Edward
Bartender
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"Edge of Seventeen" form 2016
A high school coming of age moving that was, for the most part, thoughtful, sensitive and intelligently done. Not our typical fair, but we saw the trailer and Woody Harrelson caught our attention as a sardonic teacher. He didn't disappoint as he shined in this supporting role - showing that real actors always bring something more to a role.
Sure, being a teen movie, there were some cliches and cringe-worthy moments, but if it pops up on cable or streaming and you're looking for an hour and half of not-too-challenging entertainment - it's worth the time.
I had a similar experience with The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It caught me with the nostalgia of the Rocky Horror bit (longtime shadowcaster myself), but it really was a sweet little film with a realistic feel to it. Believable characters. I also loved Tom SAvini's cameo as a high school woodwork teacher.
Equilibrium - a 2002 SF future dystopia film with Christian Bale. This was downright terrible, with every aspect of the story borrowed from other, better dystopia stories:
I found it entertaining enough, if, as you say, vastly derivative. The emtions thing reminded me of a 2000AD comic book property, but I can't recall the name of the character.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2... I'm still processing my feelings.
Minus the wonderful surprises of the first film (the rare Marvel property I didn't have a long history with, and my knowledge of the initial 70s comics versions of Drax and Gamora didn't help much), this one pushes even harder into the characters - it could have been subtitled "Daddy Issues". There's still plenty of action and wonderment, but the character interactions are more important, which is actually pretty gutsy. Lots of laughs, lots of cute... maybe too much? And at least it doesn't have the one-dimensional villain character that's usually the weakest thing in the Marvel films.
If you liked the first, you'll like this one. It's very entertaining, and loaded with interesting Easter eggs for old Marvel fans (for example, the Stan Lee cameo). But there's something about it that didn't quite work for me that I can't put my finger on.
Not mentioned anywhere I've seen: there's a(nother) new Marvel Studios logo at the beginning... which uses quick shots from the MCU films rather than the comics images montage of previous versions.
WE're gonig to see that when I get home from Beijing again next week. It has an added layer of amusement in our house, as thed cat is obsessed with Rocket. We watched the first on Netflix and enjoyed it very much - but my tabby Greta kept running in and excitedly nosing at the screen every time Rocket spoke. We bought her a talking soft toy Rocket, and she seems to love it....
MURPHY'S WAR (1971) starring Peter O'Toole
A lone survivor from a WW2 British naval ship is obsessed with getting revenge on a German U-boat crew that massacred his shipmates in the water.
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I remember watching that oin a tiny black and white portable television in our caravan, on holiday in either Wales or Scotland, back in the early eighties. I remember it very clearly as it was the first time I encountered the concept of a Pyrrhic victory (though I wouldn't know that term until much later on).