Saturday Evening Movie Thread [moviegique]: The Rule of Jenny Pen

If "hag horror" is a thing—and with examples like Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and Strait-jacketwho can deny that it is?—might there be a non-distaff version of the genre? That is, if we have genres featuring old women, former starlets, going head to head against each other, is there a genre where once strong young men stagger around as oldsters and 'cause mischief and mayhem?

This isn't a rhetorical question. I really don't know! Bubba Ho-Tep, maybe? Grumpy Old Men is a comedy, not really the same.

Well, if there wasn't one before, we have the beginnings of in The Rule of Jenny Pen. A neat and nasty little horror out of New Zealand that pits John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush against each other mano-a-mano and cato-a-mouse-o and so on.

Cat (left), mouse (right), WTF? (middle).

Snooty Judge Stefan (Rush) has an episode whilst sentencing a criminal (and scolding the victim's mother) and ends up in a subpar nursing home—I guess he was too honest to steal a good retirement like any sensible judge—where he falls afoul of Dave, an unstable, occasionally catatonic weirdo who has a creepy doll puppet (the titular Jenny Pen) that he uses to deal with most of life.

He's crazy enough to be in the secure ward but, as I mentioned, it's not the greatest old folks' home, and Dave is well capable of getting lose and causing mischief. Which, of course, he does, or we ain't got a picture.

We don't ever really know why Dave decides to abuse Stefan. It could be that Stefan just happened to get as a roommate the crippled rugby player Dave was already abusing. It could be they have some forgotten history. It could just be that Dave abuses everyone if he can get away with it.

Little bits of backstory dropped here and there add some depth, but ultimately, Dave is doing it for the kicks.

And sometimes, the kicks are literal.

The challenge level here is that Stefan is a grade-A jerk. Imperious, superior and prickly, and also afflicted with an unspecified neurological that causes him to lose time. So no one believes him when he accuses Dave (who knows very well how to work the system). Maori rugby-player guy could back Stefan up, but his concern for being pitied and having his productive history occluded keeps him from ratting out Dave.

Dave meanwhile goes around demanding obeisance to Jenny Pen, an eyeless doll that looms in Stefan's warped mind like a demon.

Solid Him-Hag-Horror. ("He-Hag-Horror"? We'll workshop it.) There are a lot of ways a movie like this can go sideways. Like, there has to be humiliation of the elderly—just enough to get the audience fired up and ready for revenge, but not so much that the audience feels like they're watching something shameful.

Real humiliation is finding out the doll has a bigger dressing room.

In a situation like this where a villain is tormenting a helpless victim, the victim has to have a way to fight back that is plausible, reasonably effective (at least potentially), and preferably a clever brain-over-brawn approach. Stefan comes up with some brilliant plans which are hampered by a lot of things.

There was also a teasing of the Jenny Pen doll. Stefan's condition imbues the doll with supernatural power, and there was a whole path to go down that the movie just didn't. (There were moments where I was thinking it might, and also wondering how I'd feel about it if it dd.)

Ultimately, the protagonist is actually Crippled New Zealand Rugby Guy. He's a prisoner of his own making, preferring private humiliation to public exposure (even if the latter means the end to the former). And his acquiescence has been fully spiritual: He's afraid of Dave and Jenny Pen.

Anyway, it all works pretty well. John Lithgow (85) is now entering his 45th year playing psycho killers, and he's just as good now as he was in Blow Out. Geoffrey Rush, at 73, is a spring chicken but isn't going to last long because of his infirmity. They're good playing off each other.

A tight film overall, and one that manages to create a nice, low-key sense of dread, while staying away from shock and gore. Arguably more suspense than horror.

All you nearly 29-year-olds probably have grandparents that might need to go to a home, so the movie might be educational, too!

"She's right behind me, isn't she?"

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:30 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Lithgow is a great actor. That is what I have to say.

Posted by: irright at March 29, 2025 07:37 PM (N1p1F)

2 first.

Posted by: Mister Scott (Formerly GWS) at March 29, 2025 07:37 PM (e5NfL)

3 john lithgow was the star of the buckaroo Banzai movie IMO.

Posted by: Mister Scott (Formerly GWS) at March 29, 2025 07:38 PM (e5NfL)

4 I enjoy the acting of John Lithgow, but I really don't want see a movie with a creepy doll. You gave a very good description of the movie though, movieque. Thanks.

Family and I really enjoyed the well known horror film, "The 39 Steps." ( I had seen it before but they hadn't ) I find Robert Donat a much more appealing and amusing leading man than the more urbane and handsome Cary Grant in "North by Northwest."

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 29, 2025 07:38 PM (8rMdN)

5 Other capsules:

Black Bag: Just exactly what you'd expect from Soderbergh & Koepp. A mature, good spy thriller.

There's Still Tomorrow: Oscar-nominated feminist Italian film that, despite all that, manages to tell a compelling story about those wife-beating guidos.

Eraserhead: Weird and disturbing 50 years ago. Weird and disturbing today!

Welcome Back Mr. MacDonald: Hilarious Japanese movie about a radio show where fussy actors and spineless producers turn a (probably) good script into nonsense.

Ne Zha 2: Smash hit sequel to smash hit animated film you've probably never heard of unless you read my blog. Closing in on $2B box office.

Picnic At Hanging Rock: Murky early Peter Weir atmospheric horror flick about a 1900-era girl's school.

The Monkey: Final Destination, but funnier, and with a kind of positive message, of all things.

September 5: ABC sports covers the 1972 Munich Olympic terrorist attack. Suspenseful and interesting.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 07:39 PM (asXVI)

6 Wouldn't think Lithgow needed to make a car payment.

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 07:40 PM (keLsF)

7 Greybeard gruesomes?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 07:40 PM (kpS4V)

8 Good evening everyone

Posted by: Skip at March 29, 2025 07:40 PM (2ovuE)

9 And I didn't see any of "Chucky" doll films either. Uggh!

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 29, 2025 07:40 PM (8rMdN)

10 They had "Tje Last Supper" for one week at the local movie theatre but now it's gone. Darn!

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 29, 2025 07:42 PM (8rMdN)

11 Dolls are inherently creepy, especially those fussy-looking Victorian dolls with dead eyes and little picket fence teeth. Brrrrr!

And ventriloquist's dummies are conduits to hell. You KNOW they are.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 07:43 PM (kpS4V)

12 Creepy dolls...eek. I do appreciate John Lithgow.

A silly New Zealand "horror" flick I recommend is "Killer Sofa", available on Amazon. It is a story of a La-Z-Boy that becomes obsessed with a girl. A rabbi is involved. It isn't a good movie, but entertaining in the MST 3K kind of way.

Posted by: ScaryMary at March 29, 2025 07:44 PM (wX56x)

13 Thx moviegique. Lithgow is a great actor , I'd watch him read a phone book. His Lord John Worfin in Buckaroo Bonzai is a scene chewing classic

Posted by: Smell the Glove at March 29, 2025 07:44 PM (2ZThz)

14 All Hail Eris, did you ever see the Twilight Zone episode with the ventriloquist 's dummy ?

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 07:45 PM (keLsF)

15 || Greybeard gruesomes?

Nice!

Vis a vis creepy dolls, I was very happy that this movie didn't lean TOO much on Jenny Pen. Lithgow is squarely in focus and the doll is just a device he uses precisely because it makes him seem less dangerous while also making his humiliation rituals more savage.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 07:45 PM (asXVI)

16 Sorry; 39 steps is not a horror film it is an espionage film.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 29, 2025 07:47 PM (8rMdN)

17 Saw "Holland" on Amazon Prime last night. Awful. A family drama/murder mystery set in Holland Michigan. Just skeevy.

Poor Nicole Kidman, such a good actress, has ruined her face. Her upper lip is weirdly plastic and immobile. It's distracting, especially in period pieces like "The Northman"

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 07:47 PM (kpS4V)

18 Last thing i saw him in was the old man as jeff bridges former boss when the latter was in the cia

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 07:49 PM (bXbFr)

19 "The Dummy." The Twilight Zone. Was that Cliff Richardson? What a creepy episode. I don't like ventriloquist's dummies at all.

"The Living Doll" is the Twilight Zone with Telly Savalas as a mean stepdad. The stepdaughter had a "Talky Tina" doll.

Dolls and puppets are generally creepy in my world.

Posted by: ScaryMary at March 29, 2025 07:49 PM (wX56x)

20 Family and I really enjoyed the well known horror film, "The 39 Steps." ( I had seen it before but they hadn't ) I find Robert Donat a much more appealing and amusing leading man than the more urbane and handsome Cary Grant in "North by Northwest."
Posted by: FenelonSpoke

If you like Robert Donat try and find "Knight Without Armor". It costars Marlena Dietrich. The plot revolves around the Russian Revolution withDonat playing an under cover British agent and Dietrich a Russian noblewoman. I loved it.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2025 07:49 PM (lJ0H4)

21 No, Ben Had. I'm watching a recap right now!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 07:51 PM (kpS4V)

22 ScaryMary, well done. You know your TZ

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 07:51 PM (keLsF)

23 "Knight Without Armor"
youtube.com/watch?v=1N7zj2bZlAI

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 07:52 PM (j4stV)

24 16 Sorry; 39 steps is not a horror film it is an espionage film.

