Movies Watched -- Primal Fear (1996)

130 minute running time so at least 30 to 40 minutes too long. Smarmy Richard Gere with his close-set eyes and expensive haircut. Laura Linney and her resting bitch face. Frasier’s dad playing a bad cop. Chinless Francis McDormand as gullible shrink. Star of the show was Edward Norton, who plays a very believable baby-faced dolt with fake southern accent.

Did the story make any sense? No. Why did Edward allow himself to get caught? How did he know Gere would defend him? Was he going to use the Jekyll and Hyde thing with a $40K a year public defender?

By the way, Gere’s car is a 1978 Mercedes-Benz 300 CD. Linney: “I don't need an old Mercedes. I don't need to see my resting bitch face on the evening news.”

But what a breath of fresh air that the Catholic archbishop was simply directing the kids from Savior House in his pr0n productions instead of molesting the altar boys himself.

They were able to check off two boxes by making the pushover judge both black and female, check check! John Farr recommended this, but it was way way too long and dumb for me (but funny in its own way).

It’s raining!

Movies Watched -- How To Have Sex (2023)

91 minute running time … I saw this in the theater and interestingly it was subtitled, which was essential since it featured these working-class British kids on holiday in Malia (which is on Crete, a Greek island) and I wouldn’t have understood half the dialogue without subtitles … anyway, I wasn’t thrilled with this … the blurb says it’s about these kids “navigating the complexities of sex, consent and self-discovery … and how first sexual experiences should – or shouldn’t – play out.”

It also touched on the topic of female jealousy and rivalry among “friends,” which I always find interesting. I guess it was realistic, but what was the message here? Tara’s experience was sort of awful, but not really that awful, as it is for a lot of, even most?, girls. I guess I was too dense to get that Tara’s “consent” wasn’t really consent. (See Jessica Kiang’s review below.) It’s complicated for sure. I thought the girls were all 18 years old, not 16 … the actresses were all in their 20s anyway.

It’s a W.D. By movie … “Molly Manning Walker” looks like a gay Millennial trust fund kid, but who knows. There was a homosexual relationship casually thrown in, which is a very Millennial thing to do.

From Jessica Kiang’s excellent review: “‘How to Have Sex’ is a different kind of Greek tragedy — no grand myth, just a heart-sore, everyday observation of what the world does to girls and what the world makes girls do to themselves.”

Movies Watched -- Dead Man Walking (1995)

122 minute running time so 30 minutes too long … disc didn’t have subtitles so I was unable to watch / read it on fast forward … looked heavy and depressing and apparently based on a true story. This was a W.D. By movie by that goofy pinko Tim Robbins (half joking) … Susan Sarandon has nice even features and a terrible fake southern accent … this was a John Farr reco, but I couldn’t watch it, esp. at over two hours long. I did spend 25 minutes fast forwarding so I’m counting it as “watched.”

Lots of niggers down where you live. They knock each other off like beer cans off a fence.

Movies Watched -- The Great Train Robbery (1979)

111 minute running time so 20 minutes too long … it’s a cute story, good for the whole family if you ignore the constant sexual double entendres … ageing Sean Connery and goofy, gawky Donald Sutherland … John Farr recommended it, but it only gets a solid yellow rating (“consider”) from me.

Movies Watched -- Queen & Slim (2019)

132 minute running time so around 40 minutes too long … this was way way too long, they tried to cram in all kinds of ideas and scenes and side stories (including a love story!) … it started out OK, sort of interesting, this innocent young couple chattering away, but everything quickly spiraled out of control once the key tragedy happened and it became a fugitives on the run thing … none of it was realistic, I mean their reactions, etc. I wasn’t thrilled with the politics of it either — a bunch of mixed and confusing messages and when the SPOILERS little boy shoots the black cop, it just took an awful turn. This was a bad recommendation from John Farr, who wrote it was “sadly all too believable.” Yes, the awful traffic stop was believable, but none of what followed was. Badly done movie about racism (that’s what it was about, right?) and just way way way too long.

Movies Watched -- Thieves Like Us (1974)

123 minute running time so 30 minutes too long … another Robert Altman movie from the 70s, a re-make of They Live By Night (which is a classic Nick Ray movie I own) … Shelley Duvall plays a good “picayune” dimwit “Keechie” and Keith Carradine is good as lucky crook “Bowie” … this wasn’t terrible, but it was just too darn long. John Farr recommended it for it’s “breezy, old-timey feel,” but it was just too darn long for me. Breaking Chickasaw out of prison was a pretty classic scene though, as was throwing him out of the car when he was complaining too much, I laughed hard there.

I already am mixed up with you.

Zippo Armor Pattern Design No. 49291

360 degree MultiCut Black Ice® with crystal

Movies Watched -- Le Havre (2011)

In French. 93 minute running time so the perfect length. This was a cute story but too cute. Every shot was carefully posed, the colors, the lighting, the framing, all precious, all capital A.R.T. Yes, it’s heartwarming, yes, the humanity, but no, it’s too contrived and forced for me. Farr recommended it but I say pass.

Movies Watched -- Training Day (2001)

122 minute running time so at least 20 minutes too long and felt like an hour too long … I can never buy Denzel as a tough, street smart guy … he has perfect teeth and skin and is super articulate, so it’s like, come on, give me a break … the only part that Denzel can believably play for me is a college professor. He’s like a “safe” black man for Hollywood.

This started out sort of annoying then took a very dark turn and then turned ultra-violent and just ridiculous. It was no good. Ethan Hawke’s imperfect teeth interested me and I found him a more believable character than Denzel’s. And it was way way too long. And there was an unbelievable amount of cussing.

This was not a John Farr recommendation … some guys in my Discord room recommended this and I won’t be taking any further recommendations from them.

Movies Watched -- Onibaba (1964)

In Japanese. 103 minute running time so a good length. This was an unusual one and I sort of enjoyed it .. it’s true that I fast forwarded through the endless rustling grass shots, but I liked the honesty of portraying these savages during wartime and the raw sexuality and the triangular relationship and the female jealousy and bare breasts and the demon mask. I guess I’ll give it a green-go, as did John Farr. I didn’t know at the time I got it that Farr also recommended it, so I was suprised when I saw that he did.

Laundry day