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CD Smiles rated Action U.S.A.

 Action U.S.A. 3/10

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

February 13th Directed by: Ettore Scola The first 20 minutes or so I thought I was watching one of my new favorite films. It's very uniquely stylish in the beginning, but it comes to be a Cinema Paradiso-esque odyssey that feels longer than it is. It's a neo-realism send-up while being kind of an overly sentimental schmooze-fest. It's kind of fun seeing all the references and cameos from classic Italian cinema but it also cheapens this experience as it's own film. It is a really nice movie but I feel like it became really forgettable after the first act. Downloaded.

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added The Birds, the Bees and the Italians to wanted list

 The Birds, the Bees and the Italians 

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

February 13th Directed by: John Stewart I've been struggling to find anything to say about this for four days now. Vinegar Syndrome announced this movie as a limited numbered release for their Black Friday sale and being the sucker I am for limited stuff I bought it. I bought it because the trailer they made opens with one of the craziest stunts I've seen and follows it up with another amazing dangerous visual. The trailer is amazing but unfortunately you'll find that every single memorable moment there is in this movie, is there in the trailer. Those incredible moments are actually dulled by how immensely uninteresting every single scene that wasn't featured in the trailer is. Those awesome stunts barely got me to raise my eyebrows because of how bored I was. This is uninspired and stale, it sucks. Blu-Ray.

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added Killers of the Flower Moon to wanted list

 Killers of the Flower Moon 

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles posted 25 images [View All]

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles posted a image

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added 2 items to their collection

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

February 12th Directed by: Mark L. Lester This is the good stuff. I didn't expect it to be, I had very low expectations, I didn't think Lundgren would be a good lead, and also this is from 1991, one year after the cutoff date of these movies having any chance of being good, but it prevails. I feel like we don't have these kind of characters anymore, Lundgren is endlessly cool to the point that it takes me out of the movie, in a good way. When you have lines of dialogue that explain your lead has a massive shlong it just makes me think of things outside of the world of the movie. It feels like Eric Bischoff is the director just doing everything he can to stroke the boys egos, in both cases it leads to hilarity but there's much less long term damage in the movie world. The moment Brandon Lee is introduced is when you know this is going to be really special. I can't even try to explain his line delivery, it's like he's pantomiming for the people in the back row of the theater, or almost like he doesn't speak English and is just reading lines phonetically. Neither of these exactly describe his specific brand of camp, but you come to understand why he's there when the action scenes start. There's a lot of great, memorable set pieces like the beach house shootout or the bath house brawl, these movies always work really well when someone is there who can actually do impressive martial arts, but Lundgren is still there to punch through a door and PULL A MAN THROUGH IT (???). Their dynamic is so funny, and while Lundgren plays the uber-serious reckless sergeant, he unexpectedly succumbs to Brandon Lee's cornball behavior as they adorably become friends. This also apparently works the other way as after Lee portrays the straight-laced by-the-books cop who's always telling Lundgren he's too reckless, he tells a man "you have the right to die" and then blows him up. I reiterate, this is a good one. Downloaded.

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles rated Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

 Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) 7/10

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles posted 11 images [View All]

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

February 12th Directed by: Mark Goldblatt The premise of this movie is really good and you can tell it was written by a comic book writer because it is way too good for the rest of this movie. The dialogue is AWFUL and literally nobody is trying to act but Lou Gossett Jr. who really turns it up for his big scene and looks like he's having a lot of fun with it. Dolph Lundgren is Dolph Lundgren, except he looks extra cool with black hair, the whole image of this movie is very cool, on the outside that is. As much as I want to say this is a grift for potential renters at Blockbuster I do feel like they were genuinely trying their best. One little issue this movie had is it's rock bottom budget, sets are adorably terrible and there is no sound design to be heard. One kid actress is dubbed over by an adult woman doing a hilarious child voice, and I have to assume it' because that meant they could pay that kid less for a non-speaking role. This is definitely closer to a Killing American Style than it is a The Terminator. The climax brings a bit of thrills so I have to assume that was lifted from the comics as well. Still the best Punisher movie. Downloaded.