"39 Steps" has been done four times. Hitch's was first, and best. There was another version in the '50s, one in 1979 and one in the '00s. These are all variations of okay. (I like '79 one in particular, though it's nowhere near the '35 one.)

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 07:53 PM (asXVI)

25 Ben Had, the monsters under the bed are probably ventriloquist's dummies. They are creepy. Eek!

Posted by: ScaryMary at March 29, 2025 07:53 PM (wX56x)

26 Geoffret rush is still alive i though he had died (of embarassment) after gods of egypt

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 07:54 PM (bXbFr)

27 Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2025 07:49 PM (lJ0H4)

Thanks. Very much I have not heard of that. I wanted to get "Goobye Mr Chips" but I don't have movie streaming and the library didn't have it . Donat was only about 55 when he died and it is a shame that he didn't have a longer career.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 29, 2025 07:54 PM (42Vb+)

28 William Goldman followed "The Princess Bride" with "Magic", a rather cynical tale of a ventriloquist whose dummy may or may not have come to life.

It was made into a movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Ann-Margret. It wasn't one of his bigger movie hits.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 07:55 PM (asXVI)

29 Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 07:53 PM (asXVI)

Thanks. I haven't seen the other ones.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 29, 2025 07:56 PM (42Vb+)

30 "Goodbye Mr Chips"
dailymotion.com/video/x8jsg6j

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 07:56 PM (j4stV)

31 Ah yes, "Dead of Night" was a prime example of the creepy ventriloquists dummy genre.

They're not creepy, per se, but I bet Jeff Dunham's puppets are alive and continue to give him shit off stage.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 07:58 PM (kpS4V)

32 I remember seeing magic and not being that impressed

Hopkins is in anothet recent one will bill skarsgaard who plays s schlub for once thst steals the wrong car from hopkins

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 07:58 PM (bXbFr)

33 Geoffrey Rush and Eddie Redmayne. Two guys I am.happy to watch anytime.

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 07:59 PM (keLsF)

34 I rescreened "Battleship Potemkin" right after the last movie thread. This is the fourth time I've seen it and it still kicks ass. I don't know which music the filmmakers originally intended to score it with, if any, but I love the Shostakovich that's on this print:
youtube.com/watch?v=ca0c4vEc5Is

"The Counselor" (2013) Cormac McCarthy was involved in the production so I assume he got what he wanted. To wit: You're doomed, the world is going to a place worse than hell, and there's nothing you can do about it but submit. It's generally sordid and disgusting. Ruben Blades gets a pretty good monologue. Brad Pitt is nowhere near his best here, but he does throw in some of his patented hand-fu acting shtick, which always works for him when nothing else does.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 07:59 PM (j4stV)

35 "Homicide" (1991) It takes a really skilled acting ensemble to divine and perform the perfect rhythmic pugilism inside Mamet's prose-poetic dialogue. "Glengarry Glen Ross" (1992) is the only Mamet movie I've found that really nails it. In this movie, there are but a few flashes of it here and there. The rest feels phoned in. Oy vey, the story is a real balegan. The scenes with the uncuffed family annihilator are insultingly stupid. Ms Pidgeon is lovely as always.

"Ladies of Leisure" (1930) Rich young heir picks up party girl Stanwyck dripping wet and nipply, but he's too square to try to get into her sugar donut. Turns into a pretty good movie. Barb brings the drama; kewpie doll Marie Prevost brings the laffs.

"At the Sinatra Club" (2010) It's not that well acted or produced, but I do like the story. Fresh cast, not the usual veteran wiseguy actors we see in most mob genre films of the past three decades.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 07:59 PM (j4stV)

36
I find Robert Donat a much more appealing and amusing leading man than the more urbane and handsome Cary Grant in "North by Northwest."
Posted by: FenelonSpoke

He was a good Mr. Chips.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2025 07:59 PM (63Dwl)

37 The only thing I think I have seen Geoffrey Rush in was the excellent "The King's Speech"

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 29, 2025 07:59 PM (8rMdN)

38 "My Wife My Abuser The Secret Footage" (2024) If there was a Hallmark Channel For Men, this doc would lead the lineup. Challenges the viewer to decide whether to razz the simp, or to pity the victim. (Or suspect whether perhaps the whole thing might be an ultradark mockumentary. If it's real, it actually is sad because there are kids involved.) I was disappointed that the family dog, a tubby ol' golden lab, just yawns through all the assaults, instead of taking his side like a lab oughta.
m.ok.ru/video/7450129599003

"No Love for Johnny" (1961) British MP goes through personal crises, commits rather minor misfeasances, burns too many bridges. He betrays, and is betrayed. I suspect that the 1959 novel is more compelling.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:00 PM (j4stV)

39 3 john lithgow was the star of the buckaroo Banzai movie IMO.
Posted by: Mister Scott (Formerly GWS) at March 29, 2025 07:38 PM (e5NfL)

This is an important discussion to have. Most aren't operating on a sufficiently high level to comprehend the significance of who was in fact the "star" of Buckaroo Banzai (greatest of the cinematic masterpieces).

I once felt as you did. But, the years and hundreds of viewings have enabled me to realize that it is Peter Weller. He's perfect in it.

Jeff Goldblum is second. This is an under-appreciated performance. And a high-water mark for him.

It's a star-studded cast and they are all on their A-games and Lithgow is fantastic (obv).

But, he's the most obviously brilliant and not the most brilliant.

That's clearly Weller despite initial appearances.

Posted by: Thesokorus at March 29, 2025 08:01 PM (z6Ybz)

40 Redmayne has not gotten the best parts recently that would be charitable assessment

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:02 PM (bXbFr)

41 Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 07:59 PM (j4stV)

My son has been reading Cormac McCarthy. He enjoys his works, but I have a friend who's a librarian who can't stand McCarthy. I guess I should read something of his to see who's right,

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 29, 2025 08:04 PM (8rMdN)

42 Redmayne playing Stephen Hawkings was amazing.

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 08:04 PM (keLsF)

43 Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 07:56 PM (j4stV)

Thanks.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 29, 2025 08:05 PM (8rMdN)

44 Geoffrey Rush in House on Haunted Hill.

The phone rings and he takes a call. Finishes it and the reporter accompanying him asks, "Business or pleasure?"

"Neither, my wife".

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at March 29, 2025 08:05 PM (/HDaX)

45 Lithgow is a national treasure.

Trump golfed with the leader of Finland today and made a deal about ice breakers while they were on the links.

So, in honor of that, I've just downloaded the hilariously over the top Finnish movie "Sisu" to rewatch. Nazis beware!!!

Posted by: Sharkman at March 29, 2025 08:05 PM (EHR/x)

46 ..."Magic", a rather cynical tale of a ventriloquist whose dummy may or may not have come to life.

It was made into a movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Ann-Margret. It wasn't one of his bigger movie hits.
Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 07:55 PM (asXVI)

Long ago and far away, I saw "Magic", I thought it was pretty bad . A few months ago, I saw it was streaming and decided to try it again, and...

Nope. Still a lousy movie.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2025 08:05 PM (iJfKG)

47 It was a very high concept film this was about a year before back to the future (the overthruster is the flux capacitor) both helmed by zemeckis but the script by wd richter

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:05 PM (bXbFr)

48 Here's a good review of "The Dummy" from The Twilight Zone series:

https://tinyurl.com/2rbt2abp

Spoiler: the dummy is eeeeeeevil.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 08:05 PM (kpS4V)

49 "Invasion of Astro-Monster" is on Svengoolie. That's more my speed. I can see creepy old people at the Shoney's buffet.

Posted by: fd at March 29, 2025 08:06 PM (vFG9F)

50 We saw "Black Bag" and both the Mrs and I enjoyed it.

It's very much a variation on the Agatha Christie murder movie format where everyone is gathered into a single room for the final reveal.

Lots of fun. Check it out.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2025 08:07 PM (iJfKG)

51 I just finished a six episode series on Acorn (by was of Prime) that I quite liked, The Ipcress File. This is a remake of the old Michael Caine movie based on Len Deighton's novel and is generally consistent with them if you allow a Tank Abrams' butt sized amount of artistic license. One of the things I like about movies is the immersion that can be created by close attention to detail of another time and place. This movie puts you into the pre Beatles 1960's Britain of the cold war. The plot concerns smart ass thief Harry Palmer being coerced into finding a kidnapped British nuclear scientist. All you really need to know is that everybody lies to everybody about everything always. And then there are the betrayals, manipulations, and other dirty deals. Plus, female lead Lucy Boynton is easy on the eyes.

https://shorturl.at/5m96a

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Soldier of the Persistence at March 29, 2025 08:07 PM (L/fGl)

52 Richter wrote a sort of a sequel that was. Novelized and its really way our there

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:07 PM (bXbFr)

53 Speaking of evil:

https://x.com/i/status/1906111743387996630

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at March 29, 2025 08:08 PM (/HDaX)

54 My idea of horror is someone using the wrong fork

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 08:08 PM (keLsF)

55 . I can see creepy old people at the Shoney's buffet.
--

Ha!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 08:08 PM (kpS4V)

56
The Rule of Jenny Pen is now streaming on Shudder, so-

you can watch it for "Free" if you have Shudder.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2025 08:09 PM (iJfKG)

57 41 Fen, I guarantee that you do not want to watch "The Counselor." I think "No Country for Old Men" is McCarthy, and might be a better place to start. It's not nearly as sordid as "The Couselor."

