Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Part#: Some High Number +4

[Osprey]

Outback (2019) - 5/10 (Didn't like or dislike it)

American high school sweethearts (Lauren Lofberg, Taylor Wiese) take a trip to Australia and end up getting lost in the Outback. This is a survival drama that is based on a true story. The drama starts as soon as they land because, apparently, Wade proposed on the plane and Lisa said "no." This understandably complicates their vacation. Ironically, from that point on, they act more like a married couple than if she had said "yes," but I digress. It was a nice change of pace from your standard "having the time of their lives until..." trope, and them not working together even helps explain some of their poor decisions. Speaking of which, this is one of those movies that's filled with poor decisions, but at least it's a true story, so you can't fault the script. Naturally, Wade and Lisa keep making things worse, though they do make some smart choices, too. Besides poor decisions, this movie features a lot of walking, laying face up on the ground and shots of parched lips. Oh, and there's more urine drinking than an episode of Man vs. Wild. Have a large drink next to you to wash the imaginary taste from your mouth each time that the characters take a swig. Speaking of the characters, it's acted well enough. I wanted to like the movie because it has some things going for it, but, unfortunately, it's not very exciting or tense, not even at the end. I didn't find it boring, thanks to the human drama, but it felt like watching a Dateline episode about the incident, except without voice over narration. Much of the story is very, very familiar because you've seen and heard ones like it before. I don't regret watching it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. If you like survival TV shows or stories about real life survival, you may care to check it out. If you're looking for a gripping movie or interesting story, you may want to pass.

 

[kihei]

The Day After I'm Gone (2019) Directed by Nimrod Eldar 7A

Set in the outskirts of contemporary Tel Aviv, this first-time effort by director Nimrod Eldar examines a troubled father/daughter relationship. Well into middle-age, Yoram is still trying to cope with the death of his wife the previous year. A quiet man to begin with, he seems to have gone even further into a shell. He has a rocky relationship with his 17-year-old daughter Roni and her attempts at rebellious independence seem to rankle him. But then Roni attempts suicide, something that Yoram didn't see coming, and he has to find a way to respond to the desperation she feels. But he just might not have it in him to do so. One reviewer called The Day After I'm Gone a minimalist movie, but I sure don't see it that way. Under a deceptively placid surface, there are a lot of big emotions going on here having to do with grief, the blessing and curse of family, the festering nature of issues not addressed, dealing with a loved one's pain, and so on. Laced with subtle bits of humour,the script allows us to know these characters and sense their backstories through the use of a few judicious details and a minimum of fuss. As well, the direction is very stylish, and the emotional impact by the end is considerable. Helping all these themes to come to fruition, excellent performances by Menashe Noy and, especially, Zohar Meiden add to the authenticity and depth of feeling of the story. The Day After I'm Gone may seem a modest effort to some, but it left a big impact on me.

subtitles

available on MUBI

 

[ORRFForever]

High Life

with Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, and not very many other people.

RPat in space. He's shaven-headed, gaunt, wearing ragged clothes, and caring for a wee toddler. They're alone in a spaceship with a garden, crib, and not a lot else. Claustrophobia, ritualized behaviours and loneliness are clearly the order of business, as you might expect when you're on a spaceship cuddling up to a black hole light-years away from every other human ever born. Slowly, we get some non-chronological backstory; he's a condemned criminal, the last of the small crew who signed up for an experimental ride out into space to try to get energy from a black hole via the Penrose Process (grab a beverage, settle in and google that). Small bits of personal backstory sift in from the guarded prisoner/warder interactions between the crew and psychobitch doctor during the trip...and man, is she ever a piece of work. One wonders what horrors lurk in the garbage collected from her trailer during the shoot.

There really are no big questions in this movie, just small human interactions that build up over time. It's a nice change of pace from what you usually find in modern scifi. It's a small story that somehow manages to say more than the entire new Star Wars trilogy. And the other two Star Wars movies that also came out.

Oh, and the wikipedia article about it gives a totally f***ed recap. FYI.

On Prime.

And then, the sparkly vampire said: "I wanna be taken seriously as an actor!"

My old review...

High Life [2019] :

High Life opens with a man and his baby daughter on a space ship. They're alone. The man feeds and cares for her, all while struggling with his inner demons. The man then dumps a bunch of dead bodies overboard. What follows is the back story...

* The man is a killer;
* He and a handful of other convicts were sent to a black hole;
* All hell broke loose along the way.

