What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Markgway
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Cliffhanger (1993-USA-France-Italy) ***
The best of Stallone's action blockbusters.
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Heathers (1988-USA) ***
Sharp, jet-black high school satire, features star-making performances by Winona Ryder and Christian Slater.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Arabian Nights (1942: John Rawlins) **½/****: second time seeing this.

When you find out that Shemp Howard (in the W.C. Fields film The Bank Dick) plays Sinbad you pretty much know what you are in for. Arabian Nights is a plebian action film that happens to take place in Middle East (though for some reason mountain ranges can be seen from time to time). Haroun-Al-Raschid (Jon Hall) is a caliphate who survives an assassination attempt by the help of a surly dancing girl Scheherazade (Maria Montez) and Ali Ben Ali (Sabu). However, his identity remains unknown to Scheherazade who is prophesied to marry a great leader whom she thinks will be the current caliphate Kamar (Leif Erikson after he came to America) who was responsible for Haroun's injury unbeknownst to her.

Scheherazade slowly falls in love with the masquerading prince against her better judgment since he is not a rich powerful man (well she doesn't know whom he really is). There is a third party who wants access to the throne who is trying to dispose of both the dancing servant and the current Caliphate. These plot points do keep the movie interesting.

This movie is in no way faithful to the Arabian Nights book, though it starts and ends as a tale. It mixes characters from several stories in a hodge-podge of entertainment: such as having Aladdin always looking for his lamp and rubbing all of them that he sees. The film is fun with its constant moving of plot and action sequences (though it is hilarious to see scimitars being used like fencing swords), but in most instances it is probably outdated to most current audiences (to be fair the acting in it was not considered well in its own time; the audiences knew this was not sagacious material and was just trying to not think about the current war). Though it is cool seeing such a large swimming pool in the desert.

Arabian Nights was partially created to capitalize on the success of The Thief of Bagdad (As Robert Osbourne would state in the extras on the R1 DVD). This film would borrow several key elements such as being Universal's first 3-strip Technicolor feature but also borrowing its star Sabu. However, it missed some of the most important elements. It is a straightforward film that does not only eschew the magical special effects of its progenitor, but it also fails in its attempt at Arabic mystique or flavor. It was called a western in the desert and that description is mostly apt. However, its escapist nature helped make it a hit at the box office and this would be nominated for four Oscars. It was so popular that ther were several films starring Hall, Montez and Sabu and even more with just Hall and Montez.

Fans of the 1940 The Thief of Bagdad might consider watching this for further study of Arabesque attitudes in western theater as well as comparing Sabu's performance (who is also in the Criterion release Black Narcissus). I would also recommend the earlier 1924 The Thief of Bagdad starring Douglas Fairbanks just because it is awesome.
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Kick Ass 2 (2013-USA-UK-Japan) **½
Wildly over-the-top in-your-face carnage-soaked sequel delivers exactly what its audience demands.
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Lucky Stiff (1988-USA) *½
Jilted chubby Joe Alaskey is chosen by glamorous blonde Donna Dixon to be her hillbilly family's Xmas dinner.
Norman Bates himself directed this lame-o black comedy (rated PG in the US despite frequent references to cannibalism and incest). Justly forgotten.
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Primal Fear (1996-USA) **½
Richard Gere stars as a hotshot lawyer in this quite good courtroom thriller, which offers a 'gotcha' twist (which you'll probably see coming...) at the expense of credibility, leaving an abundance of questions and loose threads. Edward Norton makes a memorable debut as Gere's client.
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Amsterdamned (1988-The Netherlands) **
Nifty speedboat chase is highlight of otherwise pedestrian serial killer thriller. The lead actor (playing a cop) is amazingly bland.
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Invasion USA (1985-USA-Israel) ***
Chuck kicks commie ass. That's all you need to know.
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The Whole Truth (USA, 2016) [DCP] - 3/5
Japan had to wait a small eternity for John Wick, and Knock Knock is still on its way, but at least this Keanu Reeves flick hit the Japanese screens even before the US release date has been set. Perhaps the US distributor just didn't know what to do with such a TV like movie. Mind you, that's not really a criticism. It's a solid courtroom drama, especially if you like Reeves (like I've recently come to) even though it may not ultimately make as much sense as it should. I needed to kill 90 minutes while waiting for someone and this film did the job fine, although for most people it would probably be a rental rather than cinema viewing.
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Surrender (1987-USA-Israel) **½
Old-fashioned romantic farce with a handful of fair laughs. Leads Michael Caine and Sally Field almost make it work... but keep your expectations in check.
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Ex Machina (2014-UK) ***
Intelligent sci-fi drama, convincingly acted, but lacking only in emotional engagement (if they had developed the relationship between Eva and Caleb further, perhaps sexually, the stakes would've been higher, and the payoff seemingly more cruel).
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A Tiger's Tale (1987-USA) **
Teen C. Thomas Howell falls in love with middle-aged Ann-Margaret, mother of his ex, Kelly Preston, in this awkward, cloying Kentucky-fried drama. I found it difficult to get a handle on this one, but some may find it charming.
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Compromising Positions (1985-USA) **
Plodding, comic murder mystery in which Susan Sarandon's reporter-turned-mom investigates the stabbing of her philandering dentist. Less fun than it sounds. The R-rating (for moderate references to sex and porn) is a touch harsh.
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Tokyo Grand Guignol (Japan, France, 2015) [Yubari Fanta] - 2/5
A Tokyo themed horror anthology by four little known French directors. The opening episode is nonsensical but interesting story of a man who finds out he can travel back in time by killing people; one corpse = minus one day. Unfortunately very ugly CGI splatter ensues. The second story is a pretentious giallo. Everything about it feels forced, but it does have a fun "poor man's Goblin" score and some great practical effects. The third story is a harmless romance/fantasy with a tone resembling the 80s Hong Kong gyonsi films. It's not bad, but it does provide further evidence that in nearly every episode film there's one director who feels the need to come up with something that is the polar opposite from what everyone else was doing. Finally, there's is a story where a crazy man is bitten by the Hachiko dog statue (really?) and turns into a werewolf after been locked in a sex club SM dungeon. More CGI crap, albeit with an exotic setting. Overall a disappointing film, but at least it's not too boring.
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Red Rock West (1992-USA-UK) ***
In the 90s John Dahl was the king of noir, and Nic Cage the king of edgy cool. Remind yourself by rewatching this minor classic.
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Men of Respect (1990-USA) **½
Shakespeare's Macbeth with gangsters. Surprisingly absorbing most of the way, but doesn't quite hold up until the end, and the psychological meltdowns don't work as intended. First rate cast.
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Blind Date (1983-USA-Greece) **½
One of Nico Mastorakis' better films; a giallo-style suspenser, in which a blind man tracks down a serial killer. Many good ideas, though they don't always pay off as well as you'd like. Kinky, but bloodless. Breast fans note: Kirstie Alley, Lana Clarkson, and Marina Sirtis all get their baps out.
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Firestarter (1984-USA) **½
Young Drew Barrymore sets shit on fire in fair Stephen King adaptation; good supporting cast.