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:09 PM (j4stV)

58 11 Dolls are inherently creepy, especially those fussy-looking Victorian dolls with dead eyes and little picket fence teeth. Brrrrr!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 07:43 PM (kpS4V)

Whenever we are watching Antiques Roadshow, and someone shows up with a doll, we simultaneously shout, "Sell It!!!!"

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at March 29, 2025 08:10 PM (h7ZuX)

59 Yes harry palmer is a working class bloke and close4 to the way the real british intelligence operated the mandarins were at best clueless at worst traitorous

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:10 PM (bXbFr)

60 I'm not a horror movie fan but there are some really well made non bloody horror movies. I think my favorite is The Others.

Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 08:11 PM (VofaG)

61 I probably would like it as I too think dolls are creepy

Posted by: Skip at March 29, 2025 08:11 PM (2ovuE)

62 Palmer is closer to peter wright the writer of spycatcher

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:12 PM (bXbFr)

63 Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29

I was not thinking of looking at the movies/ not yet anyway, just reading some of his novels🍭

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 29, 2025 08:12 PM (d3O0P)

64 Geoffrey Rush and Eddie Redmayne. Two guys I am.happy to watch anytime.
Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 07:59 PM (keLsF)

Even in "The Danish Girl"? Perv.

Posted by: Dr. T at March 29, 2025 08:12 PM (lHPJf)

65 "harry palmer is a working class bloke "

Harry Palmer? What jerk would curse their kid with a name like that?

Posted by: fd at March 29, 2025 08:13 PM (vFG9F)

66 Like trilogy of terror with karen allen that is very cringy

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:13 PM (bXbFr)

67 Little Head Hunter doll in the Karen Black Triology of terror is the scariest doll imho.

Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 08:13 PM (VofaG)

68 It's not TV, its HBO! Rewatching "The Wire"

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 08:13 PM (keLsF)

69 My favorite spy movies/shows are British and The Sandbaggers and Callan.

Callan is dark dark dark.

Posted by: Thesokorus at March 29, 2025 08:13 PM (z6Ybz)

70 Well in the book hes unnamed they gave the title tp caine

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:13 PM (bXbFr)

71 Svengoolie was at the last "Drive-In Academy Awards" last October in Vegas and he was a champ. We had a Universal monster marathon on the Big Outdoor Screens and he knew his stuff.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 08:13 PM (asXVI)

72 "My Dead Friend Zoe" was a pretty good black comedy starring Sonequa Martin Green as an Army vet whose dead friend won't leave her alone.

I liked Ed Harris as her grumpy grandfather.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 08:14 PM (kpS4V)

73

The Twilight Zone had two puppet episodes.

The Dummy
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0734636

and

Caesar and Me
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0734558

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2025 08:14 PM (63Dwl)

74 "Little Head Hunter doll in the Karen Black Triology of terror is the scariest doll imho.
Posted by: polynikes"

That thing is why I keep loaded shotguns around.

Posted by: fd at March 29, 2025 08:15 PM (vFG9F)

75 Thesokorus, "The Sandbaggers" is a personal favorite.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 08:15 PM (kpS4V)

76 I bought "The Wire" on DVD. That was some fine TV watching. There aren't many series I consider re-watchable. That is one. And "Band of Brothers".

Posted by: ScaryMary at March 29, 2025 08:16 PM (wX56x)

77 >>>"The Dummy." The Twilight Zone. Was that Cliff Richardson? What a creepy episode. I don't like ventriloquist's dummies at all.

There was a second dummy-based episode, "Caesar and Me." Though if I have them right, "The Dummy" is much creepier.

Posted by: Dr. T at March 29, 2025 08:16 PM (lHPJf)

78 I watched Blood Father for the third time last night. There are some things you have to overlook ( like using a pay phone when you have a cell phone) but it's another Mel Gibson gem. Almost as good as Get the Gringo.

Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 08:17 PM (VofaG)

79 Crawford and Davis weren't really that old in Baby Jane. It came out in 1962. Davis, born in 1908, was 54. Crawford, depending on which date you believe, was between 54-58.

Appaloosa (200

for example, has Ed Harris vs Jeremy Irons, 58 and 60 respectively.

The Limey (1999), has Terrance Stamp (61) vs Peter Fonda (59).

Maybe the difference is Davis and Crawford were meant to look old in that flick or maybe it's just that it was shot in B&W so it gives them that old-timey look.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at March 29, 2025 08:17 PM (klJTj)

80 Thesokorus, "The Sandbaggers" is a personal favorite.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 08:15 PM (kpS4V)

Dude, it is soooo good. If "slow". Have you seen Callan?

Posted by: Thesokorus at March 29, 2025 08:17 PM (z6Ybz)

81 There was a second dummy-based episode, "Caesar and Me." Though if I have them right, "The Dummy" is much creepier.

Posted by: Dr. T at March 29, 2025 08:16 PM (lHPJf)

----

Thank you (I think, lol). Will check it out.

Posted by: ScaryMary at March 29, 2025 08:18 PM (wX56x)

82 Puppets are creepy because they are not human and you can't judge their intent. There is no reason for a puppet to have any morals at all.

Posted by: fd at March 29, 2025 08:18 PM (vFG9F)

83 Night of the Hunter was pretty good.

Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 08:19 PM (VofaG)

84 @41 Fen, McCarthy can be an acquired taste. His Blood Meridian is pretty brutal. His Border trilogy and Suttree are excellent. The Road is just depressing

Posted by: Smell the Glove at March 29, 2025 08:19 PM (2ZThz)

85 Yes, "The Wire" is recommended! RIP Michael Kenneth Williams.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:19 PM (j4stV)

86 Cool. The Japanese landed their rocket on Planet X just like a SpaceX rocket. This one has an elevator on the outside. Very classy.

Posted by: fd at March 29, 2025 08:21 PM (vFG9F)

87 Omar " indeed "

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 08:21 PM (keLsF)

88 I binged watched all three seasons of Mr In Between a couple of weeks ago. I would have liked at least one more season . The writer/star said he wanted to go out on top. I think he had more room.

Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 08:22 PM (VofaG)

89 Michael Kenneth Williams was also so good in "Boardwalk Empire." He was a talented man. RIP indeed.

Posted by: ScaryMary at March 29, 2025 08:22 PM (wX56x)

90
Which quintessential 80's movie better?

Tequila Sunrise
or
Tang & Cash

Posted by: Soothsayer at March 29, 2025 08:22 PM (wOeEV)

91 "The Counselor" (2013) Cormac McCarthy was involved in the production so I assume he got what he wanted. To wit: You're doomed, the world is going to a place worse than hell, and there's nothing you can do about it but submit. It's generally sordid and disgusting. Ruben Blades gets a pretty good monologue. Brad Pitt is nowhere near his best here, but he does throw in some of his patented hand-fu acting shtick, which always works for him when nothing else does.
Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 07:59 PM (j4stV)

I'm gonna disagree here.

"The Councilor" is a very good film and well worth the watch.

But, WARNING, it is not the Feel Good Movie of the Year.

It's a reasonably realistic look at what happens when you think you're smarter than you are and get mixed up with a hard core drug gang out of Mexico. What happens is going to be no bueno.

There's nobody to really cheer for if that's an issue for you. And the movie's structure reflects the chaos unleashed by the various characters trying to get out of the situation with their money or lives.

If that sounds like something you'd be interested in, check it out.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2025 08:23 PM (iJfKG)

92 88 I enjoyed "Mr In-Between" a lot.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:23 PM (j4stV)

93 For entertainment value tango and cash for atmosphere tequila sunrise

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:24 PM (bXbFr)

94
Kurt Russell & Mel Gibson in Tequila Sunrise (198

Kurt Russell & Skylvester Skallonke in Tango & Cash (1989)

Posted by: Soothsayer at March 29, 2025 08:25 PM (wOeEV)

95 No, Theo, nor heard of it. I'll check it out.

Heard of "1990" with Edward Woodward? It's a dystopian series from the 70's where England is under the totalitarian thumb of the Home Office's Public Control Dept. It's a very British kind of bureaucratic fascism. Woodward is a journalist trying to work despite heavy censorship.

It's on YouTube.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 08:25 PM (kpS4V)

96 Fen another excellent Donat movie is "The Citadel" with Rosalind Russell, Ralph Richardson and Rex Harrison. Donat plays an idealistic young doctor trying to research and treat miners for TB. He gets caught up a classmate's society medical practice.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2025 08:26 PM (lJ0H4)

97 90
Which quintessential 80's movie better?

