Get Shorty - dir. Barry Sonnenfeld
A light and funny adaptation of the Elmore Leonard book of the same name. One of the few times I've liked Travolta in anything. Great cast (Hackman, Russo, Gandolfini, Midler, Lindo, De Vito etc.) great send up of Hollywood and crime flicks. Good stuff.
Leon: the Professional - dir. Luc Besson
One of my favorite 90's movies. Jean Reno as the loveable hitman. Gary Oldman chewing the scenery the vomiting it out and chewing it all over again. Danny Aielo as the, get this, mob guy who runs a shop! What a stretch, never saw it coming, etc. And introducing a Lolita-ish Natalie Portman. This movie is sometimes subtle, sometimes so over the top it can see its own bald spot. Cheesy, guilty fun.
The Five Deadly Venoms - dir. Cheh Cheng
Standard Shaw Brothers fare. Fun (if dated) choreography, wafer thin plot, strange wigs, and painful dubbing. I'm always tempted to turn the sound down and fast forward through the non-fighty parts. More fun if I've been drinking.
Penny Dreadful season one - dir. various
This is what we wanted from League of Extrodinary Gentlemen. A mash-up of sundry Victorian fictional influences (Victor Frankenstein, Dorian Grey) and other familiar types (Josh Hartnett's Ethan Chandler is very much like a Wild Bill Hickock) and the supernatural, occult-type stuff, including some of the best freak-me-out posession this side of the Exorcist. Eva Green is, as always, outstanding. For the life of me I cannot fathom why I haven't watched season two yet. I suck.
The Edge of Tomorrow - dir. Doug Liman
Huge Movie Star Tom Cruise and my current actress crush Emily Blunt in the most unfortunately named movie in recent memory. Just what was wrong with the title of the source graphic novel, All You Need is Kill? Edge of Tomorrow sounds like one of my Grandma's 'stories'. ANYway, this is a wonderful movie. Stellar concept. Brilliant action. Bleakly funny. Strangely uplifting. Love it.
The Last Picture Show - dir. Peter Bogdonovich
I covered this one here.
Pulp Fiction - dir. Quentin Tarantino
And I covered this one over here.
Come Drink With Me - dir. King Hu
See 'Five Deadly Venoms' above.
Golden Swallow - dir. Cheh Chang
See 'Come Drink With Me' above.
Taken - dir. Pierre Morel
For a movie that showed the world that Liam Neeson could be an action star, this is kind of boring. Derivitave action pap that wanted me to believe that forty-nine year-old Maggie Grace was a high school senior. Or something. I dunno. Bleh. Cool telephone speech though, Liam. And who doesn't like seeing fat human trafficking sheiks die painfully?
Kingsman: The Secret Service - dir. Matthew Vaughn
The best non-Bond Bond movie since True Lies. Vaughn continues to show that he is one of the best directors working today. This film is a fun, funny, pretty action/spy movie that has one of the best insane carnage-filled fight scenes ever. Just the right amount of seriousness. Just the right amount of whimsy. Just the right amount of awesome.
Okay. More soon. Have a luverly day.
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