Monthly Top Five

I expect no less from any movie Doomsday has worked on.

On May 14th we’ll find out which version has the worse ending.

Bringing this back...

July
Ugetsu - A beautiful Japanese ghost story about love and greed set against the backdrop of a civil war.  Sad yet captivating at the same time and is another gem of Japanese cinema.
Pather Pachali - The first of the Apu Trilogy tells the story of a mother and her daughter and son as they endure poverty in their Indian village.  I have to admit I didn't love this as much as its reputation would suggest but it is a powerful film with an emotional payoff even if it drags at points throughout the first two acts.
Dark Passage - A fun Bogart/Bacall noir about a convicted murderer who escapes prison and undergoes plastic surgery with the help of a woman who believes in his innocence.  It's not the most high profile of the films they made together but it's a highly entertaining noir nonetheless.
Cold War - An interesting film about two musicians/lovers over their decades-long love affair.  They endure separation, imprisonment, loss and death as they find each other time and again.  Good performances help support this fast, tight (almost too tight) film that weaves love and tragedy in such a way that they almost feel to be one in the same.
Woodstock 99: Peace, Love & Rage - If you're old enough to remember how embarrassing a lot of 90s music was then you might get an idea as to how much of a disaster Woodstock 99 became.  If you were a teenager, especially a young teenager, in 1999 then you were forced to enjoy the likes of Fred Durst, Kid Rock and Korn.  This time capsule of a documentary is reminiscent of the recent Fyre Festival docs but takes you back all the same.  Keep on the lookout for a modern day Dexter Holland who looks like he got stung by ten thousand bees.  And I can still nail every lyric and beat from Break Stuff.  

Funny, I just filmed my top 5 for patrons. Editing now.

I'll be posting a version of this tomorrow.

Oh damn, hope I didn’t steal your thunder.

As promised.



Doomsday and I may well share a pick.

3 if you include my honorable mentions.

Bogdanovich just died today. So sad. RIP.

Also, watching Samurai Rebellion now.

He saw your ranking.

Hijacking this long forgotten PG Cooper thread to honor the hottest recorded month in 120,000 years. SnoBorderZero couldn’t wait till the Fall to protest Hollywood.

Not sure if I remember all the shit I watched in July 2023, that I didn’t already comment on in other threads, but let’s give it a shot.


Charley Varrick (1973)
Directed by Don Siegel (of Clint Eastwood associated fame) and starring Doomsday’s favorite perennial old man actor Walter Matthau, this is the story of bank thieves that unknowingly rob the mob and face the consequences. It’s the type of thriller that was common in the 1970’s but hasn’t really been made since. It’s low-key. It’s grounded. There’s a jazzy Lalo Schifrin score. There are no good guys so you’re rooting for the lesser of two evils. This was a whole genre back in the day but here it’s made by top talent and fun to watch.


THE BRUTE (1977)
Julian Glover (of Star Wars, James Bond and Indiana Jones fame) plays a sadistic cross-dressing husband. His wife, played by Sarah Douglas (Superman II, Conan the Destroyer), tries to leave him but the authorities don’t believe that she’s a battered spouse. I guess this is supposed to be a thriller with social commentary but it is hilariously dated in its execution. It is almost at Reefer Madness level of absurdity. It doesn’t approach its very serious subject matter with any real tact or consideration. I’d wager this was an exploitation film but the actors are too famous to sell it that way.


Revolution (1985)
This is the infamous American Revolution movie starring Al Pacino that almost killed his career. Pacino is lucky to have made Scarface cause the 1980’s were not kind to him. Full disclosure. I slept through quit a bit of Revolution, so I’m not the best judge of it. I’ll leave that up to Dracula. My impression of it, from what I saw, is that it’s surprisingly negative in tone. Pacino plays this guy that is forced into fighting in the war, has a miserable time and is then spit in the face by the new American government after completing his service. I guess it’s supposed to be anti-war but the American Revolution is a questionable choice for that commentary. Then I find out it was directed by a guy from the UK (the dude that made Chariots of Fire) and this whole project came across misguided.


COCKTAIL (1988)
Been ages since I’ve watched this semi Tom Cruise classic with the very famous Beach Boys/John Stamos song. Been so long that I didn’t realize that Tom Cruise did his “flairtending” at a goddamn Friday’s. LOL. If you don’t recall the plot of Cocktail, basically, Tom Cruise wants to open a bar with the guy from F/X. By the way, if you haven’t seen F/X, it’s pretty good. Bryan Brown plays this old school special effects guy that uses his skills to get revenge on the mob. Jerry Orbach (of Law & Order) plays the bad guy. Anyway, back to Cocktail. Cruise wants to open a bar with Brown, but Brown sleeps with his girlfriend, so Cruise feels betrayed and runs off to Jamaica to work at a beach resort. There he meets Elizabeth Shue and knocks her up. We get a scene with her jiggling side boobs. Great stuff. I only included that part to see if SnoBorderZero made it this far. Anyhoo, Cruise makes it back to the states. He becomes the boy toy for a rich woman and socialite. That doesn’t work out. He meets up again with Bryan Brown who now owns a bar but is up to his neck in debt and ends up committing suicide. Cruise, distraught, tries to seek the comfort of Elizabeth Shue who, gets this, is a rich girl. They get married, have twins and open up a bar. I don’t know what the point of Cocktail is, but that Beach Boys song is great.





One last note on Cocktail. I read that it had a ton of reshoots. It’s what I expected cause Tom Cruise has like three different hair cuts that create inconsistencies all throughout the movie. They didn’t think we’d notice Tom Cruise’s hair changing from shot to shot? Hilarious.


The Fifth Element (1997)
Speaking of hair. I slept through a bit of this, but that Luc Beeson certainly has a style. I don’t know what the point of Fifth Element is, but it’s fun eye candy, I guess. This might have been the start of Bruce Willis sleepwalking through roles. There’s PG-13 boobs. 1997. What a great year for boobs. I don’t know what Chris Tucker was supposed to be playing. Gary Oldman is fun. I don’t know what else to say. The special effects are good, I guess. Was Starship Troopers also 1997? Yeah. That’s the superior movie. Now watch PhantomKnight come in here and defend Fifth Element. lol.

Patreon exclusive now. Can't be giving that shit away for free. Filming later this afternoon.