Tequila Sunrise
or
Tang & Cash

Posted by: Soothsayer at March 29, 2025 08:22 PM (wOeEV)

Yeeesh. Neither.

However, "Tango and Cash" is the gayest action movie of all time with Stallone and Russell snarking beck and forth like a couple of old queens throughout the movie.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2025 08:26 PM (iJfKG)

98 I don't know about Tang and Cash but Tang and Space Food Sticks were a 70s thing.

Posted by: fd at March 29, 2025 08:26 PM (vFG9F)

99 Maccarthy has a very grim view of human nature witj the Judge in Blood meridian to the unnamed apocalypse in the road with no country in the middle

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:27 PM (bXbFr)

100 Mr Metokur
youtu.be/Sa9_-E8Kfv4

Posted by: gKWVE at March 29, 2025 08:27 PM (gKWVE)

101 My son has been reading Cormac McCarthy. He enjoys his works, but I have a friend who's a librarian who can't stand McCarthy. I guess I should read something of his to see who's right,
Posted by: FenelonSpoke

McCarthy is often brutally violent. They've been threatening to make a movie of Blood Meridian for decades but it's not been done, I think in part because of the violence. If I'm understanding him correctly, this is in part because a theme of his is that hard country makes hard men. Also, it is loosely based on an actual group of scalphunters in the American southwest. That being said, he can be quite moving. Many characters struggle to do the right thing. No Country For Old Men might be a good one to read. It's about a good old boy who takes advantage of an opportunity to steal briefcase of drug money and is pursued by Mexican hitmen. Meanwhile, a decent sheriff tries to save him before the hit men get him.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Soldier of the Persistence at March 29, 2025 08:27 PM (L/fGl)

102 Crawford and Davis weren't really that old in Baby Jane. It came out in 1962. Davis, born in 1908, was 54. Crawford, depending on which date you believe, was between 54-58.
----

For reference, completely naked Demi Moore was over 60 in "The Substance".

I've only read one book by McCarthy: "The Road". It was a slog. (And it's short.) First, he eschews normal punctuation--and you got to BRING IT if you're going to do that. (At least for me as a reader. James Joyce can suck a fat one.) Second, it's no more realistic than, say, "Damnation Alley", while being, well, a slog, as mentioned.

Great. I need a book to tell me the Apocalypse is gonna be bad.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 08:28 PM (asXVI)

103 "The Citadel" (193

ok.ru/video/3320458840770

The novel by A. J. Cronin is wonderful. 10 out of 10.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:28 PM (j4stV)

104 I also watched Brawl in Cell Block 99 again. Another movie /TV series about a bad guy who has high morals otherwise.

Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 08:29 PM (VofaG)

105 Top of my list is revenge movies . Man on fire.

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 08:30 PM (keLsF)

106 I struggle with Cormac McCarthy offerings. It is all so bleak. Hubby enjoyed his books, but Hubby is a nihilist. I watched "The Road" and "No Country For Old Men." So depressing. It makes me want to drink bleach out of despair. I'm not Miss Mary Sunshine, but McCarthy isn't my bag.

Posted by: ScaryMary at March 29, 2025 08:30 PM (wX56x)

107 Oh, I forgot to say the useful thing I had to say about McCarthy:

There is an EXCELLENT interview with his muse, whom he met as an underage runaway(?) and fled to Mexico with. Vanity Fair ran it. Just look for "McCarthy's Muse".

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 08:30 PM (asXVI)

108 "Crawford and Davis weren't really that old in Baby Jane. It came out in 1962. Davis, born in 1908, was 54. Crawford, depending on which date you believe, was between 54-58.
----

For reference, completely naked Demi Moore was over 60 in "The Substance"."

Davis and Crawford were pre Botox era actresses and looked their age.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2025 08:31 PM (lJ0H4)

109 "Man on Fire" is recommended.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:31 PM (j4stV)

110 Denzel pulls off a better version of man on fire then scott glenn did the 80s (set in italy rather than mexico) with joe pesci in the mickey rourke part

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:32 PM (bXbFr)

111 Top of my list is revenge movies . Man on fire.
Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 08:30 PM (keLsF)

One of my favorites but the one scene still bothers me. Cressy could have easily been a mass murderer when he lit the packed nightclub on fire.

Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 08:33 PM (VofaG)

112 "Second, it's no more realistic than, say, "Damnation Alley"..."
----

The attack of the giant killer atomic cockroaches didn't terrify you?!?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 08:33 PM (kpS4V)

113 Big quake in Thailand today apparently.

Posted by: eleven at March 29, 2025 08:33 PM (0HaGk)

114 Just finished a re-watch of The Wire last weekend before passing the discs to the offspring. Had almost forgotten just how good that series was. Michael K. Williams was terrific as Omar (but then most of that cast was terrific); if you like his work, check out the three seasons of Hap & Leonard, from Joe Lansdale's novels -- he's great in that one too.

Worth a look for fans of The Wire: a book called All the Pieces Matter: the Inside Story of The Wire, by Jonathan Abrams. Lots of interviews of the cast, writers, directors, and other crew.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 29, 2025 08:33 PM (q3u5l)

115 110 "Man on Fire" (1987)
youtube.com/watch?v=uCxkxV7u8ZQ

Wow, I never knew about this one! Thanks so much!

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:33 PM (j4stV)

116 Davis and Crawford were pre Botox era actresses and looked their age.
----
It's not her face so much as her body.

Although they were pre-Botox and MID-heavily-smoke-and-drink-all-the-time, so that didn't help the faces.

----
The attack of the giant killer atomic cockroaches didn't terrify you?!?
----

Well, of course it did. I loved it!

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 08:35 PM (asXVI)

117 Well in the book hes unnamed they gave the title tp caine
Posted by: Miguel cervantes

The book makes it clear that Harry Palmer is NOT his name but just an alias he adopted on one occasion.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Soldier of the Persistence at March 29, 2025 08:35 PM (L/fGl)

118 "One of my favorites but the one scene still bothers me. Cressy could have easily been a mass murderer when he lit the packed nightclub on fire."

Creasey's biggest mistake was putting too big a charge in the assbomb. He should have just blown the guy's pelvis apart without instantly killing him.

It's a good movie in many ways.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:35 PM (j4stV)

119 @eris

Thanks! I've not seen or heard of 1990! Excited.

Posted by: Thesokorus at March 29, 2025 08:35 PM (z6Ybz)

120 Siccario.

Posted by: eleven at March 29, 2025 08:36 PM (0HaGk)

121 Payback is a good revenge movie.

Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 08:36 PM (VofaG)

122 "Man on Fire" bookmarked. I enjoy revenge films.

Posted by: ScaryMary at March 29, 2025 08:37 PM (wX56x)

123 eleven, have you seen the second one?

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 08:37 PM (keLsF)

124 McCarthy is often brutally violent.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Soldier of the Persistence at March 29, 2025 08:27 PM (L/fGl)

Also, his writing style is very spare. I like it, but I it's too dry for some people. Movies I've seen that are based on his books are The Road, and No Country for Old Men. I liked both, but preferred the book version of The Road.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at March 29, 2025 08:37 PM (h7ZuX)

125 I guess you can roughly pair sicario with no country the former came from taylor sheridan the emprisario at paramount

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:37 PM (bXbFr)

126 Huh.

The 1987 "Man on Fire" is playing on Hulu, if you've got it.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2025 08:37 PM (iJfKG)

127 Huh.

The 1987 "Man on Fire" is playing on Hulu, if you've got it.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2025 08:37 PM (iJfKG)

128 Sexy Beast is quite good but the opposite of a "revenge" movie. More like the protag pays for past sins.

Posted by: Thesokorus at March 29, 2025 08:38 PM (z6Ybz)

129 Watching Criterion's blue-ray of "Island of Lost Souls." Image is always watchable, but varies. Grain here and there gets overwhelming. (Hey, it was made in the 1930's). Sound is great. Charles Laughton is incredible, and Bela Lugosi is remarkable in a small part.

And really, it's the one version of "Island of Doctor Moreau" that really works, that's really horrifying. Every other version is a camp classic (especially the Marlon Brando one). This one is really scary and gruesome. Worth watching.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at March 29, 2025 08:38 PM (CHHv1)

130 Only one c which mean hitman or properly buttonman

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:39 PM (bXbFr)

131 Assbomb?

ASSBOMB?!?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 08:39 PM (kpS4V)

132 " eleven, have you seen the second one?
Posted by: Ben Had"

There was a second one?

Posted by: eleven at March 29, 2025 08:40 PM (0HaGk)

133 Big quake in Thailand today apparently.
Posted by: eleven

Trump's damn fault!

