What's on your Daily Viewing List? (1 Viewer)

[Adam Lenhardt]

올드보이 (Oldboy)
Originally Released: 11/21/2003
Watched: 04/17/2024
1080P HD digital streaming on Netflix, upscaled to 4K via Roku Ultra; Korean with English subtitles

One night, after being released from the drunk tank, a man disappears near a payphone. He spends the next 15 years trapped in a hotel room. When he is released, the real nightmare begins.

Recommended?

Why? This unconventional thriller operates on a sort of nightmare logic for most of its runtime. I figured out the big reveal well ahead of time, but it didn't change the atmospheric creepiness and mounting sense of dread that power this movie forward. It's only the second film I've seen from Park Chan-wook, and both this and JSA played with genre conventions in interesting ways, while still providing the audience all of the answers it needs.

 

[Noir Norn]

two by Alain Resnais,
Last Year in Marienbad

(via Criterion's Blu Ray edition)

and
Providence

(courtesy of Jupiter-Films all Regions DVD)

 

[Robin9]

Code 7, Victim 5 (1964) - underrated thriller, lensed by Nic Roeg. Great film shot on location (no egregious back projection) which looks better than its budget and other films of the period. Good looking blu ray from Blue Underground (paired with Mozambique), would upgrade if a special edition or 4k were to be released.

I watched this yesterday. I agree the Blu-ray disc has good images but I don't agree that the film is underrated. The core premise is borrowed from Bad Day At Black Rock and the final suspense sequence comes from Alfred Hitchcock, both Sabotage and North By Northwest. The narrative line resembles a routine TV crime episode circa 1961.

The film is adorned with moderately attractive young women with revealing necklines. The James Bond series did this better with only three women per film. I'm more than happy to go along with a film displaying healthy young women but those women should be exceptional, coming from beauty contests and Playboy magazine, and far more alluring than normal girls found on any beach or in any dance hall.

I was in a lazy and indulgent mood last night and I enjoyed this film. I doubt I'll be so easily entertained next time.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Batman: The Long Halloween
Originally Released: 09/20/2022 (Deluxe Edition)
Watched: 04/19/2024
4K UHD digital streaming on Apple TV app via Roku Ultra

Early in Batman's crime fighting career, he and Captain James Gordon and DA Harvey Dent endure a harrowing year as they try to apprehend a serial killer who strikes only on holidays.

Recommended?

Why? This adaptation of the acclaimed 13-issue comic book limited series by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale does a number of unusual things, first and foremost being the passage of time. I'm used to Batman taking down the bad guy in a matter of days, or at most weeks. A lot happens over the course of the year, and all three of our protagonists are shaped by it. The voice cast here is solid, with Jensen Ackles as a young Bruce Wayne/Batman, Josh Duhamel as Harvey Dent, and the late Naya Rivera as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Billy Burke is perfectly fine as Gordon, and Troy Baker brings an excellent impersonation of Mark Hamill's Joker voice to his take on the character. The animation is a bit confounding; it includes plenty of elements that are far more sophisticated than the Bruce Timm Batman cartoon, but certain details like signage and character movements can feel frustratingly basic.

 

[Noir Norn]

Universal's 4k UHD edition of Kubrick's
Spartacus

 

[Noir Norn]

William Richert's
Winter Kills

via Kino Lorber's Blu Ray edition

 

[Robin9]

Yesterday I watched A Lion Is In The Streets, a film I don't know well, having seen it previously only on television. The Warner Archive Blu-ray disc is excellent. The film is in the same genre as All The King's Men and A Face In The Crowd and stars James Cagney as a huckster who suddenly gets idea of going into politics. Cagney's stylised over-playing is especially suited to his role here. It was Orson Welles who pointed out on more than one occasion that Cagney overplayed but without a trace of ham. I agree completely.

 

[Capt D McMars]

Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary ~ You Gotta Love it!!! Getting the added info and how most were amazed at just how much the is little doc that not only could, but DID!! Great to see the cast and crew back to reminisce of this fun sc-fi action comedy was wonderful!!! Highly Recommended for all those that loved this film!!

 

[Noir Norn]

Universal's 4k UHD edition of
To Kill a Mockingbird

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Man from Plains
Originally Released: 09/07/2007
Watched: 04/20/2024
1080P HD digital streaming on Apple TV app, upscaled to 4K via Roku Ultra

Recommended?

Why? Rather than attempting a comprehensive accounting of the life and presidency of Jimmy Carter, Jonathan Demme's documentary instead tags along for his fall 2006 book tour for Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. It's a fascinating examination of Carter as a husband, neighbor, activist, and author. It's also an illuminating look at the mechanics of a major promotional book tour, especially one with extremely controversial subject matter. Aside from a brief detour with Roslyn Carter recounting the events leading up to the Camp David accords, and the historical clips during the end credits, the movie is focused on the present tense. The major events of his presidency are only touched upon in the context of his interviews and book signings, which are mainly focused on Israel and the Middle East given the book's subject matter. We do get to see him building homes for Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans, a little over a year after Hurricane Katrina. And over and over again, we get to see his gifts as a retail politician; he genuinely enjoys people, and enjoys connecting with them. By the end, I didn't know much more than I already did about Jimmy Carter, the 39th president. But I did have a fuller picture of Jimmy Carter the man: how he thinks, how he carries himself, what's important to him, and how he goes about pursuing his agenda.

 

[Robin9]

I had another viewing of The Three Musketeers yesterday. Lana Turner billed above Gene Kelly! A hugely enjoyable film on a superb Blu-ray disc!

 

[Dave Moritz]

April 20th, 2024 Saturday

Well after ordering The Abyss on 4K blu-ray back on 3/10 and it being out of stock the day of release I finally received my order! It was nice to see this film in 4K but also because I had not watched it in some time.

 

[Noir Norn]

Blue Underground's DVD of Jesus Franco's 1969 erotic thriller Venus in Furs

 

[Robin9]

Blue Underground's DVD of Jesus Franco's 1969 erotic thriller Venus in Furs
View attachment 220481

I've never heard of this before. I'll do a bit of research!

I watched The Broadway Melody last night. It was good to hear two standards in their original setting. The film has an undistinguished cast and a two girls dancers and a guy story structure which was done much better in the later MGM movie Two Girls On Broadway which also benefitted from a more talented cast.

 

[Noir Norn]

Honoring "filth" autuer John Waters' birthday with his 1977 masterpiece Desperate Living

thanks to NewLine's DVD edition

 

[Robin9]

I watched Criterion's 4K disc of The Last Picture Show yesterday. I don't rate it as highly as some people do but it's an interesting film that I'll watched every five years or so. One reason it's interesting is that it shows Texas as being cold!

 

[Capt D McMars]

Finally saw the Hammer version of The Phantom of the Opera with Herbert Lom. With some exstencive bonus features...

 

[Konstantinos]

I'm in the middle now of

Spectacular production (and blu-ray), although to tell you the truth I think I prefer The Greatest Story ever told, and of course Jesus of Nazareth, for a depiction of the whole story of Jesus.

 

[Dave Moritz]

April 21st, 2024 Sunday

Fallout: Season 1/ Episode 1 The End
Amazon

 

[Robin9]

I'm in the middle now of

Spectacular production (and blu-ray), although to tell you the truth I think I prefer The Greatest Story ever told, and of course Jesus of Nazareth, for a depiction of the whole story of Jesus.

I'll be watching that in the near future.

I watched Narrow Margin today, a marvellous movie with excellent lighting by George Diskant. Possibly Marie Windsor's finest hour in films.