{"id":12454,"date":"2022-11-27T18:20:24","date_gmt":"2022-11-27T23:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=12454"},"modified":"2022-11-27T18:22:36","modified_gmt":"2022-11-27T23:22:36","slug":"weekly-movie-roundup-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=12454","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Movie Roundup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I watched 14 movies last week. Is that a lot?<\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0068502\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1-3-206x300.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hide\" width=\"206\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12455\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1-3-206x300.jpg 206w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1-3-704x1024.jpg 704w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1-3-768x1117.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1-3.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 206px) 100vw, 206px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0067140\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2-3-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"Duck, You Sucker!\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12456\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2-3-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2-3-679x1024.jpg 679w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2-3-768x1158.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2-3.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0062138\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/3-3-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"Point Blank\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12457\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/3-3-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/3-3-673x1024.jpg 673w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/3-3-768x1168.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/3-3-1010x1536.jpg 1010w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/3-3.jpg 1268w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0068502\/\"><strong>Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde<\/strong><\/a> is actually not half bad. It&#8217;s a surprisingly clever take on the Robert Louis Stevenson original, that also draws on Jack the Ripper and the graverobbing  Burke and Hare.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0067140\/\"><strong>Duck, You Sucker!<\/strong><\/a> (also known as <i>A Fistful of Dynamite<\/i>) is a fantastic spaghetti western, directed with real style by Sergio Leone and with terrific performances by James Coburn and Rod Steiger. (Though you&#8217;ll have to forgive Steiger&#8217;s Mexican brownface.)<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>I&#8217;ve never read Donald E. Westlake&#8217;s original novel, <i>The Hunter<\/i>, but I have a certain, maybe undeserved, fondness for 1999&#8217;s adaptation, Payback. (That its star is Mel Gibson is the only reason I haven&#8217;t revisited it recently.) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0062138\/\"><strong>Point Blank<\/strong><\/a> is an undoubtedly better (and arguably more faithful) version, a stylishly dreamy and perfectly scuzzy pulp revenge thriller.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0970452\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/4-3-227x300.jpg\" alt=\"Solomon Kane\" width=\"227\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12458\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/4-3-227x300.jpg 227w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/4-3-776x1024.jpg 776w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/4-3-768x1014.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/4-3-1163x1536.jpg 1163w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/4-3.jpg 1551w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 227px) 100vw, 227px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt2004420\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/5-3-189x300.jpg\" alt=\"Neighbors\" width=\"189\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12459\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/5-3-189x300.jpg 189w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/5-3.jpg 485w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 189px) 100vw, 189px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0065488\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/6-3-198x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Boys in the Band\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12460\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/6-3-198x300.jpg 198w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/6-3-675x1024.jpg 675w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/6-3-768x1164.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/6-3-1013x1536.jpg 1013w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/6-3-1351x2048.jpg 1351w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/6-3.jpg 1494w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>There isn&#8217;t a lot of personality in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0970452\/\"><strong>Solomon Kane<\/strong><\/a>, but there are some good, workmanlike performances, particularly from James Purefoy.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt2004420\/\"><strong>Neighbors<\/strong><\/a> is oddly amiable, but it feels more like a half dozen half-finished comedies than a cohesive whole.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0065488\/\"><strong>The Boys in the Band<\/strong><\/a> is dated and full of a lot of a lot of (often self-hating) stereotypes, but there&#8217;s a real raw-nerve intensity and honesty to the performances.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0049674\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/7-1-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"Richard III\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/7-1-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/7-1-692x1024.jpg 692w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/7-1-768x1136.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/7-1-1039x1536.jpg 1039w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/7-1.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt2386237\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/8-1-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Malevolent\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/8-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/8-1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/8-1-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/8-1.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0089200\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/9-189x300.jpg\" alt=\"Ghoulies\" width=\"189\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12463\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/9-189x300.jpg 189w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/9.jpg 606w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 189px) 100vw, 189px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0049674\/\"><strong>Richard III<\/strong><\/a> can feel old-fashioned, if not stagey, but it&#8217;s hard to argue with Laurence Olivier in one of Shakespeare&#8217;s best-known plays.