Sky News@SkyNews
The Myanmar quake is the first major disaster to suffer the brunt of Donald Trump's devastating cuts

-
I guess he refused to pay protection to Big Earthquake.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Soldier of the Persistence at March 29, 2025 08:40 PM (L/fGl)

134 Did the book made clear who sent chigurh being it 1980 it had to be colombians

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:40 PM (bXbFr)

135 105 Top of my list is revenge movies . Man on fire.
Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 08:30 PM (keLsF)

Hell, yes. I've seen this one several times.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at March 29, 2025 08:40 PM (h7ZuX)

136
not sure how I doubled that.

oh, well.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2025 08:40 PM (iJfKG)

137 Tubi seems to have the Denzel version of "Man on Fire." This one is free for me, and has Christopher Walken. Is the earlier version superior?

Posted by: ScaryMary at March 29, 2025 08:41 PM (wX56x)

138 "Sicario" 1 and 2 get my highest recommendation. I crave a Sicario 3 where Alejandro and the kid track down and kill that bitch Cynthia.

Sicario 1 is written by Taylor Sheridan. That guy writes some of the best dialogue I've ever heard! He's a treasure, but he's stretching himself too thin now.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:41 PM (j4stV)

139 Sexy Beast is quite good but the opposite of a "revenge" movie. More like the protag pays for past sins.
Posted by: Thesokorus

Love that movie. Ben Kingsley, Ian McShane, Ray Winstone. What a cast.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2025 08:42 PM (lJ0H4)

140 Two women I most wanted bitch slapped. Carrie Ann Moss in " Unthinkable" and Emily Blount in "Sicario"

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 08:42 PM (keLsF)

141 "ASSBOMB?!?"

That's exactly what the guy said before his ass blew up!

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:42 PM (j4stV)

142 Nicholas Cage made a number of revenge movies. He has my favorite revenge scene in 8mm when he asks the murdered girl's mother if he can kill her murderer. She says yes and he proceeds to beat him to death.

Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 08:43 PM (VofaG)

143 Who exactly is the hero in sicario benicio is the protagonist in that every thing revolves around him

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:44 PM (bXbFr)

144 I dunno -- I liked Magic. I'm a sucker for most of William Goldman's stuff, even the lesser ones like Heat. Thought the ventriloquist's dummy Fats was nicely creepy and the Make-Fats-shut-up-for-5-minutes scene worked for me.

Besides, anything that gives post-Birdie Ann-Margret some screen time can't be all bad. She was pretty good in 52 Pick-Up with Roy Scheider too.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 29, 2025 08:44 PM (q3u5l)

145 I thought Blunt did a great job in Sicario. Jeffrey Donovan is also delightful as Forster. No complaints with any of the cast.

In Sicario 2, the kid actress was brilliant.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:44 PM (j4stV)

146 Posted by: ScaryMary at March 29, 2025 08:41 PM (wX56

I like Denzel's better.

Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 08:45 PM (VofaG)

147 I didn't care for the Tony Scott "Man of Fire".

The dialogue was so muddy there are subtitles, which is...ugh.

On top of that, the subtitles are highly stylized.

I think it was Scott's last movie.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 08:45 PM (asXVI)

148 So, in honor of that, I've just downloaded the hilariously over the top Finnish movie "Sisu" to rewatch. Nazis beware!!!
Posted by: Sharkman

"Sisu" was far better than I expected. Really fun.

Posted by: mot at March 29, 2025 08:45 PM (fIPNY)

149 The firsr was closer to quinnekls vision but i would say the latter translates to film

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:45 PM (bXbFr)

150
Well, Trump did fire the guy who prevents foreign earthquakes.

Posted by: Soothsayer at March 29, 2025 08:46 PM (wOeEV)

151 Michael Caine "The 4th Protocol" liked the plot and the acting.

This from IMDB:
John Preston is a British Agent with the task of preventing the Russians detonating a nuclear explosion next to an American base in the UK.

Detonating an explosion? The explosion IS the detonation!

Posted by: Ciampino - detonationless at March 29, 2025 08:46 PM (sPQoU)

152 "Sexy Beast" is the first movie I noticed McShane in. Holy crap he was scary in that one!

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:46 PM (j4stV)

153 Guess you never saw Harold Pinter's "The Dumbwaiter".

Posted by: oopsie . . . too late at March 29, 2025 08:46 PM (kvDvI)

154 Quinnell (i think he was exec producer)

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:46 PM (bXbFr)

155 Detonating a nuke

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:47 PM (bXbFr)

156 movirgique, we will agree to disagree, please.

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 08:47 PM (keLsF)

157 John Lithgow’s magnum opus, his tour de force, as it were, his pièce de résistance, if I may be so bold, his joie de vivre, was Third Rock From the Sun.

Posted by: Disinterested FDA Director at March 29, 2025 08:47 PM (EVOJ9)

158 "Sexy Beast" is the first movie I noticed McShane in. Holy crap he was scary in that one!
Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs

He was, wasn't he? Hard to forget.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2025 08:48 PM (lJ0H4)

159 I couldn't get with Bencio in Sicario killing the family. It is crucial to the grittiness of the movie but it made me not feel any empathy for him that I had prior to that.

Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 08:48 PM (VofaG)

160 156 I didn't expect moviegigue to diss subtitles.

I find them essential in all viewing.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:48 PM (j4stV)

161
What the hell is going on the Audio in movies for the last 15 years?

I thought it was just me getting old, but it's not. The dialogue audio is so damn low compared to the sound effect/music audio. I turn up the volume to hear the dialogue and then, BOOM, an explosion! Or, BOOM, loud music!

Posted by: Soothsayer at March 29, 2025 08:49 PM (wOeEV)

162 John Lithgow’s magnum opus, his tour de force, as it were, his pièce de résistance, if I may be so bold, his joie de vivre, was Third Rock From the Sun.
Posted by: Disinterested FDA Director at March 29, 2025 08:47 PM (EVOJ9)

I thought you were going to say Harry and the Hendersons.

Actually a really good movie.

Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 08:49 PM (VofaG)

163 "it made me not feel any empathy for him that I had prior to that."

I think the point of the scene is precisely to kill your empathy. It is shockingly brutal.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:50 PM (j4stV)

164 I thought you were going to say Harry and the Hendersons.

Actually a really good movie.
Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 08:49 PM (VofaG)

I really like that as a kid. I had no idea Lithgow was in it. I haven’t seen it in, like, 33 years.

I amend my answer to Harry and the Hendersons.

Posted by: Disinterested FDA Director at March 29, 2025 08:50 PM (EVOJ9)

165 Revenge because justice doesnt exist in that world
(Does it in this one)

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 08:51 PM (bXbFr)

166 is there a genre where once strong young men stagger around as oldsters and 'cause mischief and mayhem?“

Jack Lemon and Walter Matthau practically made an industry out of this theme. And there’s Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott in Ride the High Country; John Wayne and Richard Boone in The Shootist; and just about the entire cast of The Wild Bunch.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 29, 2025 08:51 PM (jDZeQ)

167
Scott Glenn is 86.

Posted by: Soothsayer at March 29, 2025 08:51 PM (wOeEV)

168 polynikes, have you watched " The Kingdom". The answer to that is explained.

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 08:51 PM (keLsF)

169 William Goldman's first ever book "The Temple Of Gold" is excellent. High school and beyond.

Posted by: Ciampino - Euripides at March 29, 2025 08:52 PM (sPQoU)

170 I thought it was just me getting old, but it's not. The dialogue audio is so damn low compared to the sound effect/music audio. I turn up the volume to hear the dialogue and then, BOOM, an explosion! Or, BOOM, loud music!

Posted by: Soothsayer at March 29, 2025 08:49 PM (wOeEV)

----
This is one reason I do not go to the cinema to see movies. They are loud, but I cannot hear the dialogue, even with hearing aids. The only movie I've seen in a theater in the last few years was "Godzilla Minus One." It was in Japanese with subtitles. I could understand it.

Posted by: ScaryMary at March 29, 2025 08:52 PM (wX56x)

171 I just watched Caine in the movie Medieval. Based on Jan Zizka. It's no Brave Heart but I enjoyed it.

Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 08:53 PM (VofaG)

172 I didn't expect moviegigue to diss subtitles.
I find them essential in all viewing.
Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:48 PM (j4stV)

Ditto. I have some slight difficulty processing audio on-screen. It all sounds a little muddy. Not a problem IRL, but I prefer to read subtitles so I don’t misapprehend the dialog.

Posted by: Disinterested FDA Director at March 29, 2025 08:53 PM (EVOJ9)

173 First time I noticed Lithgow was in The World According to Garp, playing Roberta (formerly Robert) Muldoon. He wasn't bad as the villain in the Stallone movie Cliffhanger either.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 29, 2025 08:53 PM (q3u5l)

174 156 movirgique, we will agree to disagree, please.
Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 08:47 PM (keLsF)
---

Oh, sure. I'm not looking for a fight, just stating an opinion. (And I always point out that a lot of today's great directors just miss me. Scorsese, Mann, Nolan, Tarantino... So I don't consider my taste any kind of barometer.)

