So far The Snowman - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snowman_(2017_film)
...which was good but not great, IMO. If I can figure out what's going on before the brilliant but troubled detective guy, how good is he, really? There's a piece of music that should've been a giveaway to him about the killer's identity which I guessed right away but which he missed. Val Kilmer looks like Keith Richards' older brother in this, and there's a great cast overall but they're mostly wandering around in the snow looking confused. Fassbender is okay, but it's not his best work.

...and Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them which I really loved. It was fantastic and it had beasts - some of the best CGI critters I've ever seen, in fact, so I was impressed. The story was odd to begin with and slow to start but ended up being satisfying with heroic good guys and horrible bad guys.

1. 01/02/19 - Vice (2018) (theatre) ****
2. 01/02/19 - Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) (streaming) ****
3. 01/03/19 - Green Book (2018) (streaming) *****
4. 01/08/19 - Bumblebee (2018) (theatre) ****
5. 01/12/19 - The Wife (2018) (dvd) **
6. 01/13/19 - Beautiful Boy (2018) (dvd) *****
7. 01/14/19 - BlacKkKlansman (2018) (dvd) ****
8. 01/21/19 - They Shall Not Grow Old (2018) (theatre) *****
9. 01/22/19 - The Favourite (2018) (dvd) **
10. 01/27/19 - Roma (2018) (streaming) ***
11. 01/31/19 - Glass (2019) (theatre) ***
12. 02/02/19 - The Kid Who Would Be King (2019) (theatre) ***
13. 02/06/19 - Shoplifters (2018) (theatre) ***
14. 02/07/19 - The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) (theatre) *****
15. 02/18/19 - Alita: Battle Angel (2019) (theatre) ***

We saw Fighting with My Family on Friday. It's a fun little merging of British comedy with big bold entertainment of the WWE. I had no idea that there was a British audience for professional wrestling.

In the theater:

1) Bohemian Rhapsody (2x) ***
2) Aquaman **1/2
3) Escape Room **1/2
4) Glass (2x) ***
5) Stan & Ollie ***
6) Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald * 1/2
7) On the Basis of Sex ***
8) Goodfellas ****
9) Beauty and the Beast (1992) ****
10) The Untouchables ***1/2
11) Happy Death Day 2U ***
12) Scarface (1983) ***1/2
13) A Star Is Born (2018) ***

Weird that I've been to the movie theater 15 times thus far in 2019 but only 4 times were to see 2019 films. The rest were all holdovers of 2018 movies or else special event or retro screenings of older films (B&TB, Goodfellas, Untouchables, and Scarface).

Home viewing:

1) Gojira (1954)---DVD
2) Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956)---DVD
3) Fyre Fraud---Hulu
4) Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened---Netflix
5) Abducted in Plain Sight---Netflix

Also weird to realize just how much of my home viewing this year has been TV series instead of films. And three of the films I did watch were buzzworthy "of the moment" documentaries.

The Front Runner is about the Gary Hart presidential campaign of 1988 and how it derailed over the media flap of a suspected affair with Donna Rice (the movie is ambiguous on whether they were actually lovers). Nobody comes off well in this story,although you may have sympathy for Rice;she was thrown to the wolves by the Hart campaign.
What's of interest to comic book fans is that Gary Hart is played by Hugh Jackman,and his co-stars are J.K. Simmons and Alfred Molina. Wolverine,J. Jonah Jameson,and Dr. Octopus in the same movie;superheroes truly rule Hollywood.

1. 01/02/19 - Vice (2018) (theatre) ****
2. 01/02/19 - Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) (streaming) ****
3. 01/03/19 - Green Book (2018) (streaming) *****
4. 01/08/19 - Bumblebee (2018) (theatre) ****
5. 01/12/19 - The Wife (2018) (dvd) **
6. 01/13/19 - Beautiful Boy (2018) (dvd) *****
7. 01/14/19 - BlacKkKlansman (2018) (dvd) ****
8. 01/21/19 - They Shall Not Grow Old (2018) (theatre) *****
9. 01/22/19 - The Favourite (2018) (dvd) **
10. 01/27/19 - Roma (2018) (streaming) ***
11. 01/31/19 - Glass (2019) (theatre) ***
12. 02/02/19 - The Kid Who Would Be King (2019) (theatre) ***
13. 02/06/19 - Shoplifters (2018) (theatre) ***
14. 02/07/19 - The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) (theatre) *****
15. 02/18/19 - Alita: Battle Angel (2019) (theatre) ***
16. 02/21/19 - How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) (theatre) *****
17. 03/04/19 - Cold War (2018) (theatre) ****
18. 03/07/19 - Captain Marvel (2019) (theatre) ***** (2x)
19. 03/22/19 - Us (2019) (theatre) ***
20. 03/22/19 - The Sugarland Express (1974) (blu-ray) ****

Home viewing: All the Muppet movies.

The Battle of Britain (1969)

Movies with historical settings all too often play very loose with the facts. This one has lots of fictional characters and incidents, but the overall depiction of the actual events of the Battle of Britain campaign tries hard to get the facts straight. How hard? Let me put it this way. I watched it with a fairly detailed account of the Battle of Britain that I had checked out from the library on my lap. The events depicted onscreen were portrayed with enough accuracy and detail that I could tell on what date many of the scenes took place in real life. And apparently Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding really was as much of a wet blanket as Laurence Olivier portrays.

