#Baby John Film Review

[playermagic23]

Baby John Movie Review: BABY JOHN is a mass entertainer which works

Baby John Review {3.5/5} & Review Rating

Star Cast: Varun Dhawan, Keerthy Suresh, Wamiqa Gabbi

Director: Kalees

Baby John Movie Review Synopsis: BABY JOHN is the story of a protective father. John D’Silva (Varun Dhawan), a restaurateur, stays in Alappuzha, Kerala with his daughter Khushi (Zara Zyanna). He dotes on her and is bringing her up with the right values. John forms a bond with Khushi's teacher Tara (Wamiqa Gabbi). Tara takes John's help, without his knowledge, when she rescues a girl and approaches the cops. John is aghast when he learns about Tara’s actions due to his past with the police force. A complaint is filed against a dreaded henchman, Boss (Jaffer Sadiq). Assuming that John complained to the police and that he’s a common man, Boss and his men attack him. But John turns out to be a beast. He finishes them off ruthlessly. Tara sees him attacking the goons and learns that he's none other than Satya Verma, who was once the DCP and the husband of Dr. Meera (Keerthy Suresh). But his confrontation with Nanaji (Jackie Shroff) proves to be a turning point in his life. Hence, he decides to leave the force and live as a common man. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Baby John Movie Story Review: Atlee's story is massy but also a bit outdated. Kalees's screenplay tries to rise above the plot and is infused with mass moments. However, the writing could have been better. Sumit Arora's dialogues add to the mass touch.

Kalees's direction is commercial. The film is mounted on a huge scale and it has been handled appropriately. The bond shared by the father and the daughter is adorable while the romantic track also has its moments. But the best is reserved for the mass elevation scenes. The scenes that are memorable are John attacking the goons at night, Satya and Meera’s first meeting, Satya searching for Amba (Snigddha Suman) and what happens thereafter. The pre-interval block is when the film goes on another level and it’ll be greeted with whistles and claps. Post-interval, Satya’s meeting with the parents and the shootout at his residence stand out. The scene of Bhima Rane (Shrikant Yadav) and the North Eastern kid is well thought out.

On the flipside, BABY JOHN comes too late in the day as it gives a déjà vu of SIMMBA [2018], JAWAN [2023] etc. The execution is overall satisfactory but in some places, it's haphazard. The product placement of Center Fresh and Astral Pipes is quite in-your-face. But the biggest issue is that of the writing. BABY JOHN is a remake of THERI, which arrived 8 years ago. A lot has changed since then in terms of tastes and trends and Atlee should have aligned the script accordingly. Moreover, the hero vs villain equation is not convincing. Usually, the villain needs to be so powerful that the audience should wonder how the hero would defeat him. But in BABY JOHN, the hero becomes all-powerful once he harms Nanaji big time and doesn’t face consequences from the police department or the government. Nana takes revenge much later. But by then, it becomes clear that Satya can finish Nanaji, whenever he wants. This aspect severely impacts the goings-on.

Baby John – Trailer | Atlee | Varun Dhawan, Keerthy Suresh, Wamiqa Gabbi, Jackie Shroff

Baby John Movie Review Performances: Varun Dhawan delivers a sincere performance and excels in the action and emotional scenes. However, it’s not convincing to show him as a DCP as he seems young for that position. Ideally, there should have been a reason why he managed to rise through the ranks so early in his life. Keerthy Suresh makes a superb debut in Bollywood and has an arresting screen presence. Wamiqa Gabbi, as expected, rocks the show, albeit in a supporting role. Jackie Shroff looks menacing and does a brilliant job. But he’s let down by the writing. Zara Zyanna is adorable. However, a few of her dialogues are not audible properly. Jaffer Sadiq is apt for the part. Shrikant Yadav lends able support. Rajpal Yadav (Ram Sevak) is seen in a different avatar and would be loved by the audience. Sheeba Chaddha (Madhvi Verma; Satya's mother) is dependable as always. Zakir Hussain (Baldev Patil) and Prakash Belawadi (Yashraj Mukherjee) are strictly okay. Omkar Das Manikpuri (Badrinath) and Mona Ambegaonkar (the doctor who tries to revive Amba) are fair. Lastly, Salman Khan’s cameo is quite entertaining.

Baby John movie music and other technical aspects: Thaman S's music is not of chartbuster variety. The title song is the only song that stands out. 'Nain Matakka' is well picturized while 'Pikley Pom' is passable. 'Bandobast' is too similar to 'Zinda Banda'.  'Hazaar Baar' and 'Gudda Guddi' are forgettable. Thaman S's background score is energetic.

