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PostFri Aug 03, 2018 6:33 am 
I was "dragged" into a very different theme the other afternoon by nephew and grandson: "unfriended". Very dark (and *possibly* somewhat fact based) film about the dark web. Not as much a suspense film for me as perhaps for the kids, but it was a bit weird, and creepy. The one aspect that really stood out, for me anyway, was the start of the film. Show starts with no title, no introduction, you're just watching a computer screen as the lead character is doing whatever he's doing... then it gets weird. Enjoy....

"Out, OUT you demons of Stupidity"! - St Dogbert, patron Saint of Technology
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PostFri Aug 03, 2018 11:23 am 
"Blame" was pretty decent, although uncomfortable to watch. Indie teen drama with bullying and a couple of students who take an interest in a substitute teacher and he does a poor job of setting boundaries. It's not meant to be exploitative or titillating though. Probably the most interesting thing about the movie is the story behind it. One of the lead actresses, Quinn Shephard, I'd only recently become aware of. She wrote the script when she was 15, tweaked it a bit, then not only starred in it but also directed it when she was only 20. That just doesn't happen in Hollywood. Shot the film in 19 days, a tight schedule. While it's not a great film I think it was very competent. I'm really impressed that someone that young pulled off the double duty of directing and acting. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiqvuaDv9HcAhVXBjQIHUzqAdEQFjABegQIBxAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiewire.com%2F2017%2F04%2Fquinn-shephard-blame-tribeca-2017-1201808375%2F&usg=AOvVaw1EQ0mhnNpL-PyH75VUsWxf

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PostFri Aug 03, 2018 8:18 pm 
The Mole People (1956) Far-fetched (and implausible), but imaginative and quite different story line than most of the other 1950s "B" sci-fi/horror genre. Subterranean albinos (ostensibly the descendants of ancient Sumerians) keep mutant hunchback "mole people" as slaves to produce mushrooms, their sole food source. The "star" of the show is 1950's "B" regular John Agar, teamed up with none other than Hugh Beaumont (Beaver's dad) and Alan Napier (later Alfred the butler from "Batman") as the malevolent "high priest". While only having a 4.8 rating at IMDb, this one is actually better than a lot of the Saturday-night-at-the-drive-in pot-boilers that were being cranked out in the late 1950s. Personally I'd have preferred a different ending, but obviously the director thought otherwise.
The Mole People 1956
The Mole People 1956
The Mole People 1956
The Mole People 1956
(* For the record: no "mole people" abduct the heroine "Adad", played by Cynthia Patrick in what appears to be her only credited movie role. These are promotional still shots. *) (* NO idea where she found this one - it's not on YouTube, Netflix, or Hulu, but after poking around a bit on the web a link was found. *)

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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PostThu Aug 09, 2018 1:23 pm 
Critics seem to almost universally dislike based on true story sports movies. Not sure what their problem with the genre is. It's hard to criticize something as "too cliched" when it actually happened! Anyway, watched "The Miracle Season" about a high school volleyball team in Iowa mourning the loss of their captain and star player. I enjoyed it. Heart felt and well crafted. Any doubts about the accuracy of the film were put to rest during the end credits showing some footage of the actual players and community members. Apparently Caroline "Line" Found was a remarkable young woman who touched the lives of many people around her.

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PostThu Aug 09, 2018 2:41 pm 
Just saw “Three Complete Strangers” a documentary about triplets who were separated shortly after birth and later ran into each other at college. Starts out funny but takes a darker turn. 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Vaguely remember when it first happened but thought nothing of it but cute heartwarming story. Raises interesting questions about nature vs nurture and scientific ethics. up.gif up.gif great way to spend a hot afternoon.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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PostFri Aug 10, 2018 2:25 pm 
I've liked some of director Lynn Shelton's previous work. Watched "Outside In." Didn't care for it. Glacially paced, not particularly interesting and fairly cringy off and on. It's about a guy who served 20 years in jail and struggles to adjust to life once he's released. But...it was filmed mostly in Granite Falls and other locations in Snohomish County, so that alone made it somewhat intriguing. It was cool seeing La Playa Bonita and Omega Pizza and Pasta listed in the thanks section in the end credits. I'm a fan of Kaitlyn Dever but her character didn't have a lot to work with. Edie Falco was fairly mesmerizing despite my general disappointment with the film. Jay Duplass was meh as the lead character.

