Deliverance. Pretty incredible movie. I like the sound work, the atmospherics. Young Jon Voight here reminds me of a young version of my dad (minus the rock climbing). Man vs. wild is just another name for man vs. man. 🤔
Tag: film
Willow Creek
Willow Creek. This had some fun sound design. Super intense at the climax. Good chemistry from our lead pair, too. No masterpiece, but it takes the mold from The Blair Witch Project, trims some fat, and gives us what we want. Like in The Orphanage, I like the stress more than the scares.
Transsiberian
Transsiberian. Man, Woody Harrelson is a treasure.
Testament
Testament. Really good. I’d like to see more post-apocalyptic films like this. It’s just people, a community, dealing with it and trying to support each other. How times change and how it changes them. Good slow burn.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Cool mostly for the fact that the cave exists, and that they got extended access to it. I saw some pictographs out in Utah a couple years ago, maybe a square meter or so’s worth on a cliff wall, and still think of them with awe. Can’t imagine what a whole cave-ful is like in person. Filed under: Werner Herzog.
Mr. Brooks
Mr. Brooks. Two things I really like here: 1) villainous Kevin Costner (cf. A Perfect World) and 2) showing the subconscious/alter ego/devil on the shoulder in William Hurt. I think the plot might have a bit too much going on, but it’s fun stuff.
The Uninvited (2009)
The Uninvited (2009). A remake of a Korean film. Elizabeth Banks and David Strathairn are just about always worth a watch, but this one can be skipped. Less than 90 minutes though! Maybe I just prefer more loose ends?
Klute
Klute. A young Jane Fonda and a young Donald Sutherland. I don’t remember ever seeing them performing young. Didn’t love the movie, but just to see and understand the early talent is cool. Good companion films: Three Days of the Condor, The Parallax View, All the President’s Men, Night Moves.
Night Moves
Night Moves. This was great. So much despair in sunny places. Gene Hackman has a crazy amount of charisma. (The more recent and unrelated movie called Night Moves is good, too.)
Psycho
Mulholland Falls
Mulholland Falls. If you must watch an early/mid-century L.A. crime tale, let it be Chinatown instead.
The Fly (1986)
The Fly (1986). Excellent. I hadn’t seen this in ages. I remember watching it as a kid and being kinda bored and impatient. Totally different experience as an adult. You kinda know what’s coming and it’s supported and pushed the whole way with the character development. Fun performance.
You Were Never Really Here
You Were Never Really Here. I don’t really… get it… but Phoenix is great. I’m glad he’s finding himself some oddball roles to live in.
Trust
Trust. Pretty good. And sad. But count me in for anything featuring Keener and Davis.
A Star Is Born (2018)
A Star Is Born (2018). Didn’t fall in love with it as it seems so many others did. Really loved the first hour or so. The build-ups to the musical set-pieces were perfectly manipulative – such perfect pace and timing and stakes. Ally’s career seemed a bit too easy and magical, and the snapshots of whirlwind success kinda killed the second half for me. But it’s not just her story. Good stuff.
Nosferatu
Nosferatu. The cut back and forth during the sleepwalk is so good. I like those creepy Venus fly traps and spiders. The score in my version had some Sibelius quotes – nice. Didn’t expect the tie-in with the plague, but I really like it.
Rear Window
Rear Window. Masterpiece. Saw this one at a revival screening. What a treat to see it on a big screen. Still my favorite Hitchcock.
El Orfanato (The Orphanage)
El Orfanato (The Orphanage). I really like stressful movies like this. Dread and anxiety make the best kind of horror.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas. It’s a classic. Holds up well on my 10-millionth rewatch. Lots of lovely little details in music, scenery, etc.. (Previously.)
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider. So fun! I love how you see our characters growth – a bike race in familiar neighborhoods, a foot chase from some teenage thugs, waterboarding with a showerhead? We get lower stakes, and mistakes, but similar thrills. Even when the difficulty ratchets up, we see a cycle of vulnerability, fear, panic… and then determination. Our hero is not invincible, not inevitable. (Reminds me of Die Hard that way.) I like seeing the increasing influence of MMA in recent action films – more grappling, jujitsu, throws, locks, holds.
Mark Larson 