AndyDursin wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 10:55 pm Did you watch the American "highlight reel' SHOGUN ASSASSIN? All the "good parts" rolled into.one 90 minute feature.

Seriously it was a big cult hit at the time. Music by the IN SEARCH OF... guys.

In that case I'll go with the original cuts!

Oh it's definitely a different viewing experience!! But keep in mind these movies aren't exactly Kurosawa-like dramatic affairs. They're kind of Japanese B-movies based on a manga I believe, and really only the first three are worth it (the later ones kind of peter out). So at least here, the American distillation, in this instance, isn't really "sacrilege" if you get my drift. It's not like they hacked up SEVEN SAMURAI.

SHOGUN ASSASSIN takes the first 10 minutes of the first LONE WOLF movie and basically the entire 2nd movie, dubs it into English (fairly well at that), and strips out "the boring parts". It also adds narration from the point of view of the kid looking back on their adventures which is effective (and the Japanese version does not have).

Either way it's pretty cool as a relic of the late '70s. Here's the fantastic trailer with voice-over from the SUPERMAN guy ("this time is going to be the BEST time!"):

I am waiting until I watch the other three films in the set before watching Shogun Assassin. I agree with Andy...not high brow samurai cinema but entertaining for what they are. Very violent but also times where there are legitimately touching moments (to me anyway).

I got a little jaded when I had the Criterion Channel, because a lot of the "Chambaras" I watched were terrible. I wasn't expecting Seven Samurai every time out, but many of them were just so schlocky, on the level of Roger Corman or American International movies. I gave-up!

HILLBILLY ELEGY
7/10

Ron Howard's adaptation of J.D. Vance's bestselling memoir about growing up in Appalachia and trying to make it into law school while dealing with assorted "hill people" family issues has been thoroughly destroyed by snarky movie critics -- most of whom have been undoubtedly affronted by Vance's politics and infrequent visits to Tucker Carlson's Fox News show.

Taking away the ridiculous vitriol that's greeted this Netflix movie, this is a compelling, if somewhat superficial, drama with excellent performances from Amy Adams as Vance's troubled mother and Glenn Close as the cigarette smoking grandmother who sets Vance's teenage alter-ego on the right track. The movie jumps around a lot from the "present" -- with Vance, now a law student, returning home to take care of his mother's latest overdose -- to the past, where generations of abuse and disappointment have taken a profound toll on their family.

Granted the overall treatment of this material may be too "slick" and not "gritty" enough for some -- and the narrative structure could've been cleaned up and some dramatic details explored even further -- yet this is still a polished and worthwhile film, down to Hans Zimmer and David Fleming's scoring, and superb performances from the cast. Even condensed into a two-hour form, "Hillbilly Elegy" is very watchable -- ranking as one of Howard's better efforts in a long time, and a film with a positive, inspiring personal message that still comes across in the finished product.

AndyDursin wrote: ↑Sat Nov 28, 2020 1:17 am HILLBILLY ELEGY
7/10

I re-susbscribed to Netflix last week to watch The King, so I will check this one out before my subscription expires (yeah, I already canceled it!).

If my wife and daughter didn't want Netflix, I'd cancel it. Too much woke junk.

Johnmgm wrote: ↑Sat Nov 28, 2020 6:45 pm If my wife and daughter didn't want Netflix, I'd cancel it. Too much woke junk.

I think there's been a little worthwhile stuff on NF -- but I watched it all! None of their "original series" have impressed me, and mostly seem like cheap imitations of popular shows on other networks / streaming services.

As far as Hillbilly Elegy, I just finished it. It wasn't without touching, even compelling moments, with good performances (Glenn Close in particular was superb), but mostly it felt like a Lifetime Original Movie with bad words.

I've seen some good stuff on Netflix (The Ballad of Buster Skruggs was exceptional), but not enough to justify paying for it on a monthly basis (speaking strictly for myself, not trying to change minds). Most of their programming is new stuff, or stuff meant to appeal to audiences younger than me (I'm 56). I don't blame Netflix for not catering to the 56 year old market, but I'm turned off by the woke stuff that seems to exist on an indoctrinational level aimed at kids. I know this type of programming is par for the course in the entertainment (and educational) industry, but I hate paying for it.

For me, there's enough for me to pay for a monthly subscription. I mean it's less than the cost of 1 movie ticket a month. Theo watches a ton of older animated series which they have on there, so even if we're not watching something together, he gets enough mileage out of it. Some of the original content is good, a lot of it sucks -- my main problem with them is I've sat through several decent original shows, only to have them canceled after literally weeks of first premiering. Their model seems to be throwing a glut of content at the viewer, which makes it difficult to find the decent stuff worth sitting through, though by and large I think it's an extremely good value for the use we get out of it. Even if I don't use it a ton, it's not like they're charging $25 or $50.

