Last film you saw, vol. 6

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The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

"Gort, maringa!"

Haven't seen this since I was a kid, and glad I bought it on Blu-ray (3-disc version of the remake, cheapest offer on eBay and well worth it).

Picture quality and sound were excellent, save for a moment where Gort has to pick up the female lead (you can see the strips splicing together and then you can see black wires holding her in place to make it look like he's carrying her, because that outfit wouldn't be able to let him maintain such a pose). The timing and placement of light/shadow, voiceovers, and the delivery of the dialog is masterfully done (especially when Michael Rennie is standing in shadow when first entering the house, an ominous display).

I forgot a lot about this over the years (the professor, the jealous asshole boyfriend, the two saps Gort vaporizes) so I found myself pleasantly surprised rediscovering it. I wouldn't call this perfect, even for a film conceived during a bygone era, but it is done on such a thoughtful scale that it's near impossible not to love this film.

Now I need to watch Thing from Another World next week.

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Loving Vincent (2017)

"What am I in the eyes of most people - a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person - somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then - even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart."

The story for this was pretty decent (a year after Vincent's death, the postmaster has his son deliver an old letter to his brother or so he thinks). But the technical aspects are amazing. It took two years for 100+ artists to handpaint the 95-minute movie at the rate of 12 paintings per second in a Van Gogh style. Wow!

MST3K: Werewolf (1996)

"You know, it's economical not to have a storyline; cuz then you can just film people saying things."

My werewolf movie for this month's full moon (the super snow moon) and my choice for riff this week as well.

[Parrylakks Neko Samurai Find all posts View Profile Close Parrylakks]

Not bad, not great, not as predictable as you may think, and not as interesting either.
It's an exceptionally middling experience that probably could've had a better ending.

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Milk (2008)

"If it were true that children emulate their teachers, we'd have a lot more nuns running around."

Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)

"To excel and to know how to show it is to excel twice."

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Island of Doomed Men (1940)

"When I find a flaw in a diamond, I throw it away."

A government agent at the Department of Justice goes undercover to investigate a modern-day slaver, learning that he recruits paroled convicts to his private island to harvest his diamond mines.

Peter Lorre plays the villain here, who works in the office across the hall from where the hero's partner is murdered (horrible first day on the job, and it's never explained how Lorre knew about the man investigating him, so the assassination feels too convenient). Lorre is his usual subdued self, a quiet and polite tyrant with cold and ruthless eyes, only showing real bursts of emotion when flipping out at the cook.

For an hour-long flick this was pretty good, establishing a relation to the prisoners and I have to admit some relief that this isn't at all a propaganda film: it's just a greedy evil little bastard who eventually gets his due.

I saw this suggested on YouTube along with a slew of others I'm working through slowly. Definitely a wise use of my time.

[Parrylakks Neko Samurai Find all posts View Profile Close Parrylakks]

Not Tarantino's best, but certainly not his worst.

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MST3K: Beast of Yucca Flats (1961/1995)

"This movie stops at nothing...and stays there!"

[Rifftrax:] Jurassic Park (1993 [2008])

"Wait til you seem them doing it."

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The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (2008)

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Kill Command (2016)

"Identifying."

Alright British sci-fi flick about soldiers sent to analyze war robots' weird behavior when they find out its a trap.

Bumblebee (2018)

"They literally call themselves Decepticons. That doesn't set off any red flags?"

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Dark Phoenix (2019)

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Hotel Artemis (2018)

"You see that badge? That means I'm a health care professional. But that knowledge goes both ways. So if you tell anybody about The Artemis I will hunt you down and unheal the s**t out of you."

Alright.

Escape Room (2019)

"Survival is a choice."

Watchable, but I didn't really like it. And I'm so tired of movies (especially thrillers/horror) using the How We Got Here trope. Turned me off from the start.

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Inglourious Basterds (2009)

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The Fog of War (2003)

“There will be no learning period with nuclear weapons.”

Excellent interview doc.

The Brain (1988)

“Dr. Blake wouldn’t be on TV if he wasn’t good.”

Introduced a horror-fan friend to this.

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Marriage Story (2019)

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Police Academy (1984)

"They all used to be the right color, the right height, the right weight. And they all had Johnsons, Lassard!
-Johnsons?
You know.
-Oh, yes.
There were Johnsons as far as the eye can see.
-Yes. And what a lovely sight it was."

The Dead Don't Die (2019)

"She's strange.
-She's Scottish."