The flying sequences are perhaps the most spectacular ever filmed with real aircraft. There are literally dozens of aircraft onscreen in some scenes. Apparently the Spanish Air Force was for many years equipped with license-built versions of German bombers and fighters, and they were quite ready to collaborate with the filmmakers. Although relying on what the Spaniards had available does have the unfortunate result of making it look like the Germans had only three types of aircraft in use at the time, instead of closer to a dozen. For that matter the British also had more than just Spitfires and Hurricanes.

What comes across the most vividly to me, though, is not so much the spectacle as how harrowing the battles look. Warbird enthusiasts often seem to forget that during World War II those aircraft were crewed by human beings fighting for their lives--and often losing. The movie never lets the viewer forget that. One scene shows a German bomber pilot trying to get his badly-damaged machine back to base, with a wounded crewman writhing in agony beside him. He puts one hand on the wounded man to steady him. The man grabs his wrist, as if he's desperate for any human contact in his struggle. For all that it's clear which side you're supposed to root for, you can't help rooting for them to make it home.

Update for the end of March:

1) Bohemian Rhapsody (2x) ***
2) Aquaman **1/2
3) Escape Room **1/2
4) Glass (2x) ***
5) Stan & Ollie ***
6) Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald *1/2
7) On the Basis of Sex ***
8) Goodfellas **** (retro screening)
9) Beauty and the Beast (1992) **** (retro screening)
10) The Untouchables ***1/2 (retro screening)
11) Happy Death Day 2U ***
12) Scarface (1983) ***1/2 (retro screening)
13) A Star Is Born (2018) ***
14) Green Book ***
15) Captain Marvel (2x) ***
16) Gone with the Wind ***1/2 (retro screening)
17) Apollo 11 ***
18) Top Gun *** (retro screening)
19) Us ***1/2

Home viewing:

1) Gojira (1954)---personal DVD
2) Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956)---personal DVD
3) Fyre Fraud---Hulu
4) Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened---Netflix
5) Abducted in Plain Sight---Netflix
6) The Premature Burial---Netflix DVD
7) The Masque of the Red Death---Netflix DVD
8) Meet the Parents---personal DVD
9) Little Fockers---library DVD
10) The Gold Rush---library DVD
11) Blood Simple---personal Blu-Ray
12) Halloween (2018)---personal Blu-Ray
13) The Hudsucker Proxy---library DVD
14) Blue Velvet---Netflix DVD
15) Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me---personal Blu-Ray
16) Avengers: Infinity War---Netflix (even though I own the Blu-Ray)

Moon Zero Two (1969)

Though they're remembered today almost entirely for their horror pictures, Hammer Studios made lots of other kinds of movies as well. This foray into science fiction was billed as "the first space western." It is set in the futuristic year 2021, when the Moon has become a semi-lawless mining frontier. A down-on-his-luck pilot named Kemp, operator of a worn-out lunar ferry designated "Moon 02," agrees to assist in a dangerous and illegal scheme to crash a small, mineral-rich asteroid onto the lunar surface for salvage. Nobody is supposed to get hurt--but Kemp learns that his employers are far from scrupulous in that respect.

Western elements incorporated into the tale include shootouts in space, a 1/6-G saloon brawl, murderous claim jumpers, and a damsel in distress named Clementine. Speaking of women, apart from Clem and the (apparently) all-female local law enforcement team every woman depicted on the Moon is clearly working in some part of the sex industry. Moon City's lady sheriff was perhaps supposed to be a token nod to the idea that women would presumably wield more authority in the future. Unfortunately the fact that she's an example of the ineffectual law officers you see in so many westerns (And doesn't seem very professional to boot) spoils any benefit we might have seen there. This being a Hammer picture, even the women who aren't dance hall girls and such are all put in ludicrous fanservice outfits (There's some male fanservice as well).

About the best you can say for the movie is that it doesn't take itself too seriously, and, considering its era and low budget (Again, it's a Hammer picture) it's not bad science fiction. The lunar colony's logistics more or less make sense. The writers understand that the "Dark Side" of the Moon has a normal lunar day-and-night cycle and isn't literally a place of eternal darkness. And they mostly recognize that in space there's no sound. The space shootouts employ some clever "Mickey Mousing"--the use of music as sound effects--by punctuating the silent gunshots with drumbeats to add drama to the necessarily silent battles.

There are still lots of noteworthy implausibilities. What on Luna could the authorities have been thinking when they allowed open carry of firearms (And they ARE firearms, not rayguns) in a domed space settlement where every bullet could potentially puncture the walls and cause decompression? What are the rockets placed on the asteroid to move it around, which have no visible fuel tankage and yet are supposed to put out 100,000 pounds of thrust for hours on end, supposed to use for go-juice? And why does a cockpit pressure display we see at one point read 140 psi, which seems more appropriate for a deep-sea saturation diving habitat than a spacecraft?