High Life is two LONG hours of sex and violence. And while it's enjoyable to see the still beautiful/sexy Juliette Binoche in the "F*** Box", those two minutes of voyeuristic fun don't make up for all the other ugliness.

I'm not a Sci-Fi guy so it's not surprising that I didn't like this well received movie.

3.5/10

Movie Trailer :

 

[ORRFForever]

Outback (2019) - 5/10 (Didn't like or dislike it)

American high school sweethearts (Lauren Lofberg, Taylor Wiese) take a trip to Australia and end up getting lost in the Outback. This is a survival drama that is based on a true story. The drama starts as soon as they land because, apparently, Wade proposed on the plane and Lisa said "no." This understandably complicates their vacation. Ironically, from that point on, they act more like a married couple than if she had said "yes," but I digress. It was a nice change of pace from your standard "having the time of their lives until..." trope, and their not working together even helps explain some of their poor decisions. Speaking of which, this is one of those movies that's filled with the poor decisions, but at least it's a true story, so you can't fault the script. Naturally, Wade and Lisa keep making things worse, though they do make some smart choices, too. Besides poor decisions, this movie features a lot of walking, laying face up on the ground and shots of parched lips. Oh, and there's more urine drinking than an episode of Man vs. Wild. Have a large drink next to you to wash the imaginary taste from your mouth each time that the characters take a swig. Speaking of the characters, it's acted well. I wanted to like the movie because it has some things going for it, but, unfortunately, it's not very exciting or tense, not even at the end. I didn't find it boring, thanks to the human drama, but it felt like watching a Dateline episode of the incident, except without the voice over narration. I don't regret watching it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. If you like survival shows or stories of real life survival, you may care to check it out. If you're looking for a gripping or exciting movie, you may want to pass.

Well written post.

A LOT of "meh" movies being released during the pandemic.

 

[ORRFForever]

I don't think my wife did either. She gave it a "huh. It's a movie." as her review.

I can't blame her.

If I wanted to spend 2 hours with loud, dirty, miserable, CRUDE people, screaming at the top of their lungs while trying to kill each other, I'd hang out at <fill in the blank with one of the celebratory occasions below> ...

* My cousin's wedding.
* My nephew's bar mitzva;
* Christmas eve at my in-laws;
* My sister's Thanksgiving dinner party.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

The Pit And The Pendulum (Gordon, 1991) - Although it's somewhat close in tones (horror with some elements of comedy) to his legendary early films, this is not on-par with the most satisfying stuff from Gordon - perhaps because the more serious elements of the narrative (namely the Inquisition and its trials and executions of the heretics) don't mix well with his no-shit-given approach (the "witch" stuffing herself with gun powder before getting burned at the stake being the peak of the absurdity here). With some nudity and mishandling of its female lead, it comes off as an early predecessor to later torture porn. Gordon still achieves a few more notable moments (especially a side-bit with fun performances from both Oliver Reed and Lance Henriksen, taken from The Cask of Amontillado, another short story from Poe). Apart from that bit, there's nothing from Poe here but the title of the film, and the famous pendulum for a single sequence (which was also the case in the Roger Corman adaptation - in fact that one was even further away from the original material). 4 /10



Le puits et le pendule (Astruc, 1964) - TV adaptation of the Poe short story, famous for being as close as possible to the original text (so much so that it's for most parts a reading of the - acclaimed - translation by Charles Baudelaire). If you're too lazy to read Poe, you could just as well watch this 37 minutes film (crazy the stuff you can find on YouTube... "in my days", you'd have to search for months to find this). Just like the original story, even in a short format, it manages to feel kind of too long, and like the original, it really lacks in the terror it tries to convey. The agonizing length of the pendulum's descent (and the real fear you feel for the rats!) are the most efficient elements here. It is still quite impressive for a TV adaptation from the time, and quite a bit better than the feature film adaptations of the same tale. 5.5/10



The Pit, the Pendulum, and Hope (Kyvadlo, jama a nadeje, Svankmajer, 1984) - Best adaptation of the Poe short story, which Svankmajer follows faithfully for the first 10 1/2 minutes of this short film, but - contrarily to Astruc - without resorting to its letter and instead making it a true cinematographic adaptation. He uses subjective camerawork to adapt Poe's first person tale, and some of his signature animation to convey the 'on the brink of madness' feeling of the short story (in this, the film feels like a more efficient adaptation than the Astruc one, even adding elements and details the older film couldn't put to screen - "Demon eyes, of a wild and ghastly vivacity, glared upon me in a thousand directions, where none had been visible before, and gleamed with the lurid lustre of a fire that I could not force my imagination to regard as unreal"). Like in the original material, you have the pendulum sequence with the rats, then the pit sequence with the moving walls (and burning iron), and instead of the abrupt and very unatmospheric ending to Poe's tale, Svankmajer switches to another short story (the "Hope" from the title): Villiers de l'Isle-Adam's A Torture By Hope, starting at the "closed door", a mashup that works amazingly well. A great adaptation of two subpar terror tales. 7.5/10

