HALLOWEEN (2018)

I'll start off by saying that I really wanted to like this movie. I had heard some positive reviews going in and the fact that Jamie Lee Curtis was again, taking on the iconic role of Laurie Strode, plus the fact that they would be ignoring everything that happened after the original HALLOWEEN, I was excited and intrigued. There are a number of similarities/homages to the original in this and while it isn't overly gruesome or graphic (they treated the film with respect), I found it to be just an average film. Nothing fantastic but nothing horrible as well. Just kind of middle of the road. Jamie Lee and Andi Matichak shine the brightest in this as Jamie portrays a Laurie Strode who's been living with the trauma she endured back in 1978 that has cost her her family and Andi plays her fiesty, teenage granddaughter. 6/10

Ok, I can deal with that.

Thanks i12

I was worried you were going to review it as a total flop at first.

Goin to see it this week. Wife and crew very excited about it.

about what I expected. Seeing it tomorrow.

I'll more than likely see it in the theaters again before it goes out. I want to give it another shot but going to wait for the crowds to die down first.

Halloween 2018 is good. They got most of the jump parts right. There is a slow grind near the beginning of the movie, but it soon picks up. There are quite a few call backs to the first movie. Plus you can tell the original actor who played Michael in the first movie is behind the mask in most scenes, until it comes off at moments, or more athletic scenes.There are a few moments where they bring humor into it, the funniest is the kid being babysat. This one also showed a way darker side to Michael. The theater was nearly packed and at some parts I could not hear the dialog, where I think they were making a call back to the second movie.

Just watched it. I liked it. Wasnt mind blowing or anything but its better than any of the sequels thats for sure

Going to see Halloween tomorrow.

Cool. I saw it at the alamo. It was packed. You are going on a better night

Yes, we did the tickets online. We are actually do the early show at a Regal and picked our favorite seats.
No other seats were even chosen.

"Two Seconds" (1932: John Allen (Edward G. Robinson), a riveter working on a skyscraper, falls for Shirley Day (Vivienne Osborne), a gold-digging taxi dancer, who gets him drunk and tricks him into marriage. This causes a falling out with Allen's co-worker, best pal and roomie, Bud Clark (Preston Foster). They have a fight on a girder, and Clark falls to his death, plunging Allen into grief, depression and psychosis. He murders two-timing Shirley and gets the chair ("two seconds" refers to his last consciousness before Riding the Lightning). This may sound corny in the pre-Code style, but the movie is powerful, with yet another great performance by Robinson, possibly the most underrated actor in Hollywood history. Osborne and Foster are excellent, and the supporting cast includes Guy Kibbee as a genial bookie, and J. Carol Naish, Eternal Movie-Italian, as Shirley's lover. Really good.

Great flick, I always felt the same way about EGR, he has done more outstanding movies where he was not playing a gangster.

The Halloween Movie was really good, entire group thought it was very well done.

yeah I thought it was pretty good. Much better than any of the sequels(although I thought Halloween 2 was decent

Yes, indeed. Alas, "Little Caesar" stereotyped him forever.

But, his "Caesar" is a choir boy compared to his Johnny Rocco in "Key Largo."

MATA HARI (1931)

I only watched this because there was a throwaway line from the original SUSPIRIA, describing a fellow student as, "Mata Hari is filing her report." I saw this available in the Filmstruck library, read the description and added it to my watchlist. I finally made the time to sit down and watch it this morning and I was rather impressed. For those who have never seen or heard of the film, it follows Mata Hari (played by Greta Garbo) an exotic dancer who was accused of spying for Germany during World War I. Garbo gives a mesmerizing performance, as like many of the men in the film, I seemed to have been hypnotized and infatuated by her. This was my first exposure to her work and I have a feeling the rest might be difficult to track down. She also gave up acting after World War II, feeling the world had changed perhaps forever and she retired. Like the Mata Hari character, Garbo craved her privacy and for the rest of her life, perpetuated the Garbo mystique. 6.5/10

Wow, 6.5..... while reading your review I was hoping you were going to rate and found it surprising you were only offering 6.5

Great Film

Honestly, I think a 6.5 is pretty solid. I'd definitely watch it again I'd say that much. I haven't seen enough of them but for some reason, films made during the 1930's seem to surprise me at how well done they are (KING KONG, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, MATA HARI, etc.). Or maybe I'm just watching quality flicks

The Lion

Movie is about little Indian boy getting lost from his family, then eventually after 20 years he tries to find them.

I'd say the movie was pretty emotional, to see what a little boy has to go trough in his early age and how this path of being lost actually leads him to bigger possibilities in life. I was more fascinated about the idea, that if he didn't get lost, he'd probably stay in his village all life and wouldn't get far in life. But by being lost, he could get adopted in a good family, get proper education and reach something more. As I like to say - there is no bad, without something good in it.

I won't watch a movie just because a certain actor is in it. However, Edward G. comes quite close to being an actor whose every film is a gem for me. I haven't seen the movie you cited, but I've seen plenty of others of his. His delivery, like Rod Steiger's and a few others, is so unique.

