Rage (1972)- George C. Scott's directorial debut and he stars in it... about a father who takes revenge on the establishment after his son dies. Good stuff. Scott should have gotten the opportunity to direct more.
Fury (2014)- hated it. hated it. walks the uneasy line between John Wayne like jingoism and new liberal Hollywood bullshit. Anyone who reads one iota on the SS knows a final act reprieve is just mind boggingly bad. See previous review.
St. Vincent (2014)- Bill Murray doing Bill Murray which is never a bad thing.
Laggies (2014)- In the span of a couple days, watching this and John Carney's "Begin Again", I think I reached my Keira Knightely quota. This one is the more shaggy-dog indie wannabe of the two, with Knightely flashing that awkward smile and contorted cute face with much more manipulation than usual. For the record, I think I liked "Begin Again" more.
Nightcrawler (2014)- Robert Elswit's cinematography aside, this film turned me off completely. Gyllenhaal doing method acting to the T (even losing weight), Rene Russo playing cliche to the extreme and obvious potshots about our nation's nightly news penchant for the grotesque feel like themes from 1999.
Money Movers(1978)- Lean Aussie crime film about the robbery of a cash counting house. If only I could've understood the Aussie-speak a little more.
Yakuza Wives (1986)- The idea is an interesting one. After thirty years of yakuza films dissecting each other and one-upping the violence, Hideo Gosha decides to frame one entirely around the idea that the wives of the imprisoned bosses are the real ones in charge. Still plenty of violence, though.
Rocco and His Brothers (1961)- When I was 16 or 17, I read the gratitude that Scorsese has for this film and watched it. I think alot of its greatness was missed on me then, but not now. The intimately epic way in which Visconti builds each character and the passing of time is magnificent. It's also brilliant how each section is named for one of the brothers, but its ostensibly about the powerful effect the other brothers have on him.
Burning Bush (2014)- Agnieszka Holland's stunning mini series about the actions of a Polish student in 1969 lighting himself on fire in reaction to the country's political landscape. The defiant, radical act is shown and finished after the first ten minutes. The next four hours involve his family's quest for judicial recognition. As the lawyer representing the family, actress Tatiana Pauhofova is outstanding, and "Burning Bush" becomes an anger-inducing look at how a political machine easily destroys the individual.
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