Kiran Koushik's cinematography is satisfactory. Anl Arasu, Stunt Silva, Anbariv, Yannick Ben, Sunil Rodrigues, Kaloyan Vodenicharov, Manohar Verma, and Bronwin October's action is violent but works well in a film like this. T Muthuraj's production design is rich. Sheetal Iqbal Sharma's costumes are appropriate while Shruthi Manjari's costumes for Keerthy Suresh are appealing. NY VFXWaala's VFX is superior. Ruben's editing could have been slicker, especially in the first half.

Baby John Movie Review Conclusion: On the whole, BABY JOHN is a mass entertainer which works due to the clapworthy moments, the message, Varun Dhawan’s energetic performance and the cameo by Salman Khan. At the box office, the film will benefit owing to the long holiday period and no competition until Republic Day.

[cinemistery]

Cry-Baby (1990)

[moviesandmania]

ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968) Reviews and 4K UHD release news

Rosemary’s Baby is being released on 4K Ultra HD on October 10, 2023, to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the horror classic. The new 4K Ultra HD package includes a Blu-ray as well as a Digital version and comes packaged in newly commissioned artwork. Meanwhile, here’s our previous coverage of the movie from way back in 2012. Rosemary’s Baby is a 1968 American horror film written and directed…

[thequeereview]

Exclusive Interview: John Waters revisits Cry-Baby for its 4K restoration "I knew about juvenile delinquents because I always wanted to be one"

From reviled underground filmmaker to widely revered, self-proclaimed “filth elder”, John Waters was honoured for his six-decade career with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last year just as a major exhibition and retrospective screening series, John Waters: Pope Of Trash, opened at the prestigious Academy Museum in Los Angeles. The latest title from his subversive, colourful and distinctly…

[sinclairstarz]

for the cinephile byler truthers. i made the party’s modern au letterboxd accounts

in my head mike wheeler is the film bro cinephile of the party. hes a big brad pitt fan and fincher is his favorite director if you even care.. dirty dancing would be in his top 4 if he was honest. he went to see dune cause hes a scifi nerd, ended up hating it so much and complained about it to will but still gave it 2 stars cause it was pretty. did leave a very mean review. very critical rater but mostly leaves high ratings because he just doesn’t watch things he doesnt wanna see.

alternative movies i considered putting: pulp fiction (5 stars), the killer (1 star), se7en (5 stars), across the spiderverse (5 stars), nope (5 stars) , the batman 2022 (4 stars), once upon a time in hollywood (5 stars), inglorious basterds (5 stars), the matrix (half a star)

the thing is so good and he has a poster of it on his wall in canon so it felt right. it just feels wrong not to do ghostbusters (plus its one of my favorite movies…) and yall need to hear me out on brokeback 😭😭😭 ur telling me he wouldnt bawl his eyes out??? ur wrong. will byers is a jake gyllenhaal lover. he watches dirty dancing a lot for mike, and loves ghibli movies a lot. he cried during rain man. honest rater but doesnt take it too seriously, mostly 4/5 star ratings

alternatives: saltburn (half a star), asteroid city (5 stars), blackkklansman (5 stars), the force awakens (3.5 stars), the perks of being a wallflower (4.5 stars), back to the future (5 stars)

rogue one because lucas has taste. its the best star wars movie, if u care. he would love how fun and goofy ghostbusters 2 is. in my head Wes Anderson is like the party’s claimed director and they all watch his movies together and do marathons because the weirdness, comedy, and emotional commentary is a perfect mix for them. so. bottle rocket. lucas’ favorite wes anderson is the grand budapest hotel if u wanted to know. he rates things pretty highly and isn’t super critical.

alternatives: dodgeball (5 stars), scream 5 (4 stars), the matrix (3 stars), good will hunting (5 stars), jurassic park (5 stars), die hard (5 stars),

likes making lucas watch gone girl on valentines day and telling him shes gonna do that to him next time he annoys her. v for vendetta is her favorite romance movie and shes a big marvel fan (in a cool way. kind of .) but thor ragnarok is probably one of her fav marvels, along with spiderman far from home and iron man. i just know she watches Casino Royale and decided she hated James Bond and then ended up watching all the Daniel Craig Bonds with Mike and loved Skyfall so much. the song is on her playlist and she did cry after No Time To Die.