As for HILLBILLY ELEGY that was pretty much my reaction Paul -- it's been sanitized enough that it's like an R-rated Lifetime movie, and the way Howard handled some portions of it, you can tell some of the grittiness was glossed over. But the performances for me made it worthwhile.

My thoughts were mostly geared towards a reaction to the hostile, downright angry reviews from liberal wokesters that it's received -- like this one. Some have have called on Amy Adams and Glenn Close to apologize for taking roles in this movie!

https://film.avclub.com/may-hillbilly-e ... 1845625283

AndyDursin wrote: ↑Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:55 am For me, there's enough for me to pay for a monthly subscription. I mean it's less than the cost of 1 movie ticket a month. Theo watches a ton of older animated series which they have on there, so even if we're not watching something together, he gets enough mileage out of it. Some of the original content is good, a lot of it sucks -- my main problem with them is I've sat through several decent original shows, only to have them canceled after literally weeks of first premiering. Their model seems to be throwing a glut of content at the viewer, which makes it difficult to find the decent stuff worth sitting through, though by and large I think it's an extremely good value for the use we get out of it. Even if I don't use it a ton, it's not like they're charging $25 or $50.

As for HILLBILLY ELEGY that was pretty much my reaction Paul -- it's been sanitized enough that it's like an R-rated Lifetime movie, and the way Howard handled some portions of it, you can tell some of the grittiness was glossed over. But the performances for me made it worthwhile.

My thoughts were mostly geared towards a reaction to the hostile, downright angry reviews from liberal wokesters that it's received -- like this one. Some have have called on Amy Adams and Glenn Close to apologize for taking roles in this movie!

https://film.avclub.com/may-hillbilly-e ... 1845625283

How old is this "write" Katie Rife. She looks like she bare breaks her 20's. I wonder about the validity of people who frame discussions in an obviously pointed direction for something that's supposed to be about Audio/Video.

KING KONG ESCAPES - 2/10. The English female lead in the movie annoyed the heck out of me...her dubbed voice was so irritating (I can only hope that wasn't her real voice). I found this movie to be dumb...the overall plot, the characters, the dialogue...it doesn't even have a camp value IMO. The heroes are dumb, the villains are dumb...lol...I don't know what to say. I didn't like it.

Edmund Kattak wrote: ↑Sun Nov 29, 2020 10:09 amHow old is this "write" Katie Rife. She looks like she bare breaks her 20's. I wonder about the validity of people who frame discussions in an obviously pointed direction for something that's supposed to be about Audio/Video.

Yet comes off as an authority in her "review"! This is how it goes these days. "Critics" are mostly now like "reporters" in the current media: they serve a purpose for advocacy. Something like this triggers them. Something like a typical Disney or Marvel movie with "diversity," they stand up and applaud. Like how BLACK PANTHER is as groundbreaking a cinematic milestone as CITIZEN KANE. I'd be funny if it weren't so sad -- and transparent.

AndyDursin wrote: ↑Sun Nov 29, 2020 11:13 am"Critics" are mostly now like "reporters" in the current media: they serve a purpose for advocacy. Something like this triggers them. Something like a typical Disney or Marvel movie with "diversity," they stand up and applaud. Like how BLACK PANTHER is as groundbreaking a cinematic milestone as CITIZEN KANE. I'd be funny if it weren't so sad -- and transparent.

Re-watching Doctor Sleep again recently, it struck me how the role of the young girl "Abra" was white in King's novel, yet black in the movie (with black dad/white mom parents, to boot), and while it certainly didn't "matter" from a narrative standpoint, it does irk me how you can swap a Caucasian character out for a Black/Latino/Asian/Whatever one, and critics will beam at how "diverse" and color-blind the new cinematic landscape has become, yet if you took a character who was specifically Black/Latino/Asian/Whatever in the source material being adapted, and swapped them out for a Caucasian one, you'd get raked over the coals for "whitewashing". The door should swing both ways for a truly "diverse" Hollywood. I, for one, am sick of established white characters being swapped out for different ethnicity, when the movies could just create a new character who is black, Asian, Latino, whatever. I don't want to see James Bond become black, Asian, a woman, or a transgender Whatever in a wheelchair in the next recasting of the role. That might make me a racist/sexist/transphobic, backwards-thinking dinosaur, but I've had it.

Hillbilly Elegy...