Some reading material....
The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe
The Cask of Amontillado - Poe's Works | Edgar Allan Poe Museum
A Torture by Hope. Villiers de l'Isle-Adam - Cordula's Web

 

[Osprey]

The Pit And The Pendulum (Gordon, 1991) - Although it's somewhat close in tones (horror with some elements of comedy) to his legendary early films, this is not on-par with the most satisfying stuff from Gordon - perhaps because the more serious elements of the narrative (namely the Inquisition and its trials and executions of the heretics) don't mix well with his no-shit-given approach (the "witch" stuffing herself with gun powder before getting burned at the stake being the peak of the absurdity here). With some nudity and mishandling of its female lead, it comes off as an early predecessor to later torture porn. Gordon still achieves a few more notable moments (especially a side-bit with fun performances from both Oliver Reed and Lance Henriksen, taken from The Cask of Amontillado, another short story from Poe). Apart from that bit, there's nothing from Poe here but the title of the film, and the famous pendulum for a single sequence (which was also the case in the Roger Corman adaptation - in fact that one was even further away from the original material). 4 /10



Le puits et le pendule (Astruc, 1964) - TV adaptation of the Poe short story, famous for being as close as possible to the original text (so much so that it's for most parts a reading of the - acclaimed - translation by Charles Baudelaire). If you're too lazy to read Poe, you could just as well watch this 37 minutes film (crazy the stuff you can find on YouTube... "in my days", you'd have to search for months to find this). Just like the original story, even in a short format, it manages to feel kind of too long, and like the original, it really lacks in the terror it tries to convey. The agonizing length of the pendulum's descent (and the real fear you feel for the rats!) are the most efficient elements here. It is still quite impressive for a TV adaptation from the time, and quite a bit better than the feature film adaptations of the same tale. 5.5/10



The Pit, the Pendulum, and Hope (Kyvadlo, jama a nadeje, Svankmajer, 1984) - Best adaptation of the Poe short story, which Svankmajer follows faithfully for the first 10 1/2 minutes of this short film, but - contrarily to Astruc - without resorting to its letter and instead making it a true cinematographic adaptation. He uses subjective camerawork to adapt Poe's first person tale, and some of his signature animation to convey the 'on the brink of madness' feeling of the short story (in this, the film feels like a more efficient adaptation than the Astruc one, even adding elements and details the older film couldn't put to screen - "Demon eyes, of a wild and ghastly vivacity, glared upon me in a thousand directions, where none had been visible before, and gleamed with the lurid lustre of a fire that I could not force my imagination to regard as unreal"). Like in the original material, you have the pendulum sequence with the rats, then the pit sequence with the moving walls (and buring iron), and instead of the abrupt and very unatmospheric ending to Poe's tale, Svankmajer switches to another short story (the "Hope" from the title): Villiers de l'Isle-Adam's A Torture By Hope, starting at the "closed door", a mashup that works amazingly well. A great adaptation of two subpar terror tales. 7.5/10

Some reading material....
The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe
The Cask of Amontillado - Poe's Works | Edgar Allan Poe Museum
A Torture by Hope. Villiers de l'Isle-Adam - Cordula's Web

What, no 1961 version with Vincent Price? That's the one that I'm familiar with. I assume that you've already seen that and just chose to check out some of the littler known adaptations. Oh, I see that you did reference it in your 1991 adaptation review. Speaking of which, I may have to check that one out, as bad as it looks.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

What, no 1961 version with Vincent Price? That's the classic and the only one that I'm familiar with. I assume that you've already seen that and just chose to check out some of the littler known adaptations?

I went through a Pit and Pendulum day, but didn't feel the courage to watch the Corman version. I actually prefer the Stuart Gordon one, so that kind of makes it the worse of the four! But don't take my word for it, I'm a fan of Gordon (actually met him once!) and really not a fan of Corman. Also, I think Henriksen does a (lot) better job than Price, which is probably not a popular opinion either.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Can any of you that are in Canada and have Amazon Prime Canada, check if they have Spanish subtitles for at least some of their content in English? Doesn't even have to be a movie either, I'll even take a kids show.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Can any of you that are in Canada and have Amazon Prime Canada, check if they have Spanish subtitles for at least some of their content in English? Doesn't even have to be a movie either, I'll even take a kids show.