Alternatives: Superbad (5 stars), baby driver (5 stars), bottoms (5 stars), 10 things i hate about you (3.5 stars), scream (5 stars), kill bill (5 stars), lord of the rings: the return of the king (1.5 stars)

also a bit of a film nerd. i considered giving him a star wars and i know in my heart he’d probably have empire somewhere in his top 4. but star wars is lame and i wanted to give him se7en so he fucking gets se7en. he knows john wick is objectively dumb but he doesnt care hes just here for a good time. the party probably watched saltburn together and all fucking hated it. I just know hes a kurosawa nerd and always goes when the local theatres do very rare special showings of his movies.

alternatives: baby driver (4 stars), the ewok adventure (5 stars) hot fuzz (5 stars) harry potter and the sorcerers stone (4 stars) legally blonde (5 stars) spirited away (5 stars) dazed and confused (5 stars)

she likes movies that make her feel all warm and fuzzy and hopeful. i wanted to give her breakfast club, but i think she’d honestly like sixteen candles more (even though breakfast club’s better). she cried at almost every movie in her top 4 and makes max rewatch juno with her like once a month. she gives most movies 5 stars unless she really hates them, and loves any movie thats fun to watch, even if its bad. she likes movies with pretty girls and fun colors.

alternatives: barbie (5 stars), legally blonde (5 stars), inception (2 stars), heathers (5 stars) pretty in pink (4.5 stars (she was mad andi didn’t end up with ducky)) my neighbor totoro (5 stars)

in conclusion if you haven’t seen They Cloned Tyron (2023) go watch it it deserved the oscar

[princesscatherinemiddleton]

The Princess of Wales’ Year in Review: February

February 1st - A video was released of the Princess of Wales and "Shaping Us" Campaign Champions February 2nd - A video was released of the Princess of Wales at St Johns C of E Primary for the "Shaping Us" campaign. Photos of the visit were released on January 28th. Later that day, photos of the Princess of Wales and Roman Kemp were released in advance of the release of a video February 3rd - A video was released of the Princess of Wales and Roman Kemp speaking about the early years and mental health February 4th - Kensington Palace released a photograph of Catherine as a baby with her father, Michael Middleton. Catherine was later seen watching George play football with their dog, Orla February 6th - The Princess of Wales visited St John's Primary in Bethnal Green to launch Children's Mental Health Week, as part of her work as Patron of Place2Be February 8th - The Princess of Wales, Patron of Captain Harpreet Chandi's Solo Antarctic Expedition, visited Landau Forte College February 9th - The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall visited Cornwall. They visited the National Maritime Museum Falmouth, before visiting the Dracaena Centre February 19th - The Prince and Princess of Wales attended the British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Festival Hall February 21st - The Princess of Wales visited Oxford House Nursing Home February 22nd - The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron of the Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, held an Early Years Meeting February 23rd - The Princess of Wales, Patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, received Ian Hewitt at Windsor Castle. That afternoon, she received Major General Christopher Ghika (Regimental Lieutenant Colonel) and Lieutenant Colonel James Aldridge (Commanding Officer) in her role as Colonel of the Irish Guards February 25th - The Prince of Wales, Patron of Welsh Rugby Union, and the Princess of Wales, Patron of Rugby Football Union, attended the Six Nations Rugby Match between Wales and England February 28th - The Prince and Princess of Wales undertook an away day to Wales. First, as Joint Patrons of the Royal Foundation, they visited Brynawel House Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Centre; there, they announced a new project as part of a series to leave a lasting impact. The Royal Foundation brought together national and local organisations to support the design and build, and provide funding, tools, plants, seeds and materials for landscaping. Next, they visited Aberavon Celtic Leisure Centre before finishing by opening the new patient room at Wales Air Ambulance

[dynamoe]

Boy Genius wrapped up Feb 2023, but I got this nice review 10 days ago.

Maybe it was someone from Tumblr? If so and you're reading this, it has been the one light in a deeply hopeless two weeks— sincerely, thank you.

As I responded on AO3, I promise I will attempt to make all future backstory adventures more Eurocentric.

→ back to the Billy & White index

↓ more details ↓

Now, me, as a vulgar Ugly American— what do I know about European pop culture in the 1990s? What would have broken through to unambitious, uncultured suburban American teens?

Hmmmm... Barcelona '92 Olympics? The mascot was a scribbly dog thing. That's all I remember.

