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Reviews
Martyrs (2008)
Pretty much the most grotesque splatter, torture porn film ever, but arty
This movie is for horror fans that want to know the limits of human depravity and then some. It's executed very well and the acting is very good. The concept, like the food served in the movie, is hard to swallow. In terms of capturing human suffering it reminded me of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. This, however, is a strictly atheist movie that pushes your worst fears about atheism to the max. The ending sums of the thesis/secret plot of the movie but I'm sure most viewers will be glad it ended. I would not recommend this to anyone but the most ardent fans of splatter.
Ford v Ferrari (2019)
This movie knows what it is and doesn't stray
Great popcorn movie that you'd have to be dead to not enjoy. It is a bit on the long side. I think they stretched it out to give their characters depth.
Streetwalkin' (1985)
Superfly, superfine, disco dolly exploitation film
If you missed out on the 1980s sleaze disco scene this movie is for you. All the standard pimp characters are here with there assorted hos. The movie is surprisingly entertaining given that it is a rehash of every hooker-on-the-street film out there. It's not dull, which is the worst sin of an exploitation film. There was surprisingly good acting all around and I'd give almost all these actors a pardon for being in this film. The soundtrack is someone on a synth in their bedroom but that just adds to the charm. The badguy pimp Duke really outdoes himself bursting with horror-film rage and his favorite ho Cookie hands in a very decent performance as the naive happy hooker. You may want to take a shower after watching this or see a priest.
Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (1975)
The warning that never disappears
This film got me thinking about evolution and how it always ends up favoring monsters. After all, human monsters kill all the good guys and then go on to have children. Read the Bible. Jews massacre race after race and keep all the virgins to breed with. What do you get? Us! (Nothing against Jews, its just that that Bible is familiar). This film reaches down into your gut and forces you to confront some terrible realities. We all know war criminals with cushy jobs at Universities (Rumsfield). We all watch the news and Internet to see what bad soldiers do with their free time. Religions are forever torturing and murdering women to appease or rationalize some primitive urge. Right wing bigots tear up the airwaves urging people to hate gays, immigrants and anyone with a sense of fairness. We are outraged when foreigners celebrate the murder of our soldiers but we congratulate ourselves for bombing entire countries back to the stone age. The 120 Days of Sodom is all around us all the time. It takes a film like this to force us to see it. The film makes an excellent point of what lurks underneath power. If you watch this film and then go back to your life with the blinders on - well I guess that is the point of the whole film. If the film didn't reach you, you are the unseen force in the film and gives license to the evil perverts shown therein. This film is a terrible but highly accurate vision of the dilemma we are born into. If you don't see yourself or our society in the monsters of this film I think you missed the point.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Yakkety Yak Yak Yak
I saw the trailer and thought this movie would be fun. I knew I was in trouble at the opening scene where the visiting Nazi has a long chat with the farmer. I'd say 90% of this movie is long irrelevant chats in restaurants and other rooms. I mean who cares? This was advertised as a fun action-packed war movie about crazy guys that kill Nazis. Instead you get a snooze fest.
Every now and then I'd think "OK now we're going to get to the good stuff. He's been torturing us so we'll really enjoy the good stuff". But you know what? There was no good stuff. Sure there was a few war porn moments, but nothing that got me really engaged in the flick.
Gratuitous violence is part of a Tarantino movie experience. So I was not surprised to see it. But somehow it just seemed adolescent. It added nothing to the story. The military does have a command structure and they don't let their soldiers carve people up like a Thanksgiving goose for fun. This was the 2nd World War where the Allies were actually good guys.
I must admit after seeing numerous Hitler parodies on YouTube I'm rather spoiled. Every actor that plays Hitler must measure up to the YouTube parody version. This one does not.
And the ending - f'ing retarded. Like a frustrated cinema owner could bring down the entire Third Reich. The thing is so full of holes you'd think the Nazis were complete amateurs that couldn't guard an outhouse.