{"id":12727,"date":"2023-02-19T15:05:02","date_gmt":"2023-02-19T20:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=12727"},"modified":"2023-02-19T15:05:02","modified_gmt":"2023-02-19T20:05:02","slug":"weekly-movie-roundup-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=12727","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Movie Roundup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I watched 9 movies last week:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0047149\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/1-2-194x300.jpg\" alt=\"Killer from Space\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12728\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/1-2-194x300.jpg 194w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/1-2.jpg 479w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0082782\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2-2-198x300.jpg\" alt=\"My Bloody Valentine\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12729\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2-2-198x300.jpg 198w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2-2.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt10808832\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/3-2-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"Let Them All Talk\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12730\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/3-2-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/3-2.jpg 486w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0047149\/\">Killers From Space<\/a> is the sort of movie that cries out for an <i>MST3K<\/i> treatment, which is why it&#8217;s no surprise to learn that it&#8217;s been done twice by the Rifftrax guys. (If I saw their first go-around, as the Film Crew, I don&#8217;t remember, but it&#8217;s possible.) It&#8217;s a pretty bad, no-budget &#8217;50s B-movie, interesting more as a trivia question\u2014directed by Billy Wilder&#8217;s brother, an early role for Peter Graves, etc.\u2014than as a film itself.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0082782\/\">My Bloody Valentine<\/a> has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.horrornewsnetwork.net\/top-25-slasher-films-of-the-1980s\/\">described<\/a> as being &#8220;like a gory <i>Footloose<\/i>,&#8221; which I suppose approximates the overall vibe of this &#8217;80s slasher. It&#8217;s not exactly to my tastes\u2014the kills are gory, yes, but not clever or interesting, and the ending feels a little arbitrary\u2014but I see what some people like about it.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt10808832\/\">Let Them All Talk<\/a> feels a little slight and forgettable as a comedy, but it&#8217;s enjoyable enough, largely thanks to a very talented cast.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0040427\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/4-2-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"He Walked by Night\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12731\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/4-2-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/4-2.jpg 475w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0044943\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/5-2-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"My Wife&#039;s Lodger\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12732\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/5-2-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/5-2.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt3335606\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/6-2-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Syndrome\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12733\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/6-2-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/6-2.jpg 486w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0040427\/\">He Walked by Night<\/a> is maybe one of the best <i>and<\/i> worst film-noirs you&#8217;re likely to see. Most everything with Richard Basehart&#8217;s killer is tense and visually interesting, while the semi-documentary style of the manhunt is such a tedious (and dated) bore.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0044943\/\">My Wife&#8217;s Lodger<\/a> &#8220;runs through a repertoire of farcical situations of the most ancient variety&#8221;\u2014and that&#8217;s a review <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/My_Wife%27s_Lodger#Critical_reception\">from the year the movie came out<\/a>, so you can only imagine how much more dated it&#8217;s become since then. There&#8217;s mild amusement to be had, but not a lot of real laughs.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt3335606\/\">Berlin Syndrome<\/a> is a taut thriller with strong direction and performances.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0049964\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/7-2-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"World Without End\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12734\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/7-2-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/7-2.jpg 493w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt8093700\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/8-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Woman King\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12735\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/8-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/8-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/8-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/8.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0072820\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/9-196x300.jpg\" alt=\"Cooley High\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12736\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/9-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/9.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>Sand away some of the plot details and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0049964\/\">World Without End<\/a> could easily be any of a dozen other &#8217;50s of &#8217;60s sci-fi movies. It still has its own charms as such, even if is more than a little dated and generic in its storytelling.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt8093700\/\">The Woman King<\/a> is thrilling and gorgeous, rich with engaging characters and fantastic performances, not least by Viola Davis.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>More than just an important cultural touchstone for black filmmakers and filmgoers, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0072820\/\">Cooley High<\/a> feels like a rich and honest portrait of a time and a neighborhood. Gene Siskel rightly <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cooley_High#Reception\">called it<\/a> &#8220;a beguiling story that&#8217;s affecting, lasting, and worth seeing more than once.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I also re-watched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt3235888\/\">It Follows<\/a>, since I have a friend who&#8217;s been watching it recently but, but who&#8217;s been too scared to do so in anything but small segments. I found the movie maybe more disturbing than frightening the second time around, when I was less focused on the supernatural plot and more how it affects the characters, focused on it less as jump scares than metaphor. I really enjoyed it again, though.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I watched 9 movies last week: Killers From Space is the sort of movie that cries out for an MST3K treatment, which is why it&#8217;s no surprise to learn that it&#8217;s been done twice by the Rifftrax guys. (If I saw their first go-around, as the Film Crew, I don&#8217;t remember, but it&#8217;s possible.) It&#8217;s &#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=12727\">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-12727","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\/12727"}],"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=12727"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12744,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12727\/revisions\/12744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}