Ace of Base (Swedish) dominated 1994 with The Sign. They had another hit with All That She Wants (Is Another Baby) from the same year. Urban legends immediately started that they were Nazis and "the sign" was a swastika (an Ankh in the music video). Various levels of confirmation on that.

Do we count Björk as European?

I'm trying to think of European movies that broke through— the 1990s is the era of independent film but that was mostly focused on American auteurs. The big international hits were for an older audience— teens weren't into Lars von Trier or Three Colors Trilogy.

La Femme Nikita and Léon: The Professional (French-Italian) appealed big-time to the guys already into Tarantino and Hong Kong Action. At the end of the decade you get Run Lola Run (German), very big with teens and college students.

Billy and his date go see Jeunet-et-Caro's Delicatessen (French) in Tomorrow's Just Another Day. (Their City of Lost Children already referenced in VB for the design of Watch and Ward.)

Note, I'm excluding British pop culture, which I've already included a lot of in the fiction. The UK is still in the EU in the mid-90s, obvs, but American pop culture has a far different relationship with the British than with the rest of Europe. Even before the Beatles. "Cool Britannia" had a major hold in the US after 1997. A Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Tony Blair was on The Simpsons, before he became a war criminal. Trainspotting, Britpop and Elisabeth Hurley— God Save the Queen. As a British Comedy obsessive, I can write endlessly about the UK in the '90s—music, politics, TV, actors, comedians etc. Ask me anything about Spitting Image or all the stock jokes associated with Deputy PM John Prescott from Have I Got News for You. Except you shouldn't, it will be very boring for you.

Now the big European backstory story I have notes for would be a 1990-1991-set road trip through the Eastern Bloc and newly independent ex-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States as Billy and White try to pick up abandoned super-science research from former state-sponsored labs for pennies on the dollar.

Starting in East Berlin, they stumble through Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia into the Federation of Former Soviet States, heading east. White tries to trade Levis blue jeans for death ray plans. Billy mangles translating a dozen languages he barely understands (he's only 16).

They cause international incidents and nearly get killed over and over, running away to the next country. They are tailed by EuroPol, accidentally become oligarchs and have to be airlifted out of the US Embassy in Tashkent.

Tetris would be key. A Trojan Horse— it was actually a coded super-weapon meant to destabilize the west. Billy and White somehow figure it out and neuter its power while fucking everything else up.

I dunno. I might never write it but it's fun to think about.

→ back to the index

[lyledebeast]

"Ok, it's not a good movie by any means, but Jason Isaacs is fabulous in it."

A concise and accurate review of at least 100 films and shows.

Roman Castevet in the Rosemary's Baby miniseries has everything you want in a Jason Isaacs villain . . . and not much else. It goes very hard for the romance between Rosemary and Guy, which is deeply unfortunate because Guy is every bit as smarmy and boring in this version as in 1968. John Cassavetes at least had the excuse of it being 1968; idk what this guy's deal is. Zoe Saldana is good. She's one of the producers, so clearly this is a project that meant a lot to her, and it shows. She could've done more with better dialogue. Some of the dialogue. Yikes.

But as I've said, Jason is incredible, and so is Carole Bouquet as his sinisterly seductive wife Margaux. The series is worth watching to the end if only for two specific shots. One has Roman sitting in a chair petting the loud-ass Oriental cat. Another has him standing by the window with his hands in his pockets in a pair of pants that fit . . . correctly.

It's available on Tubi!

[strictlyfavorites]

AUDIE MURPHY

Section 46, Grave 366-11

He wanted to join the Marines, but he was too short. The paratroopers wouldn't have him, either. Reluctantly, he settled on the infantry, and ultimately became one of the most decorated heroes of World War II. He was Audie Murphy, the baby-faced Texas farmboy who became an American legend. Murphy grew up on a sharecropper's farm in Hunt County, Texas. After his father deserted the family, he helped raise his 11 brothers and sisters, dropping out of school in the fifth grade to earn money picking cotton. He was 16 years old when his mother died, and he watched as his siblings were doled out to an orphanage or to relatives. Seeking an escape from this difficult life, Murphy enlisted in the Army in 1942 — falsifying his birth certificate so that he appeared to be 18, one year older than he actually was. 

Following basic training, Murphy was assigned to the 15th Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division in North Africa. First entering combat in July 1943, during the invasion of Sicily, he proved himself to be a proficient marksman and a highly skilled soldier. He consistently demonstrated how well he understood the techniques of small-unit action. Murphy landed at Salerno, Italy to fight in the Voltuno River campaign, and then at Anzio to be part of the Allied force that fought its way to Rome. Throughout these campaigns, Murphy's skills earned him advancements in rank, because many of his superior officers were being transferred, wounded or killed. After the capture of Rome in June 1944, Murphy earned his first decoration for gallantry.