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

I had heard some mixed reviews going in to this. Mostly that Rami Malek was wonderful as Freddie Mercury but the film as a whole was average. In addition, there were creative differences between the band and potential actors (Sacha Baron Cohen comes to mind as originally he was set to play Freddie). Between the startup problems and the less than stellar reviews, I was hoping the movie would be good. Not only was it good, it was better than I was anticipating. A wonderfully paced film that takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions throughout. Rami absolutely did nail it as Freddie and the band was given their fair share of screen time as well so it didn't feel like just a movie about Freddie Mercury. The film ends with their performance at Live Aid and while they reenacted a few of their numbers from that show, overall, once departing the theater, I had felt like I just attended a concert. An amazing and powerful movie and one of my favorites of the year! 8.5/10

I want to see Bohemian Rhapsody as well. The previews look good, but mainly I like the music. I only knew of Rami Malek from the TV show Mr. Robot which I watched the first couple seasons then sort of lost interest. Anyway, by the previews Malek DOES seem to nail Mercury right down to the moves. Btw reviews I'm reading say more or less the same as Irishman said, that story was ok but Malek performance is outstanding. Btw, I read a story today which claims that Mercury did not know of his aids diagnosis at the time of the aids concert, whereas the movie indicates he did?



TIS

Great, so glad the reviews are coming in favoring the Flick and Malek since I would like it no matter what, and have not seen it.

Just the Fact that an amazing Talent has been properly recognized at a high level that is well overdue.

8.5 Wow, that’s huge coming from I12

FM was very private, not sure if we would know if he knew he had contracted the Viris at any time.

Can’t wait to see it.

Thanks for the reviews.

Enjoy DuesPaid. I'd be curious to your thoughts once you've seen it.

This past Halloween I watched a lot of good but fairly unknown horror films. I watched a film called Lady in White 1988. Its a really good old fashioned ghost story set in Rochester NY about a Italian family. Real good film

Goodbye, Charlie with Tony Curtis and Debbie Reynolds. Carousing male screenwriter dies, comes back as Debbie Reynolds. Reynolds and Curtis are great. It repeats a couple times this month on FXM Retro.

American Assassin

6 1/2 . It’s pretty good

SUSPIRIA (2018)

I'll start off by saying this: I was against this film when I heard it was announced originally. The original film is one of my favorites of all-time and I'm sick and tired of the remakes/never-ending sequels that Hollywood continues to flush out. In saying that, once I saw the trailers for this film, I become intrigued and even excited. However, after watching it this past weekend, I am completely disappointed. So many things that made the original such a classic were nowhere in this version. And while I understand director Luca Guadagnino wanted to make this his own film (which I do appreciate), it just didn't work for me. Definitely too long and the third act was a series of "what-the-F*CK-was that" moments. Dakota Johnson did a really good job as the new Susie Bannion, who comes to us from an Amish Ohio farm as opposed to a New York girl as we saw in the original with Jessica Harper. But the star of the show is definitely Tilda Swinton who plays 3 roles in the film. The RAF (Red Army Faction) backdrop during the film is distracting and not needed at all in my opinion. Rumors are director Luca Guadagnino wants to make a trilogy out of this (similar to original director Dario Argento's MOTHERS trilogy) and again, while I was originally excited about this possibility before seeing the film, after viewing it, I'm less than ecstatic about the prospect. 5/10

VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS

I'm desperately trying to go through my watchlist on Filmstruck before the service shuts down completely later this month. I came across this film, which I had never heard of before. I watched the trailer to see if it was worth investing the time in and afterwards, decided it was and gave it a go. What I can say is the experience was wonderful and more than I expected! This is a coming of age story about a 13-year-old Valerie who is on the verge of womanhood. The visuals are incredibly satisfying with their combination of makeup and costumes. In a way the film reminded me of the original SUSPIRIA with how it was able to blend in goth, fairytale and horror elments. The cuts of the film keep the viewer guessing throughout what is real and what is fantasy. Definitely a hidden gem that I'm not sure many people know about. 7/10

I just watched I, Robot ... again. I really like it.

So, why no sequel? I can think of a couple of storylines. For one, Sonny leads the robots to save the Earth from aliens.

I saw CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? this weekend and absolutely loved it! Melissa McCarthy is one of my favorite comedians going today; however, I do like it when comedians branch out into more dramatic roles. This is a drama but with McCarthy's delivery and dialogue, I found myself laughing more than I thought I would. McCarthy and Richard E. Grant, who plays her only friend in the movie, really nail their roles. Two unrepentative, morally crippled individuals who do a wonderful job feeding off of each other to further their debauchery.

Also watched THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931) earlier today for the first time and I enjoyed it. I had seen clips of this before and wanted to watch this before FilmStruck shuts down next week. I'd like to see more of Cagney's gangster pictures. I really liked the end title by the director, informing the audience that gangsters are a societal problem and everyone needs to do there part.