwise, but Winstead acts the crap out of it. It’s about as realistic as you can get for a “person kills their way across a major metropolis’ underworld” film – the protagonist doesn’t just limp a bit and cough occasionally to show that she’s dying throughout the film (I’m looking at you here, D.O.A. - either version); she’s genuinely deteriorating throughout. Nicely done.
The Wrong Guy with Dave Foley, David Higgins and Jennifer Tilly. It’s an innocent man on the run story that takes some nice twists and turns with the story. One of the most enjoyable movies I’ve seen in a while.
Very much in the John Wick category. A few hints from Reds (Christopher Lloyd). Lots of bodies, Russian mobsters. None of the icky love bits thrown in. No need for deep analysis.
I didn’t expect to like “The Professor and The Madman”, starring Mel Gibson and Sean Penn. But the acting and the writing sort of sucks you in. I found myself invested in the two characters and their interactions. See if it doesn’t do the same for you.
I figured out most of it, and the missing pieces were filled in when I read the plot afterwards. I just found some of the subject matter cringe-worthy.
As it’s already been mentioned several times here, I went and watched Gunpowder Milkshake. Definitely a “style over substance” thing but Karen Gillan is weirdly fun to watch doing all the fighty-murdery stuff, and the rest of the cast was surprisingly solid.
On a sidenote, it was odd watching Paul Giamatti in this at the same time I’m watching him in the new episodes of Billions because at some point between the two he seems to have lost half his body weight.
Anyway he made the most of a small role. He was the only officer that didn’t defect.