Yep, Tardi’s whimsical Adèle comics are a real pleasure to read. Besson’s film I found blah.
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Star Wars:The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
This was better than I expected, really entertaining from start and to the end. 
1/2
I had to turn this off after the first half hour. It felt like I had to have ADHD to truly appreciate it.
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I watched Rasputin: The Mad Monk and The Big Gundown last night. Two of my favourites. Good acting and directing in both.
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Christopher Lee is phenomenal in Rasputin. The ending could have been more violent in my opinion but then again the censorship was more strict those days.
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True, it could’ve been a bit more drawn out and graphic but like you say the censors of the time…
- May: A New Leaf 7/10
- Varda: Cleo from 5 to 7 7/10
- Reichardt: Meek’s Cutoff 6/10
- Henenlotter: Brain Damage 6/10
- Villeneuve: Blade Runner 2049 6/10
- Wertmüller: Mimi metallurgico ferito nell’onore 7/10
- Rankin & Bass: Flight of Dragons 10/10
- Herzog: Aguirre the Wrath of God 10/10
- McCarey: An Affair to Remember 10/10
- Dietrich: Stewardesses Report 4/10
What I’ve been watching since the new year:
Abel Gance’s Napoleon (1927) *****
Doppo a Faccia (Double Face) (1969) ****
Le Orme (Footprints/Footprints on the Moon) (1975) ****
The 1980-81 UK series Ladykillers/Lady Killers ****1/2
Sergey Bondarchuk’s War & Peace (1966) *****
Napoli Spara! (Weapons of Death) (1977) ****
Confessione di un Commissario di Polizia al Procuratore della Repubblica (Confessions of a Police Commissioner to the District Attorney/Confessions of a Police Captain) (1971) *****
Roma Amano Armata (Rome Armed to the Teeth/The Tough Ones) (1976) *****
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Uccellacci e uccellini 1966 -Pier Paolo Pasolini
One of the Best Totò films, a great and improbable combination with Pasolini. Totó was that comedian with this melancolic and sad side even when he was funny.
It´s a very clever film, its all I can say. In the category once you seen it you will never forget it
5/5
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And with a remarkable Morricone score.
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(Re)watched Mad Max Fury Road last night… and in the black and white version this time. Abso-fuckin-incredible…
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Great film, one of Pasolini’s best.
Just watched Black Gunn. Been a while since I had seen it. Definitely one of the best Blaxploitation films. I forgot how good it actually is. Non-stop action and a typical cool performance from Jim Brown. So underrated as an actor.
THE EAGLE HAS LANDED (1976, John Sturgess)
Action-packed, war-adventure movie based on Jack Higgins’ novel of the same name about a fictional plan of the Nazi’s to kidnap (or kill) Winston Churchill.
With British and American actors playing Germans and a Canadian actor playing an Irishman, you can’t expect any authentic feel, but as said the story is fictional and Michael Caine, Robert Duvall and (especially) Donald Sutherland do a good job (even if Sutherland’s Irish accent is dubious) and it’s an entertaining, occasionally exciting fantasy. The ending is surprisingly bloody for a movie from the Seventies aimed at large audiences. Also starring a young Jenny Agutter (always a pleasure to watch) and Donald Pleasence as Himmler (almost exactly looking like the man).
It was famous Hollywood director John Sturges’ (The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven) last movie, but reportedly he showed very little interest in the production. The Eagle has Landed is occasionally preposterous (an early scene involving Caine’s ’good’ Nazi saving a Jewish girl is pure kitsch), but otherwise this is perfectly enjoyable escapism in Corona days
***½ (out of 5)
The film is btw available on You Tube:
The version on You Tube is actually superior to the one (DVD) I watched: it’s in 2,35:1 (mine was in 1,78:1) and the image quality is better (it also runs a few minutes longer, but that might be due to conversion reasons)
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Just sat thru 5h of Novecento (restored version)
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Escape form LA -1996 (John Carpenter)
It’s impossible to not compare withe it’s predecessor Escape from NY, that one was more darker had real suspense, but never going beyond the line of being too serious.
Escape from LA it’s a different affair, more like a self parody to the Hollywood life style a satire to the American way of life even in the end with that line similar to the onr taken Visconti Il Gattopardo things must change to stay the same.
Of course it’s just a matter of my personal taste to appreciate more the first one, but I don’t think Escape form LA is that bad, it’s funny the cameos really work out well, if I like Verhoeven Starship Troopers (a better film) I can’t dislike this one.
Snake Pilsken still one of the coolest charaters put into the screen, not a real cult classic like the first one, but still a cool film to watch never being boring.
3,5 out of 5
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I just finished watching Escape Plan with Stallone and Schwarzenegger. Quite entertaining, although it was let down at times by some terrible acting. Vincent D’Onofrio’s performance was pretty bad, which was a surprise since he was great in Full Metal Jacket. I guess some of the actors didn’t really care. Overall I really liked it and I’d definitely watch it again. Even in 2013, Arnold was convincing as an action hero.
Puppet Master The Littlest Reich 2018 - I was planning on totally ignoring this movie as I had ignored all the PM sequels in recent years, but I decided to check it out since I’ve been watching a lot of crap horror and was quite surprised at how good it was.
Very solid practical gore effects, including one scene that actually made me say “Whaaat” out loud to myself - a very rare occurance.
Its directed well and acting is good. Interesting to see the guy from Reno 911 playing lead in a movie like this. Also pretty entertaining, and I usually can’t finish these kinds of new horror movies as they generally just seem to be not-funny-jokes of movies.
Was it recently rereleased on DVD and/or BD? I last watched it at least ten years ago, but it has left a strong impression on me.
watched the 4k restoration on the German Blu, which should be identical to the UK blu. Impressive, but with over 5h also not a snack
I like it less than Il Gattopardo, Once in America and others… but I still have respect for this half a decade spanning epic…
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