I only checked randomly at the Upload series, and yes, they have both esnanol and portugues. They even have the audio.

 

[Langdon Alger]

Gone Girl - 2014

10/10

Love this movie. I’ve seen most of David Fincher’s movies. This one and Zodiac are my favourites. Ben Affleck gives a good performance, but it’s Rosamund Pike who steals the show. Her performance is amazing. Tyler Perry does a nice job in a supporting role. There isn’t a dull moment in this movie for me, and it’s one I can watch over and over. There’s only one thing that bothers me about this movie, if you’ve seen the film you can likely guess what it is. I guess if you’re like me and you have a weak stomach, it would bother you.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Renata And Her Sisters

Interiors (Allen, 1978) - I convinced myself in the Woody Allen thread to watch this one. Coming off a previous leap from Love And Death to Annie Hall, I guess this new leap to Interiors must have come as not too much of a surprise at the time. Today, considering his whole body of work, Woody's three "Bergman films" (not an etiquette that I like much) really stick out like sore thumbs. Slow-paced, with dialogues sometimes too thin or vain (especially from Keaton's Renata) to carry the desired gravity (making the dynamic's construction a little arduous) the film eventually comes together and is overall a pretty interesting effort. 7/10

Coincidentally, Renata And Her Sister is a photography by Jewish photographer Ilse Bing, who among other things, has a few famous pictures of New York in her portfolio. The kind of things I would have had a lot of fun with in a previous life.

Also of interest, at some point in the film, Renata's sister (the one who's trying to be a photograph, but no matter here) says, regarding the complex relationships at work: "Whatever works", something Vicky (the one that hangs out with Cristina in Barcelona) would also say 30 years later, a year before the film is actually made.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Can any of you that are in Canada and have Amazon Prime Canada, check if they have Spanish subtitles for at least some of their content in English? Doesn't even have to be a movie either, I'll even take a kids show.

Some do. Quick random sample--less than Netflix, and seems to depend on the show. Recent run stuff seems to have more options.

 

[kihei]

Wasp Network (2020) Directed by Olivier Assayas 5B

Wasp Network is a surprisingly sympathetic look at a collection of Cuban infiltrators who in the '80s risked their lives to become moles among the many anti-Castro Cuban groups in Miami that were financing and organizing acts of terrorism back home in order to undermine Castro and his regime. French director Olivier Assayas builds the case that these moles were national heroes who focused only on protecting Cuba from the conspiracies of rich expats. It is a refreshing and unexpected perspective, but it's not a good movie. Despite an exceptionally impressive international cast--Penelope Cruz, Gael Garcia Bernal, Edgar Ramirez, Wagner Moura--the movie is a flat, uninspired ramble that takes too long to find its focus and then, once it does, relies too heavily on restaurant-table dialogue to move its narrative forward. With very little action in evidence, no real sense of urgency is ever developed. Wasp Network's story deserved a much better effort than it gets here.

subtitles

now on Netflix

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I went through a Pit and Pendulum day, but didn't feel the courage to watch the Corman version. I actually prefer the Stuart Gordon one, so that kind of makes it the worse of the four! But don't take my word for it, I'm a fan of Gordon (actually met him once!) and really not a fan of Corman. Also, I think Henriksen does a (lot) better job than Price, which is probably not a popular opinion either.

One of the odder, more obscure running jokes/references between myself and a couple friends is Price's dramatic "True! True! True!" proclamation near the end of Pit.

But yeah, movie doesn't do much for me. Their Masque of the Red Death, however, is a treat.

 

[Osprey]

The Pit And The Pendulum (Gordon, 1991) - Although it's somewhat close in tones (horror with some elements of comedy) to his legendary early films, this is not on-par with the most satisfying stuff from Gordon - perhaps because the more serious elements of the narrative (namely the Inquisition and its trials and executions of the heretics) don't mix well with his no-shit-given approach (the "witch" stuffing herself with gun powder before getting burned at the stake being the peak of the absurdity here). With some nudity and mishandling of its female lead, it comes off as an early predecessor to later torture porn. Gordon still achieves a few more notable moments (especially a side-bit with fun performances from both Oliver Reed and Lance Henriksen, taken from The Cask of Amontillado, another short story from Poe). Apart from that bit, there's nothing from Poe here but the title of the film, and the famous pendulum for a single sequence (which was also the case in the Roger Corman adaptation - in fact that one was even further away from the original material). 4 /10

