In Turkish and German. 119 minute running time so ideally I could cut 20 minutes or so out, but I liked this movie a lot, it’s very heavy, but a green-go for sure. A real indictment of medieval Turkish culture … no idea how it ended up in my queue, not a John Farr recommendation, but I’m glad it did. Sibel Kekilli has amazing bones. Heart string music at points where it was redundant. Well made though. Tragic. Bring your tissues. Recommended!
Cem is all I have.
In Cantonese. 99 minute running time. This wasn’t terrible, I would give it a yellow (consider) rating… Hong Kong triad culture … I lived in Hong Kong for a couple years after the handover and loved it … was my favorite city in the world before the handover … there’s a lot of humor in this, which is true for most Cantonese movies, I think… had sort of a surprise ending. I didn’t hate this but it’s not good enough to recommend.
Tiki
In French. 100 minute running time. Another abortion movie, I’ve seen so many. This one is set in 1960s France … I didn’t know that the abortion laws there were so draconian then. It’s a total disaster here in Murka that they’ve turned abortion into a States rights issue, an awful move which has weakened the Republic terribly. Movies like this one remind us that bad public policy will result in countless tragedies. Anamaria Vartolomei is a great beauty (Romanian) and she can act. This was John Farr reco. Yellow rating (consider) assuming you’re not already exhausted of abortion movies.
Rex’s review: “Almost too agonizing to watch, I urge you not to miss it, and sincerely hope the people who made it are making immediate plans to set up a mandatory screening for the Supreme Court.”
Get the scissors from my room…
In Japanese. 129 minutes so 30 minutes too long, but strangely I didn’t hate this. I didn’t like the movie enough to recommend it, but it was oddly mesmerizing despite the pace, and I enjoyed it all things considered. A love story, samurai culture at its tail end, a father’s love for his daughters, 50 koku poverty, etc. This was a John Farr recommendation.
Not my screencap, but it’s a good one
84 minute running time. Old Italian guys and their dogs truffle hunting in the woods.. it’s nicely shot, this documentary, but I don’t know if the story is strong enough to tell? Seems like the truffle hunters are from another era, or an earlier millennium even .. I guess that’s the point. I didn’t hate it, but wouldn’t recommend it, though John Farr did.
Grazie
In Korean. 141 minute running time so at least 45 minutes too long. Korean gangster movie / soap opera … I have no idea why this was in my queue, but I quickly went to 32x fast forward. A waste of one of my precious few Netflix DVD rentals before they disappear altogether.
Can I like you?
109 minute running time so could have shaved 10 minutes off, but I liked this one, it’s a green-go. Same guy who made The Witch (Wouldst thou like to see the World?), which I also recommended (though I can’t find the blog post now … maybe lost on the old Cialis Wordpress site). Madness and old-timey language are things Eggers likes. Lot of humor in this. Wonder if the sound design was informed by Leviathan, which I also liked. Not sure if the young guy had the acting chops to do this movie, but Dafoe was great. John Farr recommended this too, as did my masseuse, pre-COVID. I’m glad I finally saw it. Recommended!
Screeeeeeeech
105 minute running time … the story of a bank manager from Toronto who had a gambling problem and embezzled from the bank to cover his debts … until he got caught. Philip Seymour Hoffman is pretty good and Mini Driver is definitely cute … it wasn’t good enough for me to recommend, though John Farr did. John Hurt plays a good sleazy casino man; his best role of course was in The Elephant Man.
I promise.
In Swedish. 114 minute running time so at least 20 or 30 minutes too long. A vampire story combined with an early teens revenge fantasy … isn’t 12 too young for romance? It wasn’t terrible, but I also wasn’t thrilled with it. This was a John Farr reco.
Artful flecks of blood
