9.09.2022

Garage Freak? Jesus, what kind of a crazy fucking story is this?

"Date weekend" for two weirdos...

Licorice Pizza (2021)
Licorice Pizza
(2021) - "The story of Alana Kane and Gary Valentine growing up, running around and going through the treacherous navigation of first love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973."
source: streamed on Dish
I watched it because: it was critically acclaimed and others had recommended it
IMDB: 7.2/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 91% Audience: 65%
my IMDB: 5/10
notable quote: "I knew it! I knew that was what you were thinking. You're always thinking things, you thinker! You thinker! You think things!"
MPAA rating: R
directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
my notes: I didn't get it. It was sort of funny, sort of angsty, sort of sly—but not outstandingly anything. I definitely wouldn't pay to see it again.
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture
• Best Director
• Best Original Screenplay—Anderson
overall: mildly recommended

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
(1969) - "Butch and Sundance are the two leaders of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. Butch is all ideas, Sundance is all action and skill. The west is becoming civilized, and when Butch and Sundance rob a train once too often, a special posse begins trailing them no matter where they run. Over rocks, through towns, across rivers, the group is always just behind them. When they finally escape through sheer luck, Butch has another idea: 'Let's go to Bolivia.'" (Based on the exploits of the historical characters.)
source: streamed on Dish
I watched it because: we couldn't recall when (or if) we'd seen it before
IMDB: 8/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 89% Audience: 92%
my IMDB: 7.0/10
AFI: 100 Years ... 100 Movies (1998) #50 
    100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary 2007) #73
    100 Years ... 100 Thrills (2001) #54
    100 Years ... 100 Heroes and Villains (2003) Heroes #22
    10 Top 10 (2008) Westerns #7
notable quote: "What's the matter with you?'
    'I can't swim!'
    'Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill ya.'"
MPAA rating: PG
directed by: George Roy Hill
my notes: I love a buddy movie. Newman and Redford have a fun, silly chemistry.
Academy Award winner:
• Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on material not Previously Published or Produced—William Goldman
• Best Cinematography
• Best Music, Original Song—Burt Bacharach, Hal David
• Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a musical)
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture
• Best Director—Hill
• Best Sound
(Last seen in June, 2017.)
overall: recommended

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
(1984) - "In the wake of Spock's ultimate deed of sacrifice, Admiral Kirk and the Enterprise crew return to Earth for some essential repairs to their ship. When they arrive at Spacedock, they are shocked to discover that the Enterprise is to be decommissioned. Even worse, Dr. McCoy begins acting strangely and Scotty has been reassigned to another ship. Kirk is forced to steal back the Enterprise and head across space to the Genesis Planet to save Spock and bring him to Vulcan. Unbeknownst to them, the Klingons are planning to steal the secrets of the Genesis Device for their own deadly purpose."
source: streamed on Dish
I watched it because: it's a goal to see all the series movies eventually
IMDB: 6.6/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 78% Audience: 66%
my IMDB: 6.0/10
notable quote: "'You're suffering from a Vulcan mind-meld, doctor.'
    'That green-blooded son of a bitch! It's his revenge for all the arguments he lost.'"
MPAA rating: PG
directed by: Leonard Nimoy
my notes: I liked it! Always a fan of those Vulcans.
overall:  recommended

All the President's Men (1976)
All the President's Men
(1976) - "In the run-up to the 1972 elections, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward covers what seems to be a minor break-in at the Democratic Party National headquarters. He is surprised to find top lawyers already on the defense case, and the discovery of names and addresses of White House fund organizers on the accused further arouses his suspicions. The editor of the Post is prepared to run with the story and assigns Woodward and Carl Bernstein to it. They find the trail leading higher and higher in the White House."
source: streamed on Dish
I watched it because: it was mutually agreeable
IMDB: 7.9/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 94% Audience: 92%
my IMDB: 8/10
AFI:  100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th anniversary edition, 2007) #77
    100 Years ... 100 Cheers (2006) #34
    100 Years ... 100 Thrills (2001) #57
    100 Years ... 100 Heroes & Villains (2003) Heroes #29 Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein
notable quote: "'How are you going to get it?'
    'We haven't had any luck yet.'
    'Get some.'"
MPAA rating: PG
directed by: Alan J. Pakula
my notes: I love this movie, which is "mass comm nerdy" and dated but so compelling! Love Jason Robards as Ben Bradlee.
Academy Award winner:
• Best Actor—Robards
• Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium—William Goldman
• Best Art Direction - Set Decoration
• Best Sound
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture
• Best Supporting Actress—Jane Alexander
• Best Director—Pakula
• Best Film Editing
(previously seen June 2017 and June 2020)
overall: highly recommended

[the title quotation is from All the President's Men]

2 comments:

  1. I think you are far too kind to Licorice Pizza. I so so wanted to like that movie but it was too much of a mess. A few of the characters/performances were mildly interesting but that was about it in my opinion. BTW finally figured out why I couldn't ever get a comment to post (obviously).

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  2. I agree! I was going to update this post to say that after further thought, it was a turkey. My objections mirror yours, with the addition of one thing. The concept of a 25-year-old woman pursuing a 15-year-old boy is played as clever, quirky, and alluringly sexy. Turn it around with a 25-year-old guy hounding a 15-year-old girl--for *any* reason--and the situation is disturbing and gross. In sum: I love a good indie film, but this is NOT one of them.

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