I just finished this. I was surprised that I actually kind of liked it. Bits of it reminded me of Army of Darkness and The Princess Bride (at least the Pit of Despair portion). I could've used more humor, since that's what really worked for me. I enjoyed the first half more than the second because that's where more of the humor is, but those who appreciate their horror more serious would likely prefer the second half. Speaking of which, it's funny that Lance Henriksen (who, I'm reading, stayed in character and ate nothing but bread and water between filming) plays his character totally seriously, while the scenes without him are less intense and more irreverent. I was impressed by the sets. For being straight-to-video, the movie looks pretty good. In fact, for being straight-to-video, the movie isn't half bad, at least if you grew up on stuff like this on late night subscription cable and videocassette. I liked it enough that I'm going to check out Gordon's earlier films, which I might've seen (especially his first), but don't remember. Speaking of Gordon, how is the guy who wrote and directed a couple of B-movie horror classics (as well as this movie, with its gore, torture and nudity) the same guy who wrote Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and its sequels around the same time?

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I just finished this. I was surprised that I actually kind of liked it. Bits of it reminded me of Army of Darkness and The Princess Bride (at least the Pit of Despair portion). I could've used more humor, since that's what really worked for me. I enjoyed the first half more than the second because that's where more of the humor is, but those who appreciate their horror more serious would likely prefer the second half. Speaking of which, it's funny that Lance Henriksen (who, I'm reading, stayed in character and ate nothing but bread and water between filming) plays his character totally seriously, while the scenes without him are less intense and more irreverent. I was impressed by the sets. For being straight-to-video, the movie looks pretty good. In fact, for being straight-to-video, the movie isn't half bad, at least if you grew up on stuff like this on late night subscription cable and videocassette. I liked it enough that I'm going to check out Gordon's earlier films, which I might've seen (especially his first), but don't remember.

Glad you kind of liked it! IMDB Trivia also says that Henriksen was not a fan of the humor and that Gordon let him play it out as he wished, so that explains a lot of the weird tonal shifts. As for his other films go, if you haven't seen Re-Animator, it's certainly a classic and a must-see. From Beyond to me is even better, but is absolutely unwatchable for a lot of people - its kink, its body horror, and its cheese, are all pushed to absurd limits. His best Lovecraft adaptation - possibly the best Lovecraft adaptation I've seen - came 15 years later with Dagon. He ended up doing some seriously interesting and unique films with Edmond and King of the Ants, with along the way either some fun little forgettable films (The Pit and the Pendulum, Castle Freak), some very boring and forgettable films (Daughter of Darkness), or some shameful cheese-fest (Robot Jox - think Pacific Rim without the means for F/X). Anyway, the guy's never been a doer, always tried to push the envelop and to come up with stuff that were truly his, and you feel a strong signature in most of his films.

Speaking of Gordon, how is the guy who wrote and directed a couple of B-movie horror classics (as well as this movie, with its gore, torture and nudity) the same guy who wrote Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and its sequels around the same time?

He was supposed to direct it, but health problems took him out of the project at the last minute. Can you imagine?.... The guy who took his place ended up directing Captain America (!!!)... Brian Yuzna, his producer at first and the guy who launched him into directing (Gordon was from theater) ended up directing a few interesting things himself where Gordon's influence is obvious (among them Bride of Re-Animator and Society).

 

[ORRFForever]

Renata And Her Sisters

Interiors (Allen, 1978) - I convinced myself in the Woody Allen thread to watch this one. Coming off a previous leap from Love And Death to Annie Hall, I guess this new leap to Interiors must have come as not too much of a surprise at the time. Today, considering his whole body of work, Woody's three "Bergman films" (not an etiquette that I like much) really stick out like sore thumbs. Slow-paced, with dialogues sometimes too thin or vain (especially from Keaton's Renata) to carry the desired gravity (making the dynamic's construction a little arduous) the film eventually comes together and is overall a pretty interesting effort. 7/10

Coincidentally, Renata And Her Sister is a photography by Jewish photographer Ilse Bing, who among other things, has a few famous pictures of New York in her portfolio. The kind of things I would have had a lot of fun with in a previous life.

Also of interest, at some point in the film, Renata's sister (the one who's trying to be a photograph, but no matter here) says, regarding the complex relationships at work: "Whatever works", something Vicky (the one that hangs out with Cristina in Barcelona) would also say 30 years later, a year before the film is actually made.