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

February 12th Directed by: Robert Zemeckis If you suspend your disbelief and forget that Christopher Lloyd is obviously the villain, this is actually a really fun to follow mystery movie. This is one of those perfectly balanced movies for kids that the 80's nailed over and over. With just enough adult themes to feel grown-up and edgy, the classic moment to scar kid and stick with them forever (being the shoe in the acid) and an easy to follow story with some depth. Bob Hoskins is fantastic, playing the noir gumshoe straight man to the cartoons who is hilariously dwarfed by his girlfriend. The animation, of course, is spectacular, not just in the incredible ways that they wove it into the live action, that you could pour over that for hours watching it back, but even on it's own, the opening scene had my jaw on the floor. Everybody knows this is a classic, I'm not telling you anything new. Downloaded.

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles rated Super Mario Bros.

 Super Mario Bros. 4/10

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added Father of the Bride to wanted list

 Father of the Bride 

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

February 11th Directed by: Rocky Morton, Annabel Jankel People have an obsession with being the one to find a hidden gem, or maybe it's less cynical than that and people just want to see the good in things. With this movie, unlike the delusional people who will try to convince you the Star Wars prequels are good, I've only seen praise for the set design and world building of this film. People are totally right to praise those things, along with the actually incredible effects, truly, impressively inventive. The cast is one of the most strangely perfect things. I'm on record as an irrational John Leguizamo hater, but he nails his role, Bob Hoskins is warm and funny and really carries the movie and Dennis Hopper is so specifically insane it's indescribable. Most people hate this movie because of it's bad representation of the source material. It's funny because I want to say there's no other way this movie could have turned out being made in the time that it was, but the creature designs are so bizarre that you can't even say that. At the same time, I don't know how people would expect you to adapt things like Goomba and Koopas into a real-life setting, y'know, without CGI. I'm glad this was made (if it indeed, had to be made) in the days of practical effects, I feel like a live-action Super Mario film made nowadays would be even worse. Despite everything I'm saying this is not a good movie. It's bizarrely paced, has no real memorable action moments, just about everything that happens just left me confused. It's not even a matter of the writers not knowing anything about Mario, it's just like the script was written by aliens. This movie is so wacked out, it is only interesting as a strange curiosity but I still don't really think it's worth watching just for that. Downloaded.

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added 2 items to their collection

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

February 9th Directed by: Richard Fleischer This is what I expected of the first movie, this one settles right into the 80's feel, it's got some of that kind of warmth of kid's movies of the time. I can imagine myself eating popcorn under a blanket watching this on VHS in the basement. Under that lens, it's kinda cute but technically this is not a good movie. It's astoundingly boring, I swear like 80% of what makes it into the final edit is just nothing. Like, shots of extras walking or establishing shots of buildings, I don't know, just... nothing. The first movie was like that too, but it had moments that kind of justified the slow pace and build up, all this movie gives you is bad comedy and stunts and effects that wouldn't make it into fuckin' Beetleborgs. I don't know what happened here, this movie is absolutely all over the place, I can't even think of another movie that just doesn't have an identity like this one. It is simultaneously uninspired and too inspired by other movies of the time. (The entire ending is just the epilogue of Star Wars) This movie is the shitty sequel to a good (or in this case, decent) movie that kids don't realize is shitty until they grow up and watch them again. This movie is Shanghai Knights. Downloaded.

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

February 9th Directed by: John Milius This is very interesting for being in this strange middle period of Hollywood movies. I had an idea of what this movie would be like in my head and I was completely wrong. Two years before The Terminator, I don't know if Schwartzenegger's star potential was really realized yet, as much as he was just an extremely muscle-y dude who was willing to be naked for the entire movie. If this movie's tone were a speedometer with 1970's on the left and 1980's on the right, it would be ticking over to the left mostly, but the fact that it's not on one side or the other is what makes it interesting. It's a pretty no-nonsense movie tonally, definitely don't come here looking for a wacky over-the-top 80's romp, however, Conan also happens to be probably the best example I've seen for weird Arnie noises. The story is a little bit goofy, even though Conan is established to be hardened from childhood, raised to be a killer, he turns into a dope as soon as he's set loose on his adventure, he adds people to his party like if there was a Mel Brooks movie satirizing western tabletop RPGs. Overall, there is some fun to be had, it's a bit boring but there are some memorable moments, I could see this being good entertainment for an older kid, but doesn't do anything to rise above "just okay". Downloaded.

