The more I think about it, I love how it mirrors actual sex too. Hours of build up leading to 15 seconds of release. Itās brilliant.
I donāt know what the hell this second one is about since it appears to barely exist and is disliked by most people who have acknowledged its existence, but: I have now witnessed Sorcerer for the first time, and it is truly excellent. In a very rare category of cinematic tension-building. As you posted upthread, the title is horrendous in its absolute irrelevance to the film (give a person 10,000 guesses at what the premise to āSorcererā would be and they would never come close) and seems to have helped sabotage any hope at box-office success, causing the largest audience of film appreciators to discover its greatness later. In any case, itās awesome and everyone should see it.
If a person has never used a one-week trial to the Criterion Channel, Sorcerer is one of the many reasons to do so.
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Was planning on going to a comedy show last night, but my wife wasnāt feeling into it, so I figured Iād use that time and watch a movie. I figured the most appropriate one given the discussion here recently would be:
The Social Network
Itās very good. Iām not going to consider bumping anything in that āfavorites of the last 20 yearsā list I made a few days ago, but itās certainly the best thing Iāve seen that Sorkin had a hand in. Dialogue is a little cutesy and clunky in a few too many parts, but the overall product is great. Directing and acting were top-tier.
8/10
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Not big on A Few Good Men?
Iāve never seen it.
Well worth your time IMO if you like courtroom movies at all. Obviously 12 Angry Men is up in its own stratosphere as legal movies (or really as far as any non-Godfather movies) go, but post-1960 there isnāt a courtroom drama I enjoy more.
Most would say that The Social Network is the better
movie, so I promise nothing in terms of A Few Good Men comparing favorably for you. But AFGM is higher up my personal favorites list between the two.
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To me, what makes A Few Good Men stand out in Sorkinās filmography is that itās entertaining without being overly preachy or pretentious. When it is that, characters call other characters out for it if I remember correctly. Maybe it helps that Kevin Pollak is in it, maybe it doesnāt.
I was going through Sorkinās wikipedia the other day and was pretty surprised to find William Goldman was his mentor. Goldman said because Sorkin is so good with dialogue that he can get away with stuff no other writer can (way too much telling and too little showing). I think Goldmanās influence was probably heavy on Sorkin during his writing of the play and movie for A Few Good Men, because it just seems so different than his other stuff Iāve seen to me and it was early enough in his career that he didnāt let his ego take over a filmās writing. I feel like The Generalās Daughter and A Few Good Men are like step-cousins.
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Sports Night, Imo
you what???
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Per Pollak, this was actually going to be Jason Alexander, and Alexander only had to drop out once Seinfeld got renewed for another full season (obviously before that show got a full foothold since this was still an open question of whether the network wanted to continue).
Itās hard to imagine Alexander in the role after so many years of watching him play George Costanza, but then again itās jarring to see him as a despicable villain in Pretty Woman and heās still effective in it. In any case, this film definitely feels better for Pollakās performance.
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Yeahā¦ I said its a bad habit. Not sure why. I started doing it for movies I was pretty confident I would never see, and it just kinda evolved into doing it fairly often.
I think Alexander could have done it (I like this kind of casting cosplay). Prior to Seinfeld he was known as a very fine dramatic actor and his ability to play sarcasm in the Pollak vein is there. I just think if youāre looking for a character like the one Pollak played in the movie or like his The Usual Suspects character, thereās really no one better to give that sarcastic edge to a character in a way that keeps other characters āhonestā.
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The final 30ish minutes after they start the trip back to the Citadel are action perfection.
I am kind of wary of Anya Taylor Joy as Furiosa, Charlize was perfection.
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but so are the first 25 minsā¦and the hour in between is maybe 5% less intense but still completely incredibleā¦ i was strangely euphoric for the whole time (not even in a theater !). Iāll definitely try to rewatch it once a year now.
Re: Charlize I also appreciated her more on rewatchā¦weāll see about ATJ, I remember being pretty excited when it was announced she would be doing this (4 years ago maybe), but I havenāt seen her in much lately
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Monkey Man (2024)
Very rare walk out. I had to tap out and leave after about 90 min of constant face punching a zero plot. Not my kind of movie in any way.
Grade: ungraded because I didnāt see end.
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Itās so well directed. He has a really cool artistic style for a first time director. I canāt wait for his next movie. This one is just the opposite of everything I like in movies. For John Wick fans, this would be a home run.
I feel like the plot comes together before 90 mins but yea itās standard
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The Church (1989)
Your boy Dario Argento a.k.a. the Italian John Carpenter serves up another stone-cold masterpiece. Just the perfect blend of B-horror schlock mixed with some genuinely effective moments. 1980ās prog-rock soundtrack absolutely owns. On Shudder.
Just not sure why a person would go in to see this and be surprised at what they got lol