Shortly thereafter, his unit was withdrawn from Italy to train for Operation Anvil-Dragoon, the invasion of southern France that began on August 15, 1944. During seven weeks of fighting in that successful campaign, Murphy's division suffered 4,500 casualties, and he became one of the most decorated men in his company. But his biggest test was yet to come.

On January 26, 1945, near the village of Holtzwihr in eastern France, Lt. Murphy's forward positions came under fierce attack by the Germans. Against the onslaught of six Panzer tanks and 250 infantrymen, Murphy ordered his men to fall back to better their defenses. Alone, he mounted an abandoned, burning tank destroyer and, with a single machine gun, contested the enemy's advance. Wounded in the leg during the heavy fire, Murphy remained there for nearly an hour, repelling the attack of German soldiers on three sides and single-handedly killing 50 of them. His courageous performance stalled the German advance and allowed him to lead his men in the counterattack which ultimately drove the enemy from Holtzwihr. For this, Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest award for gallantry in action.

By the end of World War II, Murphy had become one of the nation's most-decorated soldiers, earning an unparalleled 28 medals (including three from France and one from Belgium). Murphy had been wounded three times during the war. In May 1945, when victory was declared in Europe, he had still not reached his 21st birthday.

Audie Murphy returned to a hero's welcome in the United States. His photograph appeared on the cover of Life magazine, and actor James Cagney persuaded him to embark on an acting career. Still shy and unassuming, Murphy arrived in Hollywood with only his good looks and — by his own account — "no talent." Nevertheless, he went on to make more than 40 films. His first part was just a small one in the 1948 film "Beyond Glory." The following year, he published his wartime memoir, "To Hell and Back," which received positive reviews. In 1955, he portrayed himself in the movie version of the book. Many film critics, however, believe that his best performance was "The Red Badge of Courage," director John Huston's 1951 Civil War epic based on the novel by Stephen Crane. 

Murphy retired from acting after 21 years, and subsequently bred race horses and pursued various business ventures. But he struggled financially, due to gambling and unsuccessful investments, and he declared bankruptcy in 1968. Murphy suffered from what is now known as post-traumatic stress disorder, experiencing headaches, depression and nightmares; he once said that he could sleep only with a loaded pistol under his pillow. In 1971, at the age of 46, Murphy died in the crash of a private plane near Roanoke, Virginia.

Audie Murphy is buried in Section 46, just across from the Memorial Amphitheater. A special flagstone walkway has been constructed to accommodate the large number of people who stop to pay their respects to this hero. 

Medal of Honor citation:

"2d Lt. Murphy commanded Company B, which was attacked by 6 tanks and waves of infantry. 2d Lt. Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to prepared positions in a woods, while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him, to his right, 1 of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. 2d Lt. Murphy continued to direct artillery fire which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, 2d Lt. Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer, which was in danger of blowing up at any moment, and employed its .50 caliber machinegun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to German fire from 3 sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate 2d Lt. Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad which was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound, but ignored it and continued the single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he killed or wounded about 50. 2d Lt. Murphy's indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction, and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy's objective."

[starry-mist]

S6e13 thoughts:

Right I forgot to do these. So I’ve watched the episode twice and honestly I didn’t love it, but reading other reviews I think I may need to watch a third time because apparently there was a lot of stuff I didn’t notice. I think I went into it expecting it to be more of a Sarah episode than it was, so I set myself up for a bit of disappointment.

From the article I read a while back about them filming in Hamilton (which is where Makenna’s “apartment building” is actually located, not Toronto) I assumed it was John and Diesel filming there. Then realizing that Mayko had also filmed there, I figured Charlie and Rex would somehow join Sarah. It was kind of weirdly cut and I feel like maybe there were edits made once they saw the start-of-season fan backlash over the constant siloing of Charlie and Rex. I don’t know. It felt choppy and the Toronto trip felt unnecessary but it could have been an actor availability thing.

I wonder if the “aren’t you supposed to be flying” line from Charlie to Joe was meant to be a reference to Kevin guesting on SkyMed (apparently for several episodes, IDK what the story was though as I have only watched part of s1 of that show.)

