Last movie watched...

[radiator]

He is unassailably good in both Trading Places and 48 Hours, his two best films IMO. If you haven't seen them, I humbly suggest adding them to your list.

Murphy in Trading Places is charisma personified. Absolutely electrifying performance. Same goes for Beverly Hills Cop. And IIRC he was scarily young in those movie, like early twenties young.

Coming 2 America

In itself, its harmless enough. The cast all look like they're enjoying themselves, so fair play to them. And it's nice to see Eddie Murphy and especially Wesley Snipes getting a late-career revival - the latter being a truly gifted and underrated comedic actor.

But for me, this film encapsulates almost everything i dislike about modern filmmaking.

It's a pointless, belated and unimaginative sequel to an old classic, which leans heavily on nostalgia and callbacks in lieu of actual jokes or original ideas.

It's full of gross product placement and unnecessary and distractingly cheap looking cgi.

It has that offputting sense of lots of scenes being shot where the actors weren't in the same location and have been cut together in post.

It has that modern thing of looking like it cost a lost of money (in financial terms) but also looking really gross and cheap aesthetically at the same time. I've been trying to put my finger on this for a while, and I think it's because modern movies, especially those made by the streaming platforms, tend to really skimp on things like location shooting, set dressing and digital compositing, which (imo) makes them look jarringly small scale and un-cinematic to my eyes, looking almost more like those old MTV movie award parodies than actual big budget movies. Adding to this, everything in the film seems to be coated in a really unappealing digital gloss.


I also watched Minari.

Not much to say as it's more of a slice of life/character piece, but its a lovely little film with some great young (and old) performances.

[pictsy]

Ocean's 11 (2001)

This film is just so easy to watch.  It is effortlessly charming and entertaining.  It's pretty fun and doesn't tax my brain.

[von Boom]

I don't remember Rob Schneider in that one.

*ducks*

[CalHab]

Freebie and the Bean (1974)

Precursor to the buddy cop films of the 80s. From today's POV, this film definitely looks dated, as it is very much a 1970s film. Which involves heavily politically incorrect humor, rooted in sexist, ethnical and homophobic banter. Aside from that, the whole material in the film suits better for an episode of a cop TV show (aka, Starsky and Hutch). Freebie (James Caan) and Bean (Alan Arkin) are cops determined to bring down infamous mob boss Red Myers when they find out that an anonymous hired gun is in town to kill Myers. Most of the movie relies on banter between the two leads, who often trade insults with each other. This comes not only from their background (Bean is Mexican) but personalities as well (Bean is a married man with issues in his marriage; while Freebie is a rather laid back streetwise cop). What I like about this film is a sense of naivety typical of its time. That and very well choreographed car chase sequences. You won't see in another 1970s film where a car flies from a highway into an older couple's apartment. All in all, I can say I had a good time with this film, despite its setbacks (humor is so-so and the narrative doesn't have much meat on its bones).

They cast Alan Arkin as a Mexican?

[Dandontdare]

The Foreigner. I wasn't even aware of this 2017 Jacki Chan film, but it's rather good. Less exuberant and silly than his classic movies, but worth a watch. Chan plays a London restaurant owner with a murky special forces past whose daughter is killed by IRA bombers and embarks on a campaign of revenge via dodgy deputy first minister, and former provo, Pierce Brosnan. It's a more sombre performance from Chan but his dour blank eyed stare was strangely compelling. The final showdown was a little implausible, but I enjoyed Brosnan's performance, as a Gerry-Adams inspired politician with a terrorist history.

[pictsy]

Turbo Kid

This is a highly entertaining film.  It's hyper-violent post-apocalypse with aesthetics of an 80's kids toy thrown in.  Plus Michael Ironside plays the villain.  That was delightful to see.

It isn't a complex story.  I'd almost say it's Mad Max for kids, but this film is really gory so it's not that (although I would have adored this as a child).  The character Apple has an on-the-nose name, but she is absolutely fantastic and Turbo Kid is performed with the required amount of cheese.  I also really like that everyone rides around on bikes.  I can dig it.

I would absolutely recommend this film.  I'd gush over it more, but I don't want to ruin anything for anyone who decides to give it a go.

[wedgeski]

This is a highly entertaining film.  It's hyper-violent post-apocalypse with aesthetics of an 80's kids toy thrown in.  Plus Michael Ironside plays the villain.  That was delightful to see.

If this is your bag and you haven't already seen it, Space Hunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone is another fine example of Ironside metal, if you can put up with the film's exploitative nonsense.

[Barrington Boots]

Turbo Kid

This is a highly entertaining film.  It's hyper-violent post-apocalypse with aesthetics of an 80's kids toy thrown in.  Plus Michael Ironside plays the villain.  That was delightful to see.

It isn't a complex story.  I'd almost say it's Mad Max for kids, but this film is really gory so it's not that (although I would have adored this as a child).  The character Apple has an on-the-nose name, but she is absolutely fantastic and Turbo Kid is performed with the required amount of cheese.  I also really like that everyone rides around on bikes.  I can dig it.