I didn't like it either. The photograph (above) is the best thing that ever came out of Interiors.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I didn't like it either. The photograph (above) is the best thing that ever came out of Interiors.

Euhm, well, my comment is not overwhelmingly enthousiastic, ok, but I thought it was interesting, and I did like the second half quite a lot. Anyway 7/10, for me, is a very good rating - that's for films I recommend.

 

[ORRFForever]

Gone Girl - 2014

10/10

Love this movie. I’ve seen most of David Fincher’s movies. This one and Zodiac are my favourites. Ben Affleck gives a good performance, but it’s Rosamund Pike who steals the show. Her performance is amazing. Tyler Perry does a nice job in a supporting role. There isn’t a dull moment in this movie for me, and it’s one I can watch over and over. There’s only one thing that bothers me about this movie, if you’ve seen the film you can likely guess what it is. I guess if you’re like me and you have a weak stomach, it would bother you.

Did you read the book (first)?

I read the book first and saw the twist coming. I wonder if I would have enjoyed the movie more if I'd seen it first.

 

[ORRFForever]

Euhm, well, my comment is not overwhelmingly enthousiastic, ok, but I thought it was interesting, and I did like the second half quite a lot. Anyway 7/10, for me, is a very good rating - that's for films I recommend.

I got caught up with what I agreed with from your review and missed the rest. My bad. Sorry.

Plus, the picture is mesmerizing. It distracted me.

 

[Langdon Alger]

Did you read the book (first)?

I read the book first and saw the twist coming. I wonder if I would have enjoyed the movie more if I'd seen it first.

No, I have never read the book. Not a big reader actually, so I knew nothing about it going into it, which I’m happy about.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019) - Go f*** yourself you cynical piece of shit. That this has received critical acclaim is a disgrace and I will never trust a reviewer who gave this a good review. Even Sorkin isn't that awful. Guilty of the most manipulating, commercial offense one can think of. I'd rather have djinns festive at my elbow but I'm certain they've crafted a fine nest in the head of the chimp who directed this film.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Da 5 Bloods

with black guys with PTSD and not much foresight.

Spike Lee teams with Netflix to bring us this timely tale of four elderly Vietnam veterans who return to the Nam to hopefully find and repatriate the remains of their revered squad leader...and oh yeah, dig up a stonking huge cache of gold bars they buried during the war. The five of them were ambushed on a mission to recover the gold bars (bribe money for a local tribe to fight the VC with the US forces) from a downed CIA transport, lost their leader, and they stashed the gold rather than surrender it. The remaining four meet up in modern-day Ho Chi Minh City when they get wind of a news report saying a landslide unearthed the tail of the plane...and time has not been kind to them. Paul (Delroy Lindo) in particular is a bitter, PTSD-wracked shamble of a man...who suddenly has to deal with his son who he despises showing up unannounced and deciding to come along. Otis meets his old girlfriend and discovers he has a daughter (who's about twenty years younger than she should be), but mostly wants to hook up with her import/export connection, a dubious Jean Reno who may as well have I WILL f*** YOU stamped on his forehead. We see some cliches, some aggressive chicken salesmen on boats, and lots of jungle. Also betrayal, paranoia, ridiculous random luck, flashbacks, and political commentary that lots of people predictably got hung up on.

Spike Lee's best movie in years. Either you can psychologically cope with the fact that the US treats and always has treated black people like shit, or you can't. The vets all lament the fact they were sent halfway across the globe to fight, kill and die for a country that doesn't have much interest in their welfare then or now. The aspect ratio and resolution sometimes shift to early 70's levels, and the flashbacks still have the actors as their current selves. Even as old men, they're still there, back in the huey with their squad leader Norman, being shot to pieces hovering over the LZ. There are still secrets, though. Also some rich white folks who are there to clear mines...yeah. Those are still a problem. For more than a few people here.

The movie that launched a thousand trolls.

 

[Osprey]

The movie that launched a thousand trolls.

I know that this is where you typically put your joke, but are you suggesting that those of us who disliked the film don't have good reasons for it other than personal/political ones? If so, I'd like to point out that 1) most of us have made long lists of all of the specific faults that we feel that the film has, 2) many people who agree with the message disliked and have criticized the film, and 3) you listed a handful of criticisms in your own review, but gave no good reasons for why you liked it except for personal/political ones. For the record, I don't think that it's wrong to like the film simply because of the message, but the reasons for disliking it go beyond that.