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt2386237\/\"><strong>Malevolent<\/strong><\/a> has a pretty good performance by Florence Pugh and some unsettling, if not necessarily scary, moments early on. But it feels a little underbaked, especially once we get to the big twist in the story.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>The main problem with <i>Gremlins<\/i> knockoffs is simply that they don&#8217;t have Gremlins in them. The creatures in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0089200\/\"><strong>Ghoulies<\/strong><\/a> aren&#8217;t even half as impressive. The movie has some goofy, low-budget charm, but it&#8217;s hard to shake that feeling of being a poor man&#8217;s <i>Gremlins<\/i>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0044741\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/10-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Ikiru\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/10-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/10-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/10-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/10-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/10-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/10-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0204700\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/11-211x300.jpg\" alt=\"Trouble Every Day\" width=\"211\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/11-211x300.jpg 211w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/11-722x1024.jpg 722w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/11-768x1090.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/11.jpg 1057w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 211px) 100vw, 211px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0114906\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/12-201x300.jpg\" alt=\"Welcome to the Dollhouse\" width=\"201\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/12-201x300.jpg 201w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/12.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 201px) 100vw, 201px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0044741\/\"><strong>Ikiru<\/strong><\/a> asks, very simply and without sentiment, what is it to live? What is it to actually be alive?<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0204700\"><strong>Trouble Every Day<\/strong><\/a> is sometimes upsetting, as you might expect a film that&#8217;s (at least vaguely) about the seductiveness of cannibalism and the violence of desire might be. But it&#8217;s too unfocused and overlong to ever really effectively say anything, much less develop its characters or anything like a story.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>For a film that&#8217;s mostly about the cruelty of youth, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0114906\"><strong>Welcome to the Dollhouse<\/strong><\/a> is surprisingly entertaining, and it may be my favorite of Todd Solondz&#8217;s work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/welcome-to-the-dollhouse-1996\">As Roger Ebert wrote<\/a>, the movie is not &#8220;some sort of grim sociological study&#8230;[but] in fact it&#8217;s a funny, intensely entertaining film: intense, because it focuses so mercilessly on the behavior of its characters that we are forced to confront both the comedy and the pain.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0099160\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/13-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Blue Steel\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12467\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/13-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/13-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/13-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/13.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0061089\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/14-196x300.jpg\" alt=\"This Property Is Condemned\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/14-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/14-668x1024.jpg 668w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/14-768x1178.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/14.jpg 978w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/emptymovie-1-206x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"206\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12502\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/emptymovie-1-206x300.jpg 206w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/emptymovie-1-704x1024.jpg 704w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/emptymovie-1-768x1117.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/emptymovie-1.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 206px) 100vw, 206px\" \/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0099160\/\"><strong>Blue Steel<\/strong><\/a> can often feel like the pieces of other, maybe better, movies stitched together. And yet, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/blue-steel-1990\">as Roger Ebert wrote<\/a>, &#8220;It works because it&#8217;s so audacious in combining elements that don&#8217;t seem to belong together.&#8221; It&#8217;s far from perfect, and there are subplots and characters that don&#8217;t get their due\u2014and in the end exist only for plot convenience. But the movie feels less Frankensteined-together than you might expect, and it&#8217;s held together by some good performances.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>There some good performances, particularly by a truly captivating Natalie Wood, in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0061089\/\"><strong>This Property Is Condemned<\/strong><\/a>, but it&#8217;s an unsatisfying film that just kind of peters out. God love &#8217;em both, but Sydney Pollack and Francis Ford Coppola may not have been the best team to adapt Tennessee Williams.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I watched 14 movies last week. Is that a lot? Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde is actually not half bad. It&#8217;s a surprisingly clever take on the Robert Louis Stevenson original, that also draws on Jack the Ripper and the graverobbing Burke and Hare. Duck, You Sucker! (also known as A Fistful of Dynamite) is &#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=12454\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12454"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12454"}],"version-history":[{"count":44,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12522,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12454\/revisions\/12522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}