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 08:54 PM (asXVI)

175 I didn't expect moviegigue to diss subtitles.
I find them essential in all viewing.
Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs

One of my first world problems is when a character briefly speaks in some foreign language and the closed caption subtitles say "speaks in foreign language" and obscures the translation subtitles.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Soldier of the Persistence at March 29, 2025 08:55 PM (L/fGl)

176 Is there some kind of restriction like the 100-comment rule on a movie thread?

Posted by: Bulg at March 29, 2025 08:55 PM (77rzZ)

177 "This is one reason I do not go to the cinema to see movies."

I haven't been in a theater in 19 years. There is simply no value proposition to it, when the home viewing experience is superior in dozens of ways.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:55 PM (j4stV)

178 175 Ha!

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:56 PM (j4stV)

179 Soothsayer -- don't feel like the Lone Ranger on the audio thing. The dialogue is in fact almost inaudible over music and other sound in the movies these days. I use subtitles on almost everything now whenever I can.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 29, 2025 08:57 PM (q3u5l)

180 One of my first world problems is when a character briefly speaks in some foreign language and the closed caption subtitles say "speaks in foreign language" and obscures the translation subtitles.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Soldier of the Persistence at March 29, 2025 08:55 PM (L/fGl)

----
LOL. I really need those subtitles to hear.

Posted by: ScaryMary at March 29, 2025 08:57 PM (wX56x)

181 175 That's a problem with some of the torrents too. But it doesn't matter because none of us would stoop to watching torrents.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:57 PM (j4stV)

182 One of my first world problems is when a character briefly speaks in some foreign language and the closed caption subtitles say "speaks in foreign language" and obscures the translation subtitles.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Soldier of the Persistence at March 29, 2025 08:55 PM (L/fGl)

[Meme of Leonardo DiCaprio holding a beer and pointing]

Posted by: Disinterested FDA Director at March 29, 2025 08:57 PM (EVOJ9)

183 Last movie I watched was Moana 2. It’s a waste of time.

I’ve been watching the Andor series, it’s great.

Posted by: MAGA_Ken at March 29, 2025 08:57 PM (Vh9CX)

184 The last movie I saw in a theater was " The Sound of Music". Don't bother getting off of my lawn because it is long since dead.

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 08:58 PM (keLsF)

185 160 156 I didn't expect moviegigue to diss subtitles.
I find them essential in all viewing.
---
Well, pace Ben Had, for MoF, they knew the dialogue wasn't audible so they added English subtitles to an English film, which to me should only be necessary when the English is, like, Scottish or Irish or something like that.

I mean, it's all ADR these days so I have no idea why they muddy up the dialogue, unless it's that they think it's bad and they don't want anyone to hear it. Which is weird.

"Black Bag", of all things, had muddy sound mixing! (But "Presence" didn't, and that must've been a very similar crew!)

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 08:58 PM (asXVI)

186 LOL, Ben Had.

Posted by: ScaryMary at March 29, 2025 08:58 PM (wX56x)

187 "Moana 2. It’s a waste of time."

Really? I'm taken aback.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 08:59 PM (j4stV)

188 Oh, and as for subtitles in foreign movies?

What does it mean when I can understand the foreign language movies better than I can English?

I go see a Russian film or an Italian film I can pick out the words. I'm not fluent in those languages but I could transcribe them phonetically, at least!

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:00 PM (asXVI)

189 Best movie line in Lithgow’s entire career: “Laffa While You Canna Monkey Boy!”

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 29, 2025 09:00 PM (jDZeQ)

190 Benicio was also in traffik anothet soderbergh effort in a similar role as an honest cop in a corrupt world

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 09:00 PM (bXbFr)

191 Julie Andrews was hot in that.

Posted by: eleven at March 29, 2025 09:01 PM (0HaGk)

192 But he didnt have the malice ss in sicario 20 years later

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2025 09:01 PM (bXbFr)

193 Nic Cage's best revenge movie is "Mandy". What a trip-a-delic nightmare.

I love it.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 09:01 PM (kpS4V)

194 Benicio in "The things I lost in a Fire"

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 09:02 PM (keLsF)

195 “Laffa While You Canna Monkey Boy!”

Emilio Lizardo. He's a lizard-man from the 9th dimension but he still has that down-home Italian accent.

Lithgow in "Blow Out" is chilling. That killer is WAY different from this one.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:02 PM (asXVI)

196 190 "Traffic" recommended. Based on the European minseries "Traffik" which I also recommend. I've rewatched them both a few times.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 09:02 PM (j4stV)

197
I hate Subtitles!

Totally removes the "immersion" of the viewing experience.

Posted by: Soothsayer at March 29, 2025 09:02 PM (wOeEV)

198 What the hell is going on the Audio in movies for the last 15 years?

I thought it was just me getting old, but it's not. The dialogue audio is so damn low compared to the sound effect/music audio. I turn up the volume to hear the dialogue and then, BOOM, an explosion! Or, BOOM, loud music!
Posted by: Soothsayer at March 29, 2025 08:49 PM (wOeEV)

————

Christopher Nolan

https://youtu.be/gBCbVrIOHbg

Posted by: MAGA_Ken at March 29, 2025 09:03 PM (Vh9CX)

199 I go see a Russian film or an Italian film I can pick out the words. I'm not fluent in those languages but I could transcribe them phonetically, at least!
Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:00 PM (asXVI)

Can’t say I can get Russian, but if you know any Romance languages Italian is pretty easy to pick up.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 29, 2025 09:03 PM (jDZeQ)

200 Nic Cage's best revenge movie is "Mandy". What a trip-a-delic nightmare.

I love it.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 09:01 PM (kpS4V)

I liked Joe a little better. I didn't have to see penis.

Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 09:03 PM (VofaG)

201

I haven't been to a movie theater for almost 40 years.

I always thought the places were gross and dirty.

It's awesome to watch movies at home in pjs chilling on the couch.

Posted by: four seasons at March 29, 2025 09:03 PM (3ek7K)

202 I think maybe you could put "Ghost Story" (1981) in this older actor/actress "horror" genre. That one had Fred Astaire, John Houseman, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Melvyn Douglas as the primary screen actors.

Posted by: Orson at March 29, 2025 09:03 PM (dIske)

203 193 Nic Cage's best revenge movie is "Mandy". What a trip-a-delic nightmare.

I love it.
---
I would not have guessed you could make a movie based on Prog Rock album covers. At least not one worth watching.

And yet, there it is.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:03 PM (asXVI)

204 hate Subtitles!

Totally removes the "immersion" of the viewing experience.
Posted by: Soothsayer at March 29, 2025 09:02 PM (wOeEV)

Can't watch Apocalypto without them.

Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 09:04 PM (VofaG)

205 Ian McShane was great in the fantastic series Lovejoy. But very chill and bucolic.

Posted by: Thesokorus at March 29, 2025 09:04 PM (z6Ybz)

206 197 Not for me. Not a bit. I'm well trained.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 09:04 PM (j4stV)

207 Italian is just English with a's at the end.

Posted by: eleven at March 29, 2025 09:04 PM (0HaGk)

208 I think maybe you could put "Ghost Story" (1981) in this older actor/actress "horror" genre. That one had Fred Astaire, John Houseman, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Melvyn Douglas as the primary screen actors.
----
I like that one.

Let me just say that young Alice Krige made a little mark on my psyche.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:04 PM (asXVI)

209 Cage's best revenge movie is "Moonstruck". He ends up boffing his brother's wife.

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 09:05 PM (keLsF)

210 "Mandy" (201

No sir, I don't like it.
youtube.com/watch?v=cDGlN6mluGA

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs, Guest Hosted By Mister Horse at March 29, 2025 09:06 PM (j4stV)

211 Last movie I watched was Moana 2. It’s a waste of time.

I’ve been watching the Andor series, it’s great.

Posted by: MAGA_Ken at March 29, 2025 08:57 PM (Vh9CX)

A waste of time? Even with all the gurl power trailers?

Posted by: Dr. T at March 29, 2025 09:06 PM (lHPJf)

212 Ian McShane is a rat bastard in " Pillars of the Earth"

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 09:07 PM (keLsF)

213 Cage's best revenge movie is "Moonstruck". He ends up boffing his brother's wife.
Posted by: Ben Had

Fiancée not wife. Moonstruck is a funny movie. Love the grandpa and his pack of dogs howling at the moon.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2025 09:08 PM (lJ0H4)

214 Let me just say that young Alice Krige made a little mark on my psyche.
Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:04 PM (asXVI)
_______________________

heh....She's made a wonderful career out of those roles that could make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. And, she played the Borg Queen

Posted by: Orson at March 29, 2025 09:09 PM (dIske)

215 Tuna, thanks for the correction. Cheers

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 09:09 PM (keLsF)

216 this film seems really interesting - thanks!

I might put Heretic into the old-guy genre

and, honestly, longlegs.

Posted by: Black Orchid at March 29, 2025 09:12 PM (Pv3Rg)

217 || And, she played the Borg Queen

Oh, yeah. One of the all-time great movie entrances.

