{"id":14294,"date":"2025-07-27T14:34:50","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T18:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=14294"},"modified":"2025-07-27T14:34:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T18:34:50","slug":"weekly-movie-roundup-130","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=14294","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Movie Roundup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I watched 8 movies last week:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0079116\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1-3-198x300.jpg\" alt=\"Escape from Alcatraz\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14286\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1-3-198x300.jpg 198w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1-3-675x1024.jpg 675w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1-3-768x1166.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1-3-1012x1536.jpg 1012w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1-3-1349x2048.jpg 1349w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1-3.jpg 1465w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0036431\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2-3-205x300.jpg\" alt=\"This Land Is Mine\" width=\"205\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14287\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2-3-205x300.jpg 205w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2-3-701x1024.jpg 701w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2-3-768x1122.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2-3-1052x1536.jpg 1052w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2-3-1402x2048.jpg 1402w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2-3-scaled.jpg 1753w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 205px) 100vw, 205px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><div id=\"attachment_14288\" style=\"width: 206px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0028773\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14288\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3-3-196x300.jpg\" alt=\"Dead End\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-14288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3-3-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3-3.jpg 653w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-14288\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">kinopoisk.ru<\/p><\/div><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt28332337\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-3-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Eephus\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-3-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-3-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-3-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-3-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-3-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-3-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0079116\/\">Escape from Alcatraz<\/a> doesn&#8217;t do anything more than it says on the tin\u2014and it can&#8217;t help but feel a little familiar, in the wake of subsequent prison movies like <em>The Shawshank Redemption<\/em>\u2014but it&#8217;s tense and very enjoyable.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0036431\/\">This Land Is Mine<\/a> is a remarkably nuanced look at the dangers of collaboration, why so many might choose to cooperate with Nazis, but it&#8217;s also a really great character study of cowardice and courage, with at least one great speech by Charles Laughton.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>There&#8217;s a lot to love about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0028773\/\">Dead End<\/a>, but the standout might be Humphrey Bogart&#8217;s performance as a sad and broken man.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt28332337\/\">Eephus<\/a> isn&#8217;t exactly a <em>fun<\/em> movie, even if it is often very low-key funny. Maybe the most telling moment comes late in the film when a long-expected fireworks display happens entirely off-screen, with only one character&#8217;s defeated face reflected in its glow. It&#8217;s a brilliantly low-stakes but pitch-perfect hangdog comedy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt30840798\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/5-3-192x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Phoenician\" width=\"192\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14290\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/5-3-192x300.jpg 192w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/5-3-656x1024.jpg 656w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/5-3-768x1199.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/5-3-984x1536.jpg 984w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/5-3-1311x2048.jpg 1311w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/5-3-scaled.jpg 1639w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 192px) 100vw, 192px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt30955489\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/6-3-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"Until Dawn\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14291\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/6-3-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/6-3-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/6-3-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/6-3.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0034622\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7-2-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Crossroads\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14292\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7-2-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7-2-684x1024.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7-2-768x1150.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7-2-1026x1536.jpg 1026w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7-2-1367x2048.jpg 1367w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7-2-scaled.jpg 1709w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0899043\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/8-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Amateur\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14293\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/8-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/8-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/8-768x1137.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/8-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/8-1383x2048.jpg 1383w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/8.jpg 1688w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt30840798\/\">The Phoenician Scheme<\/a> feels very much like Wes Anderson making stop-motion with live actors. That can sometimes make the movie feel unreal and removed, but it&#8217;s all so meticulously crafted, often delightfully and playfully so, that it&#8217;s hard to mind too much.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>I&#8217;ve never played the video game that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt30955489\/\">Until Dawn<\/a> is based on, but the lazy way the storytelling falls apart near the end doesn&#8217;t exactly argue for very compelling source material. Which is a shame, because there&#8217;s actually a somewhat clever take on the time-loop conceit, which raises the stakes in some gory and gnarly ways, before that.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>For such a simple plot, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0034622\/\">The Crossroads<\/a> is surprisingly convoluted, but it&#8217;s well directed, and William Powell is good in it.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/the-amateur-film-review-2025\">Brian Tallerico writes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0899043\/\">The Amateur<\/a> &#8220;skims the surface of what has worked in spy thrillers of the past, never finding its own rhythm, identity, or personality.&#8221; The movie is better cast than it needs to be, but that proves to be more of a distraction than an asset in the end.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I also rewatched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0083190\/\">Thief<\/a>. I don&#8217;t know that it&#8217;s my favorite Michael Mann movie, but it&#8217;s got such style, James Caan is so good in it, and it&#8217;s got a perfect downer of an ending.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I watched 8 movies last week: Escape from Alcatraz doesn&#8217;t do anything more than it says on the tin\u2014and it can&#8217;t help but feel a little familiar, in the wake of subsequent prison movies like The Shawshank Redemption\u2014but it&#8217;s tense and very enjoyable. This Land Is Mine is a remarkably nuanced look at the dangers &#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=14294\">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-14294","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\/14294"}],"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=14294"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14295,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14294\/revisions\/14295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}