Source: from my "action thrillers" box set
I watched it because: Bob Hoskins is in it. I love Bob Hoskins!
IMDB: 6.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 51% Audience: 44%
story: 6.5/10--This is completely outlandish and unbelievable, right? A crazy mutated virus, people freaking way the Hell out and treating each other badly, and government overreacting as a result. Walls being built (both literally and figuratively). Irrational killings. Power-hungry and uninformed politicians making radical decisions that result in the deaths of lots of people. THAT could never happen!
visuals: 6/10--dark, dark, dark. And bloody. And gory. And strange.
costumes, hair & makeup: 8/10
acting: 5/10--standouts: Hoskins is good, though his role as Bill Nelson is regrettably small. David O'Hara (Michael Canaris - a wonderful name) is a treat. And Rhona Mitra (Eden Sinclair) is an Irish Kate Beckinsale, ass-kicking and gorgeous. The rest of the cast wanders around without a clue, sticking out their tongues and screaming.
intangibles: 5/10--it is not the right time to be watching a pandemic movie, particularly one with this little going for it
overall: 6.1/10
Waitress (2007) - "Jenna is a pregnant, unhappily married waitress in the deep south. She meets a newcomer to her town and falls into an unlikely relationship as a last attempt at happiness."Source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: it has been several years since last I saw it (that review is here) and I was in the mood for something indie and positive
IMDB: 7.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 90% Audience: 74%
story: 8/10--a beautifully-written story
visuals: 8.5/10
costumes, hair & makeup: 8/10--as has been established here many times before, I am a huge fan of Hal Hartley's films. This movie has some of the same sensibilities. It does not "look like" something he would make - it simply has a specific look, both overall and particularly in the costumes, hair & makeup, that perfectly enhances the story itself.
acting: 7.5/10--standouts: this time around, I was particularly moved by the relationship between Keri Russell (Jenna Hunterson) and Andy Griffith (Old Joe)
intangibles: 9/10--it is difficult for me to watch any of Adrienne Shelly's films, most especially this one. Shelly was killed in 2006, and never got to see this movie - which she wrote and directed, as well as acting - become the success that it is. Bittersweet.
overall: 8.2/10
Source: from my "conspiracy thrillers" box set
I watched it because: honestly? It is short, and fit in the time that I had.
IMDB: 6.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 43% Audience: 31%
story: 5/10
visuals: 6/10--the wider film itself is not well done, but the courtroom scenes are surprisingly good
costumes, hair & makeup: 5/10
acting: 5/10--imagine the best community theatre you've ever seen, committed to film by a group of very earnest college students
intangibles: 3/10--zero chemistry, no realistic tension, and some goofy visual tricks
overall: 4.8/10
Jet Pilot (1957) - "Air Force Colonel Jim Shannon is tasked to escort a defecting Soviet pilot who is scheming to lure Shannon to the USSR."Source: in a box set of war movies from my parents' collection
I watched it because: a John Wayne movie I have not yet seen? Bring it on!
IMDB: 5.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 60% Audience: 37%
story: 3/10--was this believable in 1957? In 2020, it is so ludicrous as to be offensively nonviable. There is no saving it.
visuals: I cannot rank this easily. There would be two scores: one for the flight scenes and one for the remainder of the film. This is classic Howard Hughes! The air scenes are dramatic and breathtaking. On the other hand, the rest of the picture is "small" and pretty dull.
costumes, hair & makeup: 5/10--boy, oh boy...
acting: 3/10--I cannot express how horrifying it was to watch Janet Leigh play a Russian fighter pilot.
intangibles: 4/10--WOW, did I dislike this movie!
overall: 3.75/10
Source: borrowed the Blu-ray from my parents, who borrowed it from friends
I watched it because: it was the top choice to see at the theater way back when theaters were still open and we went to 1917, but it was not showing at the right time in the right place. This was the first opportunity to see it since then.
IMDB: 7.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 97% Audience: 92%
story: 7.5/10--intricate and clever, funny and fresh
visuals: 7/10--well-shot, although at times it seemed so deliberately odd that it felt almost like late-night TV.
costumes, hair & makeup: 8/10--quirky and full of personality
acting: 6/10--VERY bizarrely cast
intangibles: 6.5/10--waayyyy over-wordy (the script is probably twice as long as the average!), oddly paced and revealed. And there is One. GIANT. Giveaway.
Academy Award nominee: Best Original Screenplay
overall: 7/10--I am glad that I saw it, and I liked it, but I do not need to see it again.
[the title quotation is by Howard Hughes]
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