Electric Dreams (1984-UK) **½
Quirky tale of a nerd and his possessive computer. Both lust after Virginia Madsen - who can blame them? A quintessential 80s movie.
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Fright Night (1985-USA) **½
Amiable vampire horror with tongue firmly in cheek; too camp to be scary, and not funny enough as a comedy, however.
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Blood Simple (1983-USA) **½
The Coen Brothers' debut is a twisty neo-noir; not bad, but not quite the classic I'd hoped for. I prefer the not-dissimilar Red Rock West. Frances McDormand and M. Emmet Walsh stand out among the cast, but John Getz is a charisma vacuum. A better lead would definitely have helped.
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Hard Rain (1997-USA-and a whole bunch of other countries) **½
Second string thriller benefits from good cast and lots of waterlogged stuntwork. One of the last of the pre-Matrix actioners and mildly nostalgic for that reason alone.

WAZ (2006-UK-USA) **
(The 'A' is a delta symbol but I can't be arsed looking for it.)
Grisly, very unpleasant thriller with a strong emphasis on torture; set in the US with mostly non-Americans playing Americans. Not the worst of its kind, but hardly worth seeking out either... and the jittery HD photography is atrocious.

The Spectacular Now (2013-USA) ***
If you can get past a terrible first five minutes... this deceptive coming-of-age drama has more than enough hidden depth and insight to make it worthwhile, as well as an adorable performance from Shailene Woodely as the sensitive girl next door. The more you think about it, the darker it gets...
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Frozen City (Finland, 2006) [DVD] – 3/5
This was originally a TV series episode which was later re-edited into a 90 minute theatrical film. It's an extremely well acted and incredibly bleak story of a middle aged taxi driver drawn into a custody battle where the systems, naturally, favours the mother. The cheap digital look actually doesn't hurt the film as it somehow enhances its realism. I'm actually rating this a notch down for being too bleak; the first time I've ever done that. Indeed, this is probably the most depressing film I've ever seen, and that's saying something. Directed by Aku Louhimies, one of the few contemporary Finnish directors of any significance. He's very good at capturing time and place with films like Restless (2000) (trendy young adults fucking in late 90's Helsinki), Frozen Land (2005) (everybody feels bad in early 2000s Finland) and Naked Harbour (2012) (love, crime and racial issues in the 2010s).
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Her (2013-USA) **½
Professional letter writer (who knew?) gets over his impending divorce by 'dating' his female operating system (well-voiced by Scarlett Johansson). Intellectual exercise spends 100% of its time reflecting on human emotions without ever provoking any, though having Amy Adams and Rooney Mara in your supporting cast helps enormously.

Vamp (1986-USA) *½
Three college dudes invade an after dark strip club looking for entertainment and get more than they bargained for... Trashy vampire comedy; light on gore and nudity, also smarts and laughs. Grace Jones' (wordless) role is thankless; a truly poor villainess. Billy Drago turns up as the leader of some sort of albino street gang. Honestly.
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Murderock (1984-Italy) **
Unexpectedly bloodless Lucio Fulci giallo is basically Flashdance with tits and needles. Logic is a distant memory... but the film remains oddly watchable.
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Brother from Another Planet (1984-USA) **½
Black slave alien (the undervalued Joe Morton) crash lands his space ship in Harlem.
Well-intended satire is witty and charming, but gets bogged down a bit with serious drug sub-plot. Uneven, but worth a look.
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