What movies have you seen recently?

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Casino
Very good.

Finally watched My Left Foot because it is always referenced in other films and tv-shows.
It really felt like the definition of inspiration porn and although I think Daniel Day Lewis is probably the only actor who could've pulled that role off, the whole cripping up-thing in films makes me very uncomfortable, like there wasn't a single actually disabled actor they could've used..

Anyways this year seems to have been kind of bad luck with films, out of the 50ish I've watched only one got a 9 from me (Dog Day Afternoon) and only one got 8 (Drive My Car). It's probably mostly my own fault because I haven't really had the focus and stableness of mind to watch anything too serious this year, mostly just been re-watching old comfort tv-shows.

Miss Congeniality 1 & 2. Originally watched it for the "April 25th" meme, but got hooked on it.

Not quite a movie but I just watched a documentary on Dale Jr.

The other guys
funny

Blacklight
pretty good Liam Neeson film.

Last night we finished watching the six Jurassic Park/World films. This was not the first time we'd watched:

<=>Jurassic Park [1993]
<=+=>"Life finds a way."
<=+>+<=>[link to trailer]

<=>The Lost World: Jurassic Park [1997]
<=+=>"Something has survived "
<=+>+<=>[link to trailer]

<=>Jurassic Park III [2001]
<=+=>"This Time It's Not Just A Walk In The Park!"
<=+>+<=>[link to trailer]

<=>Jurassic World [2015]
<=+=>"The park is open."
<=+>+<=>[link to trailer]

<=>Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom [2018]
<=+=>"The park is gone."
<=+>+<=>[link to trailer]


And last night we watched the extended version of the new one that we'd not previously seen:

<=>Jurassic World Dominion [2022]
<=+=>"It all started here."




All of the movies are good. Recommended!

The later movies will could standalone but would make more sense if you watch the earlier movies first.

For the benefit of anyone who's been living under a rock, there are dinosaurs.

Last night I inflicted upon my bride:

The Beast with a Million Eyes [1955]
<=>"Prepare for a close encounter of the terrifying kind!"
<=+=+=+=>I find the tagline above somewhat amusing because this movie came out
<=+=+=+=>more than two decades before Close Encounters of the Third Kind.



Not recommended, unless you have some vague scholarly interest in seeing 1950s Science Fiction films...that aren't very good. (This film's current IMDB rating is 3.7—though, personally, I wouldn't have thought a 4.0 would've been excessively high.)

Or if you have a scholarly interest in some specific aspect of this film. Perhaps producer Roger Corman. Maybe the "monster" that was, in reality, what it kind of looked like: a modified teakettle. Or, the "interesting" cast.

It was a specific member of the cast that lead me to inflict this movie on my bride: London, the dog. We recently finished a tour through the films in our collection that feature Orangey, the cat. That reminded me of this film because I think London (the dog) might've done the best performance in the film. And, certainly, the dog's acting career was better than the acting careers of some of the human cast members.

Homefront
Good

Exorcist The Beginning (2004)

I don't think I'd ever seen a 'prequel' that was any good, and this one didn't break the sequence. It's actually more interesting for its history than its content, as the original director was sacked and the whole thing had to be redone.

But why did they bother, lol? This is a real mess, and barely comprehensible in places. The action takes place in Kenya circa 1949, where Father Merrin has his first encounter with the demon (Pazuzu) who would possess Regan MacNeil in the 1973 film. The last 15 minutes are very reminiscent of the later movie, and probably the best section.

Too modern for me anyway. Didn't know any of the actors, and was frequently annoyed by the crashing and whooshing sound effects that seem obligatory in most of the stuff from the last 20 years or so.

Top Gun: Maverick

Elvis

I saw it in the theater, two days before it was to appear on HBOMax.
I enjoyed it very much. I read a criticism that it was confusing with lots of montages. I think that is because it is told from the point of view of Colonel Tom Parker after he has had, I think, a heart attack and he is on a morphine drip. Tom Hanks is great as the Colonel, and Austin Bulter really nailed Elvis' moves and his voice. There is also some criticism saying that parts were fabricated and focused too much on the moody Elvis and not the fun loving Elvis. That's true, but I don't think it is a flaw. It is a facet of Elvis that we don't hear much about. I've seen documentary's that show the fun loving side. It is a movie. Like all biographies, some license it taken.

bad Teacher
meh

Last night we rewatched Anomalisa [2015].

Even though I don't normally watch Romantic/Comedy/Drama films I think Anomalisa is incredibly good.

Definitely recommended...definitely only for appropriate audiences for an R-rated film (it is not suitable for children!).