I’m still annoyed about them going all the way to “Toronto” and not showing any of Sarah’s family, but it wouldn’t have worked with the plot.

I love Charlie and Sarah being soft in hospitals.

Sarah hanging out on the swings with coffee is my new happy place.

I still need more Charah. I’ll do a post-ep because I want some Sarah feels over Andrew nearly dying. Also I would like Sarah and Makenna to be friends. (Also I half-expected Sarah to be delivering Makenna’s baby.)

Anyway, season of side hugs continues. It’s not much, but I’ll take it.

Next week: Looks intense. Maybe some Charah? And Rex in danger again…oof.

[roosterbox]

A Quiet Place Day One “Review”

Okay, so

Such a good movie! I’m putting the rest of this under a cut, just in case. Spoilers ahead!

The EMOTIONS. Hell, MY EMOTIONS. I fucking cried, man. These characters were incredible. I wish Hospice Nurse guy could have lived, but yeah. I figured he was toast, mainly because I know how these story beats work, but also because the hype was focused on Lupita and Joseph. Which… fucking fair. They were both amazing.

Joseph, baby boy 🥺😭😭

I can’t fault Eric even a little bit; if I was in his shoes, I would have reacted the EXACT same way. World goes crazy? Find the nearest adult and follow them around like a scared puppy. Especially if they’re a cat person. Probably would have asked to hold her hand too, but he was slightly braver than me, lol. I mean, if I’m truly the only competent adult present, I can try my best to pull everything together, but generally? Terrified little bunny, no good in a true crisis.

Also, she gives him her sweater. IT WAS HER DAD’S SWEATER. That’s when the tears started pouring, lol. And ERIC LIVED, holy shit. I won’t lie, I was pretty convinced that he wouldn’t. Just because it’s typically my luck, to have my favorite character die. And I knew going in that he would be my favorite, by virtue of being played by my boi. Also, Joseph is an incredible onscreen crier, damn. Every time he gets emotional, I do too. Please someone protect that sweet boy 🥺😭

Schnitzel is an incredible cat actor - no cat I’ve ever known would have put up with any of this, lmao. I figured he would survive too. Not just because we got that (very spoilery) shot a few days ago of Joseph in the yellow sweater, holding the cat, obviously from the ending (which also spoiled that Eric would probably live too, of course). No, I didn’t think they would kill the cat just on a hunch. Despite the first movie being very famous for killing a child in the opening scene, I knew in my heart that Frodo was safe.

I want to see so much more of these characters, even though Sam was obviously doomed, if not from the creatures than from her illness. But Eric and Frodo though… Part of me says “No! *whacks hand with a ruler* Leave it!” But still… I don’t want to leave them yet.

My only real criticism is that, for a horror movie, I didn’t find it all that scary. Maybe it’s just the premise in general that doesn’t scare me that much. If I eventually watch the other two movies and don’t find them scary either, I’ll know that’s the case. Not a dig against John Krasinski or anyone else who wrote/created it, but it’s hard to truly scare me with horror movies anymore - I’m too much of an old hat at this. Good tension and build up though! That scene with Eric and Frodo in the sort of nest-like area? Damn, son. Good stuff.

Overall, absolutely great film. Lupita and Joseph are amazing, and have superb chemistry, and I hope they do more films together eventually. Schnitzel is a good boy and deserves many, many delicious cat treats. And, thankfully, you don’t need to have seen the other two movies to understand what’s happening. That was a slight concern of mine, lol.

8/10

Recommended!

[thatrickmcginnis]

BERNIE WORRELL, Toronto, 1987

I became a Parliament-Funkadelic fan before I heard a note of their music. It was 1977, and I was reading my brother-in-law's copy of Rolling Stone, which contained a concert review of the P-Funk Earth Tour at the back of the magazine. I saw the costumes and the spaceship and despite Toronto radio being nearly completely P-Funk-free at the time, I thought this looked like it must sound amazing. When I finally found my way to hearing something by George Clinton and his band(s) - I think it might have been "Flash Light" but I'm not sure - I wasn't disappointed, and when I started taking photos I made it my mission to get a portrait of anyone who was involved in the P-Funk universe. First up, and quite without expecting it, was keyboardist Bernie Worrell.