One last thing. The setting is not just 2021, but specifically May 2021. The bad guys mention that they've been working on they're scheme for about two years. That means that somewhere out there they are hunched over computer screens hatching their plot right now!

That sounds good, Daphne!

I've seen The Post and Jurassic World. Both were good - not great, but not terrible.

I've yet to watch Logan but that's next on the list.

Brightburn (2019)
A nihilistic, sadistic retelling of young Superman's Smallville period, which completely misses the point of that phase in the character's origin. What could have been an interesting dark take on the idea is a predictable story with plenty of gore, but few surprises. It feels like you're watching a porn parody of Superboy, only it's a torture-porn parody.

I was kind of worried about that . I was hoping the movie had some substance to it. I guess the trailer reveals pretty much the whole movie

The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) -

It's good. The story develops directly out of the first movie (and feels like a second chapter rather than a sequel) and takes some unexpectedly sad turns. I'm still no closer to understanding how the 'Wizarding World' actually functions but it doesn't matter - there are weird creatures, the special effects are amazing, we see the characters when they were kids at Hogwart's, we learn more about Dumbeldore (and his connection to Grindelwald) and we see Johnny Depp doing an amazing job as a menacing but seductive villain. Everyone in it is great, the effects are top notch, the creatures are a lot of fun and it's worth a look if you liked the first one.

Haven't updated my list for this thread for several months, so I will at least update the list of what I've seen in actual theaters thus far. The home viewing list will follow later.


1) Bohemian Rhapsody (2x) ***
2) Aquaman **1/2
3) Escape Room **1/2
4) Glass (2x) ***
5) Stan & Ollie ***
6) Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald *1/2
7) On the Basis of Sex ***
8) Goodfellas **** (retro screening)
9) Beauty and the Beast (1992) **** (retro screening)
10) The Untouchables ***1/2 (retro screening)
11) Happy Death Day 2U ***
12) Scarface (1983) ***1/2 (retro screening)
13) A Star Is Born (2018) ***
14) Green Book ***
15) Captain Marvel (2x) ***
16) Gone with the Wind ***1/2 (retro screening)
17) Apollo 11 ***
18) Top Gun *** (retro screening)
19) Us (2x)***1/2
20) The Karate Kid (1984)*** (retro screening)
21) Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse *** (first time in 2019, second time overall)
22) Shazam! *** (3x)
23) Pet Sematary (2019) **
24) The Simpsons Movie *** (retro screening)
25) Avengers: Endgame ***1/2 (6x)
26) Batman Returns ***1/2 (retro screening---yes, that's 3 1/2 stars, what about it?)
27) Batman Forever **1/2 (retro screening)
28) What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ***
29) BrightBurn **
30) Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) *** (4x)
31) The Curse of La Llorona **
32) Aladdin (2019) **
33) Child's Play (2019) *1/2
34) Spider-Man: Far From Home ***1/2 (4x)
35) Ma **1/2
36) Midsommar ***
37) Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood ***
38) Yesterday **1/2
39) Crawl **
40) The Lion King (2019) **1/2
41) 47 Meters Down: Uncaged **

That's 58 outings to the movies thus far through mid-August, with one more later tonight. Not bad.

Glass and Spider-Verse.

42) Toy Story 4 ***

And my updated home viewing list. All Blu-Rays and DVDs are from my own collection unless otherwise stated.

1) Gojira (1954)---DVD
2) Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956)---DVD
3) Fyre Fraud---Hulu
4) Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened---Netflix
5) Abducted in Plain Sight---Netflix
6) The Premature Burial---Netflix DVD
7) The Masque of the Red Death---Netflix DVD
8) Meet the Parents---DVD
9) Little Fockers---library DVD
10) The Gold Rush---library DVD
11) Blood Simple---Blu-Ray
12) Halloween (2018)---Blu-Ray (2x)
13) The Hudsucker Proxy---library DVD
14) Blue Velvet---Netflix DVD & Blu-Ray (2x)
15) Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me---Blu-Ray
16) Avengers: Infinity War---Netflix
17) Christine (2016---the one about newscaster Christine Chubbuck, not the haunted car one)---library DVD
18) Godzilla (2014)---DVD
19) Kong: Skull Island---DVD
20) The Box---Netflix DVD
21) The Hudsucker Proxy---library DVD
22) Alien---Amazon
23) Raiders of the Lost Ark---Netflix
24) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom---Netflix
25) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade---Netflix
26) The Prowler---Netflix DVD
27) The Lion King (1994)---Blu-Ray
28) The Tomb of Ligeia---Netflix DVD
29) The Avengers (2012)---Blu-Ray

The number of movies I watch at home continues to go down every year, even as my personal movie collection grows. Most of my home viewing seems to be trying to catch up with various Netflix and Hulu series.

Edited: My second viewing of Blue Velvet was after I bought it on Criterion Blu-Ray.

Plum!!!

DOOT!

Scooty Dooty Doo.

Any further updates will not include my entire list, for ease of scrolling.

Have you gone to the Star Trek novels thread of late? I've gotten up to Vendetta and Imzadi!

I have not, but I shall this weekend! Looking forward to your thoughts, esp about Imzadi.