I would absolutely recommend this film.  I'd gush over it more, but I don't want to ruin anything for anyone who decides to give it a go.

Pictsy is spot on, this film is absolutely great. Right level of 80s homage & cheese vs actual good filmmaking and some really charming characters. And a gnomestick!
Great soundtrack too, if you're into synthwave it's one of the best.

[pictsy]

If this is your bag and you haven't already seen it, Space Hunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone is another fine example of Ironside metal, if you can put up with the film's exploitative nonsense.

Thanks for the recommend.  I'll add it to my list of films I can watch.

[I, Cosh]

Turbo Kid

This is a highly entertaining film.  It's hyper-violent post-apocalypse with aesthetics of an 80's kids toy thrown in.  Plus Michael Ironside plays the villain.  That was delightful to see.

Pretty sure I've seen this but the only thing I can remember is the bikes. Great story, I know!

[milstar]

Freebie and the Bean (1974)

Precursor to the buddy cop films of the 80s. From today's POV, this film definitely looks dated, as it is very much a 1970s film. Which involves heavily politically incorrect humor, rooted in sexist, ethnical and homophobic banter. Aside from that, the whole material in the film suits better for an episode of a cop TV show (aka, Starsky and Hutch). Freebie (James Caan) and Bean (Alan Arkin) are cops determined to bring down infamous mob boss Red Myers when they find out that an anonymous hired gun is in town to kill Myers. Most of the movie relies on banter between the two leads, who often trade insults with each other. This comes not only from their background (Bean is Mexican) but personalities as well (Bean is a married man with issues in his marriage; while Freebie is a rather laid back streetwise cop). What I like about this film is a sense of naivety typical of its time. That and very well choreographed car chase sequences. You won't see in another 1970s film where a car flies from a highway into an older couple's apartment. All in all, I can say I had a good time with this film, despite its setbacks (humor is so-so and the narrative doesn't have much meat on its bones).

They cast Alan Arkin as a Mexican?

Yes.

The Eagle Has Landed (1976)

A slightly offbeat entry for a ww2 film, like perhaps the coolest imho ww2 film ever, and that is Peckinpah's Cross of Iron (made around the same time). Or a movie that I watched in my childhood, where my only memory left is some German pilot trying to escape from English that attacked or something like that. But, back to the topic. This movie is unusual as the main characters are Nazi soldiers and their supporters, unlike Americans or Brits or any other members of the Allied faction. And they (Nazis) are nothing like dumb, incompetent, animalistic people that are usually shown in these types of films. A German paratrooper unit, led by Sir Michael Caine is tasked to land down in an English village and snatch Winston Churchill and take him back to Germany. The cast is quite good. Michael Caine plays Michael Caine but I don't think that is backdown. Robert Duvall is exceptionally good as a German officer who hires Caine for the task. Donald Pleasance basically nailed in a small role as Heinrich Himmler, like the darn clone. Donald Sutherland is a laconic Irishman who helps Caine's cause (Donald plays IRA sympathizer). And Treat Williams as a young hotshot American soldier. I must say that in addition to unlike portrayal of Nazis, Michael Caine and his unit are shown as people of honor and some compassion; like when Caine tries to save a Jewish girl from being sent to a concentration camp, or when a soldier from his unit saves a young girl from death, at the cost of his own life. Which as a result causes the group to be revealed as Nazi soldiers (up to that point, they were masquerading as Polish soldiers) and is where an older English gentleman (in)famously quips "More bloody foreigners". And this is where the movie really kicks in. Because a great portion of the film feels just boring and uninspired, up to that point. Numerous scenes that'd have been trimmed down or entirely cut. Pacing problems aside, there are welcome moments of intentional humor, such as when Donald Sutherland's character nearly chokes on a Russian cigar. The tone of the film is generally lighthearted, but the violence is surprisingly graphic and pretty close to the US R rating. But these moments don't pervade the film. In short, The Eagle Has Landed is a solid contribution to the ww2 genre, but you won't miss really anything if you skip it.

[M.I.K.]

Turbo Kid

I still haven't got around to watching it yet, but I have seen this music video prequel, which I assume is VERY SPOILERY...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8kFIbmmuEk

[Barrington Boots]

That videos a prequel and yeah, it is a bit of a spoiler!

[pictsy]

That was a cool video.  I don't think it spoils much.  I certainly realised that part of the film pretty much straight away, so it isn't going to take anything away from the film knowing it.

[Funt Solo]

No Escape - Owen Wilson must help his family survive a violent uprising in an anonymous Southeast Asian country (bordering Thailand). The trouble with this movie is that it depicts (the vast majority of) the brown people as subhuman monsters incapable of empathy who love to commit inventive atrocities, with a tiny blink-and-you'll-miss-it mea culpa from a grizzled Pierce Brosnana who admits that it's all the CIA's fault.

There is some amusement to be had from the idea that Owen just ate some hallucinogenic street food by accident and it's all a terrible fever dream from a panicked tourist, but otherwise it's a difficult ride through an unlikely scenario where the white folks get chased and abused by the brown folks. File under ++NEVER LEAVE AMERICA!++.