She's a working actress.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:13 PM (asXVI)

218 I like the trailer for "Alto Knights." So shoot me.

I'll watch it when I can see it for free, as I do with all movies.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 09:13 PM (j4stV)

219 Didn't Alice Krige play the witch in a version of the Hansel and Gretel story?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 09:15 PM (kpS4V)

220
A great action movie that's little seen now streaming on Prime is-

"Enemy of the State", which is a paranoid thriller about just how easy it is for the CIA/FBI to screw up your life and track every single thing that you do.

And it came out in 1998.(!) But feels like Obama, Biden, and the Swamp took it for an instructional video.

Directed by Tony Scott. Stars Will Smith and Gene Hackman. Very well done. Great script. Great directing. Fun action Great acting.

Definitely check it out.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2025 09:15 PM (iJfKG)

221 || I might put Heretic into the old-guy genre

It can't just be old guys though, I think. Old guys have been scary for a long time.

Like, what are the elements of hag-horror? It's playing up the age, and tormenting the elderly. Maybe madness? Not like serial killer madness but the madness of covering up for a long ago crime?

IDK, maybe that last element explains it. Men aren't usually given to those Victorian-style hysterics, at least on celluloid.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:16 PM (asXVI)

222 Yeah, Moonstruck is one of my faves. “It’s Cosmo’s moon.”

Posted by: Bulg at March 29, 2025 09:17 PM (77rzZ)

223 219 Didn't Alice Krige play the witch in a version of the Hansel and Gretel story?

Yes. "Gretel & Hansel" in 2020. I reviewed it and put in a picture of her from "Ghost Story".

Hey, I like what I like.

https://moviegique.com/2020/03/gretel-and-hansel/

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:17 PM (asXVI)

224
3rd Rock from the Sun:
Sally Solomon whilst crying for the first time "I'm leaking".

Posted by: Ciampino - beautiful lady at March 29, 2025 09:18 PM (sPQoU)

225 mgq, what is "working actress?" Is that a term of art, or a sly joke, or ? I never heard it before.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 09:20 PM (j4stV)

226 220
Directed by Tony Scott. Stars Will Smith and Gene Hackman. Very well done. Great script. Great directing. Fun action Great acting.

Definitely check it out.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2025 09:15 PM (iJfKG)
----
Great movie. Anything with Gene Hackman is good. Will Smith was good too.

Posted by: Ciampino - they had a time machine at March 29, 2025 09:21 PM (sPQoU)

227 213 The guy playing the old man with the dogs in Moonstruck was Feodor Chaliapin, Jr., son of the famed Russian singer of the same name.

Posted by: Bulg at March 29, 2025 09:22 PM (77rzZ)

228
Watching Criterion's blue-ray of "Island of Lost Souls."

And really, it's the one version of "Island of Doctor Moreau" that really works, that's really horrifying.

Worth watching.
Posted by: BeckoningChasm

Are we not men?

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2025 09:22 PM (63Dwl)

229 Let me just say that young Alice Krige made a little mark on my psyche.
Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:04 PM (asXVI)

Yeah, after seeing "Ghost Story", and some tastefully nekkid Alice Krige, I thought she was the sexiest thang for years.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2025 09:22 PM (iJfKG)

230 225 mgq, what is "working actress?" Is that a term of art, or a sly joke, or ? I never heard it before.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 09:20 PM (j4stV)
----
$20, same as in town.

Posted by: Ciampino - they had a time machine? at March 29, 2025 09:23 PM (sPQoU)

231 Krige's turn in Ghost Story and the Borg Queen entrance -- yep.

But for a spectacular entrance, it's kinda hard to top the opening of the mini-series of Dance to the Music of Time, in which Claire Skinner answers the door in her natural state.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 29, 2025 09:23 PM (q3u5l)

232 A working actor or actress will do that part, no matter how bad or cheezerific, with professionalism.

Like Michael Caine in that jaws sequel, which paid for a lovely house. Because he's an actor, not an artiste.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 09:24 PM (kpS4V)

233 I too was disappointed with Siccaro's Benicio killing the family with a gun. Should used a garrote. Choking the life out of your enemies is the best revenge. Clemenza shoulda toldja.

Posted by: Field Marshal Zhukov, now, where does a war hero get some lubrication around here? at March 29, 2025 09:24 PM (wBaIH)

234 "Island of Lost Souls" (1932)
m.ok.ru/video/343398222499

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 09:25 PM (j4stV)

235 ***If "hag horror" is a thing
---

Every movie that Barbara Stanwyck or Betty Davis were in were horror movies. Although I did see a statue of Betty that was much more feminine that any woman she portrayed.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at March 29, 2025 09:25 PM (1K7Zj)

236 Krige actually made the Stephen King movie Sleepwalkers worth a look.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 29, 2025 09:25 PM (q3u5l)

237 232 Oh, OK, thanks!

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 09:25 PM (j4stV)

238 Yeah, Eris has it.

The working actor not only does whatever, they turn in a kickass performance whether they're playing in "Zulu", "Italian Job", "Jaws IV", "A Muppet Christmas Carol" or "The Dark Knight Rises", to use Caine as a reference.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:26 PM (asXVI)

239 >>>Totally removes the "immersion" of the viewing experience.
Posted by: Soothsayer
---

La Familia Borgia, made in Spain.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at March 29, 2025 09:27 PM (1K7Zj)

240 Gods of Egypt isn't a bad movie, just a popcorn movie.

Posted by: BourbonChicken at March 29, 2025 09:27 PM (lhenN)

241 I've got four new picks queued up ready to go, thanks to you guys. See you next time!

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at March 29, 2025 09:28 PM (j4stV)

242 But for a spectacular entrance, it's kinda hard to top the opening of the mini-series of Dance to the Music of Time, in which Claire Skinner answers the door in her natural state.
---
"Lifeforce" is a fascinating film.

Mathilda May walks around starkers starting about, IDK, 10 minutes in, for a half-an-hour, and it is oddly compelling.

It's predictably compelling because she's "the perfect woman" and has a killer bod.

But it's also oddly compelling because she's commanding the spaces she's in. Everyone (and they're mostly soldiers) is completely disarmed by her, and it's believable.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:28 PM (asXVI)

243 See ya, gp!

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:29 PM (asXVI)

244
Movies I rewatched this week:

Moon
Get Low

Posted by: Soothsayer at March 29, 2025 09:29 PM (wOeEV)

245 207 Italian is just English with a's at the end.

Posted by: eleven at March 29, 2025 09:04 PM (0HaGk)
----
Uganda circa 1957-8. Italian lady traveled from Italy by ship. Didn't know a word of English but figured it was just Italian minus the last syllable, so she spoke like that to everyone!!

Posted by: Ciampino - two geniuses at March 29, 2025 09:30 PM (sPQoU)

246 224
3rd Rock from the Sun:
Sally Solomon whilst crying for the first time "I'm leaking".
Posted by: Ciampino
---

When there's nothing else. Yeah, watched it more than most.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at March 29, 2025 09:30 PM (1K7Zj)

247 242 Mmmmmmm…Mathilda May in Lifeforce…mmmmmmm….

Posted by: Bulg at March 29, 2025 09:31 PM (77rzZ)

248 Spanish, if the speed's turned slower I can keep up. Italian, but I'm learning.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at March 29, 2025 09:32 PM (1K7Zj)

249 232 A working actor or actress will do that part, no matter how bad or cheezerific, with professionalism.

Like Michael Caine in that jaws sequel, which paid for a lovely house. Because he's an actor, not an artiste.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2025 09:24 PM (kpS4V)

Like Jack Palance and Oliver Reed in the 1987 movie Gor (Italian).

Hahahah

Posted by: Thesokorus at March 29, 2025 09:33 PM (z6Ybz)

250 Every movie that Barbara Stanwyck or Betty Davis were in were horror movies. Although I did see a statue of Betty that was much more feminine that any woman she portrayed.
Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at March 29, 2025 09:25 PM (1K7Zj)

Not that I care about her either way, but there has been some major Barbara Stanwyck hate around here recently. Does she owe a bunch of Morons money or something?

Posted by: Dr. T at March 29, 2025 09:34 PM (lHPJf)

251 Unforgiven. The Expendables. Lethal Weapon whatever if they ever make it.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 29, 2025 09:34 PM (bss/y)

252 The painting I'm currently working on is based on a screenshot I took of the TV when watching the movie Somewhere In Time.

Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 09:34 PM (VofaG)

253 I was 5 or younger first movie I saw either of them.
Couldn't stand them from the first five minutes of first sight.
Maybe less.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at March 29, 2025 09:36 PM (1K7Zj)

254 Not a movie, but I binged The Pitt this week. My dog, what a great tv show. Best I've see in a while. I heard Michael Crighton’s estate are suing the show because they said its just an ER reboot but its 1000x better.

Posted by: Megthered at March 29, 2025 09:36 PM (fPvMf)

255 Moon
Get Low
----

Those are good movies.

----
Not that I care about her either way, but there has been some major Barbara Stanwyck hate around here recently. Does she owe a bunch of Morons money or something?
----

Not from me. One of the 'ettes recommended "Remember The Night" a couple of years ago, and that really won me over.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:36 PM (asXVI)

256 252 The painting I'm currently working on is based on a screenshot I took of the TV when watching the movie Somewhere In Time.
===

Oh, that's interesting!

