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williamgregorburton
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A Quiet Place (2018)
Yet more predictive programming
Yet more predictive programming attempting to convince us we face a future of gulag and genocide. That man is the enemy of nature, that there no other alternative than megadeath. I say bull crap to that!
Finch (2021)
Yet another dystopian movie ...
God lord, yet another dystopian movie, about the end of the world, that is suppose to endear us to AI (artificial intelligence), gulag and genocide.
Despite whatever decent production values this New World Order propaganda has, it is yet another attempt to program our mind to accept our fate (population crash).
We must continue to recognize that there are elements that are trying to convince us we enemies of nature, and should be de-carbonized, de-industrialized, and de-populated.
The Assignment (2016)
What!? What!? What!?
"After waking up and discovering that he has undergone gender reassignment surgery, an assassin seeks to find the doctor responsible"?! What!?
I give it one star. Poor Michelle Rodriguez. She is really hot. There is no amount of CGI that could change that; and why would you?
I probably would have given this movie two stars, if they really tried for reality, by giving the Rodriguez role to Ron Perlman; or John Lithgow.
Prêt-à-jeter (2010)
Growth must be accelerated to meet the demands of debt that can never be paid off.
Hmm ... 'planned obsolescence' is a two-edged sword: one the one hand it is a redundant waste of resources and a creator of environmental damage both in extraction and disposal, yet it serves the economic growth paradigm that has allowed the historic economic growth of west (capitalism), now under attack under the aegis of the environmental movement, i.e. Global warming, that insists we must cut carbon emissions (decarbonization) to save the natural planet from its human enemies (depopulation).
I wonder: could it be that our privately owned fractional reserve banking system, its inherent debt-based, serial sector boom-to-bust, hyper-inflated nation-state and currency destruction be caused by the accelerated growth made manifest in 'planned obsolescence'; and a simple change in ownership of our banking system (public banking), using a fiat currency that is not debt-based, be a solution leading sustainable growth and product resiliency? Growth must be accelerated to meet the demands of debt that can never be paid off.
Land of the Pharaohs (1955)
Land of the Pharaoh campy? Not!
I've been reading reviews of Howard Hawks' "Land of the Pharaohs" and the descriptive repeatedly used for this movie is 'campy'. Campy meaning 'absurdly exaggerated, artificial, or affected in a usually humorous way'.
Let me make this clear: this movie is not campy. It was directed by a director (Hawks) who framed his scenes as set pieces, without a lot of camera movement; and Jack Hawkins, who cut his teeth with an opera company, a stage actor, a Shakespearean, 10 years before Al Jolson appeared in the first feature-length talking picture. As a Shakespearean actor, Hawkins projected his voice as he had done on the stage. If you notice the scenes where he addresses his 'subjects', it is clear his strong voice was an essential. Campiness is endemic in Opera and Shakespeare.
Little criticisms: would it have been better if Khufu had been played by an ethnic? Yes, but given the time the film was made (1955), this was not an issue. Another thing: Hawkins should have hit the gym before making this movie: his arms were pencil thin and flabby.
Joan Collins: What can I say? Very hot! She was perfect as the scheming Princess Nellifer, and her memorable performance in the Cyrpt where she gets her final comeuppance, shrieking "I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" with the eunuchs moving away in disgust, will always live in infamy in my memories. Oh, and it took me a while to connect the Joan Collins of "Land of the Pharaohs" to the Joan Collins in "Dynasty".
What I have always admired about this movie was the on-location set pieces, the huge crowds of extras, that extended out for several hundred yards (no matte paintings!), the costuming, and most especially the music by Dimitri Tomkin. I just watched this movie again recently, and Tomkin's music, the choir singing still sends chills down my spine. I saw this movie in 1955 with my mother, and it was one of the first movies to appear on black and white television in the 1950s and 1960s.
Further, I would favorably compare the entrance of Khufu (Hawkins), back from the war against the Kushites, with the spoils of war, to that of Elizabeth Taylor entering Rome in the move "Cleopatra". "Cleopatra" was shot on a set, and the extras' movements are clearly cramped, whereas in "Land of the Pharaohs" the scene was shot out in the open, giving room to the thousands of extras. Amazing.
My brother and I would walk to grammar school singing the chorus ... "He ho! He ho! He ho! He ho!" Magnificent.
The 13th Warrior (1999)
I have watched The 13th Warrior over 20 times.
This is one of the best "medieval" movies I have ever seen, and I've seen a lot of them: El Cid, Braveheart, Excalibur, The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring series, Ivanhoe, Adventure of Robin Hood, and the unlisted Prince Valiant. I have watched The 13th Warrior over 20 times.
The music is very good, the story is believable: hominid anthropology overlap credible, holds together well, and I have always thought the film's portrayal of Ibn Fahdlan's learning transition, learning Old Norse by listening quietly to the other characters, makes his (our) transition to understanding all of the characters speech quite believable. Good job, there.
The battle scenes are great, well constructed, lots of long-shot perspective, avoids cheap close-ups, the cannibalistic bear warriors fierce, the horse riding first rate, and the cave fight scary. As I do not like enclosed spaces, this portion is very believable.
While the only notable actor, besides a short cameo by Omar Sharif (Melchisidek), is Antonio Banderas (Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan); I thought the ensemble acting of the others including Dennis Storhøi (Herger) Vladimir Kulich (Buliwyf) were very good. I have yet to see these actors, except Tony Curran, anywhere else.
The only complaint I have is the geography. As a geographer, I know full well that Scandinavia can be, for the most part, short on coniferous forests. I deduced that the filming was done, not on location, but in Canada, which I found later to be true. Admittedly, it was probably cheaper to shoot in Canada, and made the story more enjoyable with a few more trees.
I am amazed that there are those who've submitted reviews on this site, who rated the abysmal Conan The Barbarian higher the the The 13th Warrior! Honestly, after reviewing the movies on the Best Medieval Movies Of All Time, I cannot think of a better movie than The 13th Warrior.