Del Toro’s Frankentein (2025): I thought it was pretty good and beautifully shot. Then I realised it was sticking with me for a few days, which doesn’t happen with movies often anymore. Gonna give it a month or two then do a rewatch.
V for Vendetta (2006): Haven’t watched it in about 15 years, and it was honestly a hard watch as things have changed. It’s no longer ‘possible alternate future’ as much as ‘near current present’. Honestly there wasn’t much about it that was fantastical anymore, came out of it a bit depressed and angry.
The Beldham (2025): Standard ‘direct to video’ horror schlock. Completely fine for what it is.
I watch 'em so you don’t have to. A bunch of movies about Native Americans in this mix (at end).
- Hanagatami (花筐) (2017): Gorgeous love-letter to director’s lost youth.
- The Naked Civil Servant (1975): John Hurt as Quentin Crisp. Recommended
- An Englishman in New York (2009): Hurt as Crisp again. Recommended
- Native Son (1951): Imperfect drama based on book with author as star on black chauffeur accidentally killing the boss’s daughter.
- St. Louis Blues (1958): 3rd movie with this title, this one is biopic of Will Handy with glorious black cast (Nat King Cole, Eartha Kitt, etc.).
- Catalina Caper (1967): Not worth waiting for Little Richard’s brief appearance.
- Chimes at Midnight (1965) : Orson Wells does Falstaff. Highly recommended
- Save the Green Planet! (지구를 지켜라!)(2003): Guy blames space aliens for losses, kidnaps and tortures CEO he suspects is their earth contact.
Native American movies:
- Bearing Witness, Native American Voices in Hollywood (2025): Documentary on roles Native Americans could get in Hollywood. Good information and worth a watch.
- Ramona (1928): silent, gorgeous - 1/2 native girl adopted by evil step mom is loved by son (badly remade in 1936), driven off by mom, suffers.
- Navajo (1952): Navajo boy rejects the white man’s school in semi-documentary style flick from white POV. Infuriating that white POV is presumed proper, so worth seeing.
- Devil’s Doorway (1950): U.S. veteran Indian tries to use the law to keep whites off his land. Recommended
- The Exiles (1961): Semi-documentary of a night with Native Americans and their struggles. Sad and dull.
- Powwow Highway (1989): Not perfect, but an interesting look at modern issues.
- Cheyenne Autumn (1964): so many stars and yet so tiresome
Predator: Badlands 3.5/5: Man, I was really excited for this. I love the new Predator movies (Prey/Killer of Killers) but this is a pretty different direction, it’s a buddy comedy. I like Predators being terrifying monsters, I didn’t like this one kind of bumbling around, even if it did end up being particularly effective by the end. It’s very clearly influenced by modern Star Wars which is not a compliment
Falling Down 2.5/5: I thought this was going to be more about a guy’s day getting progressively shittier until he cracks. Instead it’s about a guy progressively losing his shit which is way less fun today than I assume it was back in the early 90s, considering how that is just a daily news story
Good Fortune 2.5/5: This feels like its written by dudes who have been successful comedy writers for too long who have lost touch with current struggles, presumably because it is. There’s some good jokes, a few funny bits, and one of the most obvious Chekov’s Guns I’ve ever seen in a movie
The Big Lebowski 4.5/5: Hit shuffle on Sunday and we’ll Dude… tomorrow was already the 10th. Great movie
Eternity 4/5: Mystery movie Monday. This was really cool. The premise is interesting, there’s some funny gags, and these are some of the most dynamic characters I’ve seen in a movie in a while. Almost every main character goes through a journey where your opinion changes on them and for being just under 2 hours the run time is effectively used
The Mask 3/5: Wow, this is so much hornier than I remembered from my youth. It’s Who Framed Roger Rabit but hornier, less funny, better dance numbers, and worse written. Mixed bag, but not as offensive as I expected
My main issue with the predator movie was that basically any 'warlike sci-fi race" character could have been the lead. This movie would have played the exact same if the main character had been a klingon. The new weapons are decidedly too showy for a race of stealth predators, and I wonder how long they spent making the bow before realizing it was a completely worthless addition.
We watched Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994).
After several scenes with an unnecessarily shirtless and lubed up Kenneth Branagh, I made a bet he was the director. One quick websearch later, confirmed, the man directed himself into many shirtless shots. Well-played, sir.
Hopefully later this week we have time for the new Guillermo del Toro Frankenstein. We’ll see if this one is as thirsty for Elordi and Isaac.
For real, half-naked and lubed up Branagh rolling around making full body contact with a fully-naked and lubed up Robert De Niro. Someone out there cites this as their gay awakening and I wish them well.
The 1994 Frankenstein is just painful. I am certain that the latest del Toro slop will be just as bad.
Frankenstein was an instant classic. Beautifully shot, and del Toro sure knows how to do “gothic.”
Watched “September 5th” yesterday. Due to not being alive at that time I haven’t heard about the details of that olympia histage situation and it was an okay movie for an okay evening
Watched “Elio” earlier this week and I was somewhat disappointed, but maybe I’ve been to tired to follow that story
You have never heard of the Munich Olympic Games hostages? OMG….
Never what?
Heard of