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:37 PM (asXVI)

257 When I could the statue couldn't believe that Davis had such a feminine body. What a hag.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at March 29, 2025 09:37 PM (1K7Zj)

258 169 William Goldman's first ever book "The Temple Of Gold" is excellent. High school and beyond.

Posted by: Ciampino - Euripides at March 29, 2025 08:52 PM (sPQoU)
--
I meant the storyline is high school and beyond.

Posted by: Ciampino - guppies & legs at March 29, 2025 09:38 PM (sPQoU)

259 Just finished Midnight Run. Good movie.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at March 29, 2025 09:39 PM (1K7Zj)

260 The painting I'm currently working on is based on a screenshot I took of the TV when watching the movie Somewhere In Time.
===

Oh, that's interesting!
Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:37 PM (asXVI)

It's when he first convinced her to take a walk with him and they were walking on the rocky shore toward the light house.

Posted by: polynikes at March 29, 2025 09:40 PM (VofaG)

261 >>>@JoeRogan blasts the legacy media for downplaying @ElonMusk and @SpaceX's heroic rescue of two astronauts trapped at the space station.

"They're trying to sh*t on everything he does and hide all the good stuff. You didn't hear a peep about Elon rescuing those astronauts. That should have been livestreamed on all of the news all day long."

"It should have been a huge national event. We're finally going to rescue the astronauts who were trapped in the space station for 8 f*cking months. And this super genius, Elon, is the guy who figured out how to go get them."

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at March 29, 2025 09:43 PM (1K7Zj)

262 Braenyard, absolutely, this should have been shouted from roof tops.

Posted by: Ben Had at March 29, 2025 09:46 PM (keLsF)

263 John Lithgow can do creepy.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 29, 2025 09:46 PM (RIvkX)

264 It was on MY TV.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2025 09:47 PM (63Dwl)

265 It's when he first convinced her to take a walk with him and they were walking on the rocky shore toward the light house.
----

Yes. I can see that as a painting. There are some good shots in that movie though (if memory serves) some are a bit gauzy.

I rather liked that one. Matheson was such a good writer.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:47 PM (asXVI)

266 They can't do anything about Trump so they think Elin is a good target. He will fight to the end and has FU money to back him up.

Posted by: Megthered at March 29, 2025 09:47 PM (fPvMf)

267
The ISS, was it 8 or 9 months?

Posted by: Ciampino - sex, guppies & legs at March 29, 2025 09:48 PM (sPQoU)

268 259 Just finished Midnight Run. Good movie.
Posted by: Braenyard

That's a great movie!

Posted by: Puddleglum at work at March 29, 2025 09:49 PM (wBh67)

269 De Niro can be funny.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 29, 2025 09:52 PM (RIvkX)

270 Micheal Caine and Christopher Reeve in Mousetrap was a man to man revenge movie.

Posted by: Sintexas at March 29, 2025 09:52 PM (baUOJ)

271 The Temple of Gold is excellent; YMMV, but for me, it's a much more satisfying read than Catcher in the Rye. Goldman was probably best known for his movie work (like Butch Cassidy and others), but there were novels that didn't get as much notice as those that became movies. The Thing of It Is... and its sequel Father's Day, and his last novel The Color of Light hold up nicely.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 29, 2025 09:52 PM (q3u5l)

272 De Niro can be funny.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 29, 2025 09:52 PM (RIvkX)

In the same sense that his dad was "funny."

Posted by: Dr. T at March 29, 2025 09:52 PM (lHPJf)

273 My Mexican is good because I can watch telenovelas no problemo.

But I tried to watch an Argentine TV series a few months ago and couldn't get a word.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 29, 2025 09:54 PM (RIvkX)

274 If "hag horror" is a thing

-
It's definitely a thing in Congress.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Soldier of the Persistence at March 29, 2025 09:54 PM (L/fGl)

275 Did I tell you guys my plan to revitalize the movie theater business?

Cap copyright at 40 years, like it was originally.

Imagine a theater able to play any movie made up to 1985 for free. There would be an explosion.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:54 PM (asXVI)

276 Micheal Caine and Christopher Reeve in Mousetrap was a man to man revenge movie.
Posted by: Sintexas at March 29, 2025 09:52 PM (baUOJ)

Deathtrap.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2025 09:57 PM (iJfKG)

277 Hey yo,
Bob DeNiro:
Years active 1932–1993
Movement Abstract expressionism
Spouse Virginia Admiral (m. 1942; div. 1945)
Partner Robert Duncan (1944–1950)
Children Robert De Niro

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at March 29, 2025 09:59 PM (1K7Zj)

278 "Mousetrap" was the movie based on the classic board game starring Christopher Watz, Emily Blount and Taron Egerton as the mouse.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 09:59 PM (asXVI)

279 They can't do anything about Trump so they think Elin is a good target. He will fight to the end and has FU money to back him up.
Posted by: Megthered
----

They're out of their league. They just don't know it yet.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 29, 2025 10:00 PM (XeU6L)

280 Micheal Caine and Christopher Reeve in Mousetrap was a man to man revenge movie.
Posted by: Sintexas at March 29, 2025 09:52 PM (baUOJ)

Deathtrap.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2025 09:57 PM (iJfKG)

Also..."Sleuth" with Michael Caine and Lawrence Oliver.

Both were similarity Broadway plays.

Iff think "Sleuth" is the better.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2025 10:00 PM (iJfKG)

281 So, now

Posted by: mindful webworker - well, anyway at March 29, 2025 10:00 PM (PBRpz)

282 ONT!

Posted by: Nazdar at March 29, 2025 10:01 PM (NcvvS)

283 Moviegique, I'd like to think that theater revival idea would work (I'd show up at the theaters again for some of those). Don't know how some of those flicks would go over with some of the current crowd that call two strikes before the first frame on anything black-and-white, or foreign-subtitled, or with pre-CGI effects. I can dream, though...

Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 29, 2025 10:01 PM (q3u5l)

284 William Goldman's first ever book written when he was 25(?), "The Temple Of Gold".

Posted by: Ciampino - sex, guppies & legs at March 29, 2025 10:01 PM (sPQoU)

285 Micheal Caine and Christopher Reeve in Mousetrap was a man to man revenge movie.
Posted by: Sintexas at March 29, 2025 09:52 PM (baUOJ)

Deathtrap.

Posted by: naturalfake

There is a somewhat similar movie starring Caine and Lawrence Olivier.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Soldier of the Persistence at March 29, 2025 10:02 PM (L/fGl)

286 Thanks for the thread, Moviegique.

Have a good one, Horde. See you at the book thread.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 29, 2025 10:02 PM (q3u5l)

287 Just Some Guy--

Revivals around here are WAY more packed than new movies. More consistently, anyway. And if the theater doesn't have to wrestle with the studio, the ticket's pure profit. I think it would work.

And over 40 years is too long anyway.

Anyway, thanks all! See you in April!

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at March 29, 2025 10:06 PM (asXVI)

288 @138

Sicario 1 is a brilliant film. Sicario 2 is jarringly stupid, to the point where I question whether the director even saw or understood the movie he was making a sequel to. It's like he thought Del Toro, Brolin, and Donovan were super bad-ass in the first film, so let's make a whole film leaning into that, without realizing that the whole point was that they were all morally compromised scumbags. Sicario 2 should have been a film about them all getting their comeuppance, as their sordid actions caught up with them, like a good mob film. Instead it's Rambo in Mexico.

Posted by: Handshakes at March 29, 2025 10:08 PM (Qmkgs)

289 I'm surprised more aren't talking about the Burma earthquake. The Geology Hub guy (and he knows his stuff) says models indicate a 30% chance of over 100,000 deaths.

Posted by: MAGA_Ken at March 29, 2025 11:11 PM (Vh9CX)

290 "If 'hag horror' is a thing—and with examples like Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and Strait-jacket who can deny that it is?"

Movies of this type are called "Hagsploitation."

When I learned this a few years ago, I told the missus about it.

She wrinkled her nose and said, "That's awful."

She's not wrong but she's missing that it's also hilarious.

Posted by: Gordon Winslow at March 29, 2025 11:24 PM (KajJN)

291 It's truly a nice and useful piece of information. I am glad that you just shared this helpful information with
us. Please stay us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.

Posted by: https://almost4x4.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8116 at March 30, 2025 07:05 AM (Pq3vu)

292 Not a moive, but for a free 4 season series, Goliath is good. Billy Bob Thorton plays our protagonist instead of his usual flirtation with a cameo. He does an outstanding job, easy to relate to, fun to watch. Costar Nina Arianda (playing Patty Solis-Papagian) has a quirkiness that is unique and endearing. It's a character type you'll want to add to your collection.

A little behind the scenes snack
https://tinyurl.com/2pvjmt

Posted by: Fen at March 30, 2025 01:04 PM (c5hJL)

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