I had, of course, seen Bernie Worrell as part of the extended Talking Heads filmed by Jonathan Demme for Stop Making Sense. P-Funk were on something of a hiatus in the '80s, so various members of the group were appearing in all kinds of situations, and Worrell showed up in Toronto as part of the Golden Palominos - drummer Anton Fier's art rock/indie supergroup. Worrell was born in New Jersey and was an accomplished musician, studying at Juilliard and the New England Conservatory of Music before a meeting with George Clinton inspired him to move to Detroit and become part of the collective of musicians recording and touring as either Parliament or Funkadelic or both.

I shot precisely four frames of Bernie Worrell, who I nervously approached during soundcheck at the El Mocambo, a Toronto club, knowing that I only had a third of a roll of 120 film left in my Mamiya C330. The stew of influences I was processing as a young photographer included Francis Wolff's work on the covers of Blue Note albums, and while I might not have been able to explain it at the time, I was definitely paying homage to (or ripping off, depending on how you look at it) Wolff's work on records by John Coltrane, Bud Powell and "Baby Face" Willette. I'm not sure these photos - the whole of the shoot, as of this post - have ever been published outside my old blog. Bernie Worrell died of cancer in 2016.

[hwdownandout]

Barbara Stanwyck by Bert Longworth for Baby Face (1933).

The now-iconic pre-Code film about a woman who uses sex as power to advance her career came from an original story written by Warner executive Darryl Zanuck under the pseudonym Mark Canfield.

In a harshly negative review, NY Times critic Mordaunt Hall implied that Zanuck lost his job at WB in April 1933 because of the fight with censors over Baby Face’s more blatant sexual themes but others have pointed to an internal salary dispute with Jack Warner.

The film was said to be instrumental in the enforcement of the Hays Code. "Blue and nothing else," wrote a critic for Variety. "Anything hotter than this for public showing would call for an asbestos audience blanket."

Barbara wears her Orry-Kelly gown in a still from Baby Face (1933) and stars in the filme with co-star George Brent. The film was the third of five films they made together. Trivia: A young John Wayne had an early minor role as one of Lily Powers’ conquests in the film.

[Source]

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

Thanks for the tag @greencloakedfae

Three Non-romantic Duos [in order of chronology of exposure]:

1) Kate Todd and Tony DiNozzo, NCIS (the later season canon survival AU can kiss my ass)

2) Syenite/Essun and Alabaster, The Broken Earth Trilogy

3) Lola and Francis, Reign

A Ship That Might Surprise Others:

I honestly don't think my ships are ever going to surprise anybody really, but maybe Barbara Howard and Melissa Schemmenti, Abbott Elementary

Last Song:

Oh that's easy, lol, I've been reviewing my playlists for to make a mixtape for my baby cousin, so the last thing I listened to was "u" by Kendrick Lamar (OBVIOUSLY this was immediately preceded by "i" because to do otherwise is sacrilege to me)

Last Film:

Lmao I don't watch movies, so this'll take a minute. I think that unfortubately there is a REALLY solid chance that the last movie I watched was John Tucker Must Die

Currently Reading:

[Fiction] Libba Bray's The Diviner's series

[Non-Fiction] Anarkata's Move Like Mycorrhizae - Some Suggestions For Praxis

Currently Watching:

For the drama - Reign

For the quality - Dimension 20 Misfits and Magic

For the sleep-inducing absurdity - Designated Survivor

Currently Consuming:

A truly unfathomable amount of heritage crafting technical/critical exploration, including a lot of history bounding garment making, manual wood carving and carpentry techniques, wild-crafting ecological management, and nutritional studies.

Currently Craving:

Fluidsssssssss, my guy I am so dehydrated rn lol literally spent the day looking up how to get IV therapy

Tags if they wanna:

@loreofthejungle

@emrylurkeroftheloch

@nerdomancer

@headspace-hotel

[major-knighton]

HALLOW-LEE-N movie review Oct 30th : To the Devil, a Daughter (1976)

I'm still here, I'm not dead! An easily distracted mind and the puzzling nature of streaming services were working against me, but I finally have my penultimate entry. This movie was following on the footsteps of Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist, but I think without quite living up to them.

We start with two different points of view in this film : one is Catherine, a young nun going out of the convent she was raised in to visit her father for a few days, and Father Michael (Lee) who works at Catherine's convent.

Catherine's father calls his friend, writer/journalist John, in a panic, says he's leaving the hospital he works at for a week and can't greet Catherine, and would John horribly mind looking after her? There's a great story in it bc it involves Satanists.

John bites, and goes to find Catherine at the airport and steal her right from under the nose of the people escorting her. He brings her to her home, explains her father can't be here and asks a few questions, nothing too weird going on.

