What Film (Movie) Have You Just Watched?

[Palatkik]

Luce [2019]

Taut US high school drama based on a stage play of an Eritrean immigrant child and his adoptive parents coming to terms with race and expectations in the land of the free. Not as cliched as it could have turned, makes it an interesting watch.

[cavanami]

George.Harrison.Living.In.The.Material.World

Filmmaker Martin Scorsese examines the life of musician George Harrison, weaving together interviews, concert footage, home movies and photographs.

Excellent! Much brought out that was usually hidden in these music docos.

**** 1/2

[cavanami]

AC/DC: Let There Be Rock (1980)

Filmed coverage of Australian band AC/DC's '79 appearance in Paris intercut with quasi-fictional interludes.

By the halfway mark, it was boring. All the music sounding almost the same. OK, but not a must see, IMO.

** 1/2

 

[cavanami]

Foo Fighters: Back and Forth (2011)

FOO FIGHTERS BACK AND FORTH chronicles the 16 year history of the Foo Fighters: from the band's very first songs created as cassette demos Dave Grohl recorded during his tenure as Nirvana's drummer, through its ascent to their Grammy-winning, multi-platinum, arena and stadium headlining status as one of the biggest rock bands on the planet.

*From Dave Grohl's cassette demos that became FOO FIGHTERS' 1995 debut to 2011's WASTING LIGHT debuting #1 worldwide, FOO FIGHTERS: BACK AND FORTH documents every triumph and tragedy along the band's path to becoming one of the biggest and most loved bands on the planet. The DVD release of this full-lenght documentary directed by Academy Award® winner James Moll (RUNNING THE SAHARA, THE LAST DAYS) and produced by Grammy® Award winning producer Nigel Sinclair ("No Direction Home: Bob Dylan", "Amazing Journey: The Story Of The Who") of Exclusive Media Group's Spitfire Pictures, adds 35 minutes of extras including additional interviews and deleted scenes to an already incredibly intimate and comprehensive portrait of the FOO FIGHTERS. A must for any FOO FIGHTERS fan, FOO FIGHTERS: BACK AND FORTH chronicles every up and down that's brought and kept Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear together over a 16+ year career. Through the release of the band's classic self-titled debut, the double-platinum THE COLOUR & THE SHAPE, back to back Best Rock Album Grammy® winners THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE and ONE BY ONE, double opus IN YOUR HONOR, multiple Grammy® winning ECHOES, SILENCE, PATIENCE & GRACE, the band's record-breaking 170,000-plus-attended two-night headline at Wembley Stadium, and it's subsequent return to Grohl's garage for the analog-only sessions with producer Butch Vig that yielded the international #1 album WASTING LIGHT. With all that and breathtaking performance footage to spare, FOO FIGHTERS: BACK AND FORTH is essential viewing not just for Foo fans, but for anyone who's ever wondered what makes a rock band great - and what makes a great band persevere.*

Excellent!!! Great doco on how the Foo Fighters developed!!!

**** 1/2

[Palatkik]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breeders [2020 TV series]

New 10 part TV series out of UK with some very dry and black humor about the trials of raising two young kids. Extremely addictive with each episode running about 25 minutes.

[zzzz]

Netflix movie, #1 in USA, called “Extraction.”  It’s a real tear jerker with a classic cathartic moment when the hero dies, then a nice denouement. 

[cavanami]

Doublecrossed (1991)

Stars:

Dennis Hopper, Robert Carradine, Richard Jenkins

Based on a true story, this made-for-cable film tells about Barry Seal, a pilot who was a drug smuggler for the infamous Medellin cartel out of Colombia. He was caught by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and decided to turn over and help the DEA break the cartel. However, he got caught in the middle of the Reagan/Bush administration efforts to topple the Nicaraguan government in the '80s, in which Nicaraguan rebels called "contras" were allowed to smuggle cocaine into the US in exchange for their fighting against the leftist Nicaraguan government. Eventually Seal was murdered by his former Medellin employers, and some critics say it was with the tacit, if not implicit, connivance of the US administration.

Excellent, hard charging movie. Dennis Hopper does a great job of portraying Barry Seal.

**** 1/2

[Palatkik]

Code 404 [2020 TV series]

British comedy in 6 episodes with straight actor Stephen Graham and his buddy cop who has been rebuilt as a cyborg. One of the funniest series I've seen lately.

[Palatkik]

Calm With Horses [2020]

One of the better films out this year, a retired boxer in Ireland has trouble mixing his loyalties between a ruthless drug gang and his girlfriend and young son with special needs. The story is a little predictable but the performances and screenplay are both stunning and savage.

[Palatkik]

The Nest [2020 TV series]

A five part UK TV series set in Scotland where a rich Glaswegian couple try and have a surrogate baby with a questionable teenager. There's enough plot twists in this to maintain the story interest to the end.