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added 2 items to their collection

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

February 8th Directed by: Mike Hodges Pretty astounding to see worlds realized like this, I had Barbarella on my mind at times looking at the set designs and costumes, but it would be way too high of praise to compare this to Barbarella in any other regard. Max Von Sydow is great and underwhelming at the same time, I feel like he doesn't put that much into it, considering they were trying to achieve hammy shlock, but also I feel he wasn't given many opportunities to do so. Flash Gordon himself is a tree stump, it's sometimes played to comedic effect, my favorite moment aside from the whip duel is a scene where Flash is getting his ass kicked by a bunch of goons, until he's thrown a ball shaped object and starts running through everyone like a linebacker. Surprising amount of downtime in this though, I just finished the movie and I feel like I forgot half of it already. Blu-Ray.

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

February 7th Directed by: Russell Mulcahy Occasionally I find a movie that I feel like I missed out on watching as a kid, I feel like I should have nostalgia for taking the VHS tape of this from it's spot on the shelf right next to Ninja Turtles and watching it. It's not a regretful feeling but one of wonder. I had the wrong idea about this movie entirely, I thought it was all boring training montages set in the Scottish highlands, but that's like, ten minutes of the movie. Anything you could consider kind of passé is completely overshadowed by how absolutely ridiculous this film is. All of the characters are Scottish, the actors trying their darndest to achieve the accent except Sean Connery, who is Spanish. Christopher Lambert goes back and forth from failing miserably to forgetting to try, I was expecting him to be hilarious but I didn't think he'd achieve that so unintentionally. The villain eats up every scene he's in, it's almost worth watching this movie just for that guy, you can't predict him in any way, he's incredible. But I do appreciate how creative the premise is, how there's all this lore that we spend absolutely zero time on explaining. I'm not kidding, I love that. Highlander is a really high production, beautiful looking movie that constantly has jaw dropping moments for fans of 80's shlock. Downloaded.

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added 3 items to My Favorite Movies list

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles rated The Producers

 The Producers  5/10

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles posted 3 images

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

February 6th Directed by: Mel Brooks It's genuinely funny to me that this was written as a movie with no intent to turn it into a stage play, because this is such the thing that stage nerds would go wild for, and of course, did. What's not funny to me is most of this movie, strangely. It's not that it's filled with failed comedy, there definitely is some of that, but it's more that I feel like nothing was even approached from a comedic angle. There's nothing funny about the buildup to the play, there's nothing funny about the beginning of the movie, there's like one joke and the rest of the movie is just... dialogue? But I will say that one joke, fucking lands. Downloaded.

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles posted 16 images [View All]

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added Queer Japan to wanted list

 Queer Japan 

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

February 4th Directed by: Lewis Milestone At the exact half way point is when the plot of the movie actually begins and after that point the rest of the movie flies by. At least the buildup wasn't tremendously boring, even when nothing is happening, you can vibe with it. The movie is very classy and cool, with almost no high stakes tension like a modern heist movie would have, which is odd, but contributes to the low tempo, slick feel. It wasn't a painful experience despite me not caring about anything happening save for 30 minutes or so. There are apparently 11 characters? I count three, and then the rest are just indistinct white people. There's no attempt to tell you what all of their jobs are in the heist. I had no idea what was happening most of the time, especially the ending, I don't know what happened or what it meant but it felt cool for some reason. There is little reason to watch this movie, honestly. While there aren't many cons, there are almost no pros. Downloaded.

3 years, 9 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

February 3rd Directed by: Stanley Kramer I kind of hate super wide aspect ratios but this actually looked incredible. Thought I should get that out of the way before I talk about the actual reason to watch this, it's one of the most fun movies ever. When it's not specifically out to make you laugh, which is almost never, it's still intensely entertaining. I watched the extended cut which I've learned over the years is always, always a bad idea, but of course as soon as there's an extended cut the original disappears. There were a lot of things in that that took me out of the experience, lost scenes that were just audio played over stills, but the scene wasn't something that was vital to the plot or even particularly funny or interesting, the people behind these things need to realize cuts were made for a reason. Anyway, the last 20 - 30 minutes of this film had my jaw on the floor, exasperated at how impossibly well written it is, I don't think there is a funnier, more satisfying climax/conclusion to a comedy. It can't be possible. Comedy masterpiece. Downloaded.

3 years, 9 months ago