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PostThu Aug 23, 2018 2:32 pm 
"In Darkness" was a decent slow burn thriller. Starts off in familiar territory but eventually goes an entirely different direction. Natalie Dormer is a blind woman whose upstairs neighbor dies after falling from a window. Police call it a suicide but it's possible she was pushed out of the window. Dormer's character might've heard something. The blind murder witness thing has been done before but there's a whole lot more going on in this film.

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PostMon Aug 27, 2018 5:28 pm 
Looks like Movie Pass has finally stabilized hope to get some use til march 2019.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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PostThu Aug 30, 2018 10:06 pm 
I find so few alleged comedies funny anymore. "Tag" was pleasantly one of them. Not hilarious, but good laughs throughout, and just generally enjoyable. Based on a true story about a group of adults who had a continuous game of tag going for 30 years. Good cast, some you wouldn't necessarily peg for a comedy.

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PostThu Aug 30, 2018 10:09 pm 
"Upgrade" was a solid low budget sci fi action movie. A man's wife is murdered and he is left as a quadriplegic. A computer chip is surgically installed into the base of his neck that gives him full control of his body again, only better. He sets out on a revenge tour of those that were involved. Hits a few cliches but had some surprises as well. Fairly unknown cast (to me anyway) but they were good enough for the job. Definitely a brutally violent film at times, so not for the squeamish.

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PostWed Sep 05, 2018 9:32 pm 
I've been a big fan of Stephen Chow since "Shaolin Soccer" and "Kung Fu Hustle." He hasn't done anything as good since, but all of his films are inventive and very different from anything else. I was completely unaware of his 2016 film "The Mermaid" until just recently. Watched it tonight. As expected fairly off beat and weird, in a good way. Special effects were quite amateurish looking compared to his earlier stuff. Got some good laughs out of it. An attempted assassination scene gone terribly wrong reminded me of the bit in "Kung Fu Hustle" when the protagonist is repeatedly stabbed in the arm and then bitten in the face by several cobras (no really, it's hilarious, you have to see it to appreciate it). The opening was also great, in a so stupid it's funny kind of way. One surprise about this, his movies usually contain violence but in a totally cartoonish, Bugs Bunny/Road Runner kind of way with no real ramifications. This one had some actual violence that wasn't played for laughs.

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PostWed Sep 05, 2018 9:39 pm 
Shailene Woodley stood out to me at a fairly young age in "The Descendants." The Divergent series kinda crashed and burned but she's continued to find good roles and deliver fine performances. She did not disappoint in "Adrift." The drifting in the open ocean parts dragged a bit after a while, but overall it was very good. The hurricane scenes were intense. She's one of those actresses that is worth watching in just about anything.

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PostSat Sep 08, 2018 9:24 pm 
Horrors of Spider Island (aka "Body in the Web") 1960 - West German overdubbed in English The saxophone playing as the opening credits roll lets you know right from the outset you're in for an hour and a quarter of cheese and sleaze that is the lifeblood of 1950s and 1960s "B" horror cinema. In this case, however, there's way more skin than ooga-booga monsters when a dance troop of scantily-clad buxom young ladies (and their hairy-chested manager Gary) find themselves stranded on an uncharted desert isle, populated only by one very dead professor and an army of hokey low-budget spider monsters. This is one of those rare gems of cinema that has absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever: the acting is bad, the music is bad, the cinematography is bad, the editing is bad, and the overdubbing is even more bad. Amazingly, it has a score of 2.4 (out of 10) on IMDb. When you're in the mood to consume copious quantities of grain alcohol or imbibe in some brain-numbing ganja and are looking for something as mindless as you aspire to become, this is definitely one to consider.

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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PostSat Sep 08, 2018 11:13 pm 
Saw Juliet, naked a last hurrah of MoviePass OK romcom not that special amazed it got 80 on RT up.gif

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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PostSun Sep 09, 2018 10:10 am 
Horror of Party Beach - 1964 - 78 minutes The "Wikipedia" page notes that this is considered to be "one of the worst films of all time." The combination of really bad dialog, terrible acting, awful music, and comical "monster" costumes definitely supports that claim. Inexplicably, this one has a rating of 2.8 (out of 10) on IMDb, a higher rating than that of "Horrors of Spider Island", which at least has some value as humor. This one is lacking even in that, other than the ridiculous "monster" costumes worn by the radioactive bloodthirsty "monsters". Even with a cornucopia of lithe teenage girls in bikinis, a local biker gang, a handsome male lead (who could be a stand-in-double for a young James Franciscus), and a seemingly endless supply of shiny 1963 Chevrolets, the director just couldn't manage to pull this one off. A combination of enormous quantities of liquor and psychotropic drugs would not make this film any better, and certainly no less excruciating.

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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