Father Michael and the couple who helped raise Catherine are at the hospital Catherine's dad just fled, and they're assisting in a birth. This requires tying the expecting mother to the bed and burning incense, so we know something is going on here.

While the birth is going on, Catherine has a horrible dream full of pain, and wakes the next morning sort of hypnotized. Meanwhile, the baby is born and the mother is very, very dead.

Catherine, in a transe, kills the woman watching her during John's absence and leaves. John and the woman's husband, David, piece together what is happening from various books and the pendant depicting Astaroth that Catherine was wearing.

Turns out Catherine's convent are working towards bringing the demon to Earth, so one woman was impregnated (by Father Michael, in a fairly graphic scene). That baby has to be baptized in his mother's blood, then another person has to be baptized in the baby's blood.

They track down Catherine's father, who okayed all of this when she was conceived through a pact with the demon, but is now trying to get out. He says he'll tell them everything if they bring him his pact to be destroyed, so they take a trip to the church. David gets burned alive, but John eventually makes it back to the crying and snivelling dad and gives him his pact.

Having received the address of the temple, John goes out and bashes a guy's head with a rock, before arriving in front of the altar Catherine is laying on. The baby has already been slain, but the ritual is not complete. Father Michael gloats that the hill is full of rock sacred to Astaroth and he's therefore protected.

John replies that he just used such a rock to kill a guy, so now Astaroth is on John's side because the cultists made him angry due to the baby killing??? This bonkers reasoning is apparently the correct one because John throws his rock, and lightly grazes Michael's forehead which kills him instantly. John picks up Catherine and the scene goes all technicolor, a strong wind picks up and he struggles to make it out of the salt circle. Then the wind dies, the colors lose their stroke-inducing hue, and everything is good.

During all this Catherine does not say a word.

Suffice to say, I found this one hella weird and not in a good way. Practically none of the characters are interesting, the plot is super contrived. Devil stuff in horror is usually not my jam, but I think I'm being fair. A lot of the gorey bits also kinda fell flat. I will say, the sex scenes were probably meant to be disturbing and they certainly achieve it.

Overall not a great film, but I know the next and final one will more than make up for it. 3/10.

[mylifeincinema]

My Week(s) in Reviews: August 25, 2024

Yikes... it's been damn-near a month, and I've only got three new ones. That's summer, though. With my concert schedule, most of my free time goes toward keeping up with reading, and anything else has been going to reruns (of Seinfeld, mostly). ::shrugs::

Anyway, here they are...

Alien: Romulus (Fede Alvarez, 2024)

I mostly liked this one. Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson both turn in phenomenal performances. Alvarez handles the tension and terror beautifully. And the production design is a perfect blend of the Alien & Blade Runner films of the past. Unfortunately, whatever that abomination of a final act was damn-near ruined the entire experience, for me. Still a solid piece of sci-fi/horror, overall, though. - 7/10

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Gil Kenan, 2024)

I actually really liked this one. There's a charm here that kinda seemed missing from the last one. Still nowhere near the brilliance of the original, but it's really not a bad way to spend a couple hours in a familiar, likable world filled with familiar, mostly likable characters. - 6/10

Incoming (Dave & John Chernin, 2024)

Pretty damn bad. But it's kinda the type of bad that I didn't entirely hate wasting my time on. It shamelessly plunders its elements from just about every teen movie of significance over the past 40 years. There's heavy doses of Superbad, Booksmart, License to Drive, 10 Things I Hate About You and more, and poorly veiled hints of countless others. The characters are types and nothing more, making everything that happens seem inconsequential at best. It's at once a warning and a wet dream, and too few of the lessons learned feel quite like they stick. However, there are two elements that I really liked. And that's the outcome of the stolen Tesla storyline, and Bobby Canavale. The former actually feels super '80s, rather than feeling like a ripoff of the '80s, and the moral of it—that kindness begets kindness—is something refreshing to see in a film about today's youth. And the latter is just having the silly, absurd time of his life. I love Cannavale, and the dedication that he brings to this trainwreck of a character is simultaneously delightful and wholly cringe-worthy. I especially liked that they checked his nonsense in the end. - 3.5/10

Also got a couple revisits in. Bone Tomahawk held up well, but lacks the overall "holy shit" factor when you know what's coming, so I had significantly less fun with it this time around. Then I watched Rosemary's Baby because I finally got around to reading Ira Levin's book. It really is an all-around perfect adaptation. What an unholy masterpiece.

Enjoy!