Movies you saw in August

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) "film noir" crime-"heist" film directed by John Huston. stars  Sterling Hayden, Sam Jaffe, James Whitmore  and John McIntire. noteable as Marilyn Monroe's first major screen roll. good fast paced 100 minute movie that played on Turner Classic Movies just yesterday and hopefully will repeat soon. has a 96% "fresh" from Rotten Tomatoes. was added to the National Film Registry in 2008. I rate it    of four

Quills (2000) "period" film from the award-winning play by Doug Wright inspired by the life and works of the Marquis de Sade. VERY well acted by Geoffrey Rush as the Marquis (Best Actor Oscar and Golden Globe nominations), Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix and Michael Caine. fairly interesting story and I think worth watching for the excellent serious acting. has a 75% "fresh" from Rotten Tomatoes. plays again on Starz-Cenema channel again Saturday August 1st @ 7:00pm pacific time. I rate it   of four

The Book Thief

going to look for it. anything with Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson is usually pretty good drama. check out The Drop (2014) from last month. think you will like that too

I will do that. Thanks

Advise & Consent (1962) cold war era political drama about the intrigue surrounding the nomination of a controversial Secretary of State and the resulting fight in the U S Senate as they "advise and consent" on it. has an all star cast including Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, Walter Pidgeon, Peter Lawford, Lew Ayres and Burgess Meredith. well acted by all involved and has a numbers of "twists" in the plot including one late in the movie that would have been pretty controversial back in the early 1960's. played on Turner Classic Movies last night and hopefully will repeat in the near future. I rate it of four.

I really need to keep up with the TCM online schedule. they almost always have some excellent classic worth watching or recording

Smokin' Aces (2006) think most Covers members have seen this "slam-bang" crime-action drama at least once BUT it is very fast paced with pretty much non-stop action and an all-star cast with Ben Affleck, Ray Liotta, Andy García, Ray Liotta, Matthew Fox and Chris Pine ("Captain Kirk" in the new Star Wars "prequel" movies). singers-rappers Alicia Keys and Common make their film debutes. worth watching just for the characters of The Tremor Brothers who are completely fukk nuts crazy. Rotten Tomatoes threw rocks with a 29% rating BUT I think it is entertaining and has enough "oodles of ordnance and stuff that goes boom" for any action fan. has a crazy "plot twist" at the end. plays again on Cinemax channels Saturday August 8th @ 6:25am & August 10th @ 7:30pm (pacific time). I rate it    of four

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) more manure for the Hobbit pile and thank GOD it's the LAST of the series. plots have gotten pretty thin and all the spectacular CGI in Hollywood can't save this mish-mash of mindless battle scenes. I for one have had enough of Hobbits, Wizards, Elves, Dwarfs and "Orc's from Mork". plays again on HBO Sunday August 9th, Thursday August 13th, Saturday August 15th and Sunday August 16th. in my opinion it is strictly

The Warriors (1979) teenage gang movie set in New York City that has become a "cult classic". back in the early 1980's they used to do midnight picture shows where the audience would show up dressed in different gang "colors" from this movie much like people showing up in costume for the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). originally back in the 1980's the critics hated it and the authorities thought it glorified teenage gang violence. NOW it gets a 94% "fresh" rating from Rotten Tomatoes and is listed on Entertainment Weekly as the 16th greatest cult movie ever on their Top 50 list. plays again on EPIX2 Friday August 14thth @ 445am, 1:35pm & 7:15pm all times pacific.I rate it    of four

btw, decided to check out just WHAT movies were on Entertainment Weekly greatest cult movies list. don't have TOO much trouble with their Top 10 ex for This Is Spinal Tap (1984) @ #1 and Harold and Maude (1971) @ #4 BUT think that the Ed Wood written and directed "so BAD it's GOOD" horror classic Plan 9 from Outer Space @ 12th (1959) should have been in the Top 10

#1 This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
#2 The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
#3 Freeks (1932)
# 4 Harold and Maude (1971)
#5 Pink Flamingos (1972)
#6 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
#7 Repo Man (1984)
#8 Scarface (1983)
#9 Blade Runner (1982)
#10 The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

also there is NO way that Clerks (1994) should be as low as 29th, Slap Shot @ 31st, The Big Lebowski (1998) @ 34th and esp the Stanley Kubrick directed from the Anthony Burgess novel A Clockwork Orange (1971) @ #52 as an after thought. in my opinion ALL could have been at LEAST in the Top 15. in fact the Rolling Stone cult movie list shows A Clockwork Orange @ #5 on theirs with The Big Lebowski 2nd only behind The Rocky Horror Picture Show @ #1

also NO Easy Rider (1969), Fight Club (1999), Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974), The Road Warrior (1981) Taxi Driver (1976), John Carpenter's The Thing (1982), Reservoir Dogs (1992) or Night of the Living Dead (1968) on Entertainment Weekly's list?

https://www.listchallenges.com/entertainment-weeklys-top-50-cult-movies-of

Lucy (2014) one of the BEST sci-fi action movie I have seen in a long time. "tour de force" by Scarlett Johansson as Lucy a young woman forced to be an unwilling drug mule who is accidentally over-dosed with the drug sewn into her abdomen and gains extraordinary physical and mental powers. lots of fight scenes with "oodles of ordnance" and is pretty much non-stop action during it's short 90 minute run time. also stars Morgan Freeman as the Professor studying inhanced mental abilities and Korean actor Choi Min-sik as the drug lord villain who is the nastiest baztard since Gary Oldman's character Norman Stansfield in Leon: The Professional. think anyone into action movies will like this one. the movie has been nominated for a Sci-Fi Saturn award while Johansson has been nominated for a bunch of Best Actress awards. plays on Cinemax movie channels Tuesday August 11th, Thursday th 13th, Friday the 14th, Saturday the 15th, Sunday the 16th and again next Tuesday the 18th. I rate it     of four it's that good

Southpaw 2015 - a modern day Rocky style movie. Rachel McAdams very sexy and good cast overall with underrated performance by legend Forrest Whitaker. 50 cent can't act but he may as well try and the antagonist made you dislike him from his look alone. Let's say that me and tony Montana share the same disdain from a certain South American country. You'll be glad you watched it.

Paul (2011) pretty funny adult "E-T" style sci-fi comedy stars Seth Rogen as the voice of "Paul" the alien