{"id":12674,"date":"2023-01-29T14:59:20","date_gmt":"2023-01-29T19:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=12674"},"modified":"2023-01-29T14:59:45","modified_gmt":"2023-01-29T19:59:45","slug":"weekly-movie-roundup-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=12674","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Movie Roundup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I watched 7 movies last week:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0102975\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/1-4-201x300.jpg\" alt=\"Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country\" width=\"201\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12675\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/1-4-201x300.jpg 201w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/1-4.jpg 483w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 201px) 100vw, 201px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt8129806\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/2-4-211x300.jpg\" alt=\"To Leslie\" width=\"211\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12676\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/2-4-211x300.jpg 211w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/2-4-721x1024.jpg 721w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/2-4-768x1091.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/2-4.jpg 828w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 211px) 100vw, 211px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0081163\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/3-4-193x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Mirror Crack&#039;d\" width=\"193\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12677\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/3-4-193x300.jpg 193w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/3-4.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 193px) 100vw, 193px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>Somehow, I&#8217;d managed to never see the entirety of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0102975\/\">Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country<\/a> until now. I don&#8217;t know that it&#8217;s a perfect movie, or even the best of the original Trek films, but it is one of the better ones, and moreover a really fitting farewell to the cast.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>I&#8217;m not sure that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt8129806\/\">To Leslie<\/a> has anything truly <i>original<\/i> to say about addiction or hitting rock bottom, but it&#8217;s helped enormously by some really good performances, including a remarkable turn by star Andrea Riseborough.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>If you&#8217;ve always wanted to see Angela Lansbury portray Agatha Christie&#8217;s famous sleuth Miss Marple&#8230;well, I&#8217;m sorry to report that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0081163\/\">The Mirror Crack&#8217;d<\/a> is going to be your only option. That&#8217;s not the fault of Lansbury, who&#8217;s clearly having fun with the small handful of scenes she&#8217;s actually in, or of the rest of the cast, which includes heavy hitters like Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Kim Novak, and Tony Curtis. The movie is not without some charms, but it&#8217;s slow and not especially engaging\u2014which is all the more surprising, given director Guy Hamilton&#8217;s track record.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0079138\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/4-4-198x300.jpg\" alt=\"Fast Company\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12678\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/4-4-198x300.jpg 198w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/4-4.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0096046\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/5-4-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"Scarecrows\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12679\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/5-4-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/5-4-671x1024.jpg 671w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/5-4-768x1173.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/5-4.jpg 786w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0095897\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/6-5-198x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Presidio\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12680\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/6-5-198x300.jpg 198w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/6-5.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>The most interesting thing about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0079138\">Fast Company<\/a> is that it&#8217;s the movie David Cronenberg made between <i>Rabid<\/i> and <i>The Brood<\/i>. It feels like such a weird B-movie blip in his early career, but also not a work-for-hire; Cronenberg co-wrote the script and was reportedly just a huge fan of drag racing. His enthusiasm for it isn&#8217;t exactly infectious, but the movie is passably entertaining for what it is.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0096046\">Scarecrows<\/a> isn&#8217;t perfect\u2014the limitations of its effects (and some of its acting) are occasionally on full display, and it maybe could have done with a <i>little<\/i> more explanation of the story\u2014but it&#8217;s better than average, which is a lot better than I expected. It takes a pretty simple premise and tosses it up against another one, and it generates some pretty solid scares from that.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>Roger Ebert <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/the-presidio-1988\">called<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0095897\">The Presidio<\/a> &#8220;a film assembled out of spare parts from other movies, out at the cinematic junkyard.&#8221; And for a short while, it&#8217;s tempting to think he was being too harsh. Peter Hyams is a talented, if workmanlike director, and there are reliable actors in the cast. But the movie and its plot are incredibly generic and don&#8217;t ever rise above that, relying instead on unconvincing plot twists and even less convincing character development.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1133989\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/7-1-208x300.jpg\" alt=\"Medicine for Melancholy\" width=\"208\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12681\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/7-1-208x300.jpg 208w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/7-1.jpg 623w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 208px) 100vw, 208px\" \/><\/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<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\/tt1133989\">Medicine for Melancholy<\/a> lacks a little of the polish and focus that director Barry Jenkins would later bring to <i>Moonlight<\/i> and <i>If Beale Street Could Talk<\/i>\u2014but only a little of it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I also re-watched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0084516\/\">Poltergeist<\/a>, which I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;ve seen in some thirty years. It holds up really well, despite being a <i>very<\/i> 1980s horror movie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I watched 7 movies last week: Somehow, I&#8217;d managed to never see the entirety of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country until now. I don&#8217;t know that it&#8217;s a perfect movie, or even the best of the original Trek films, but it is one of the better ones, and moreover a really fitting farewell to &#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=12674\">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-12674","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\/12674"}],"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=12674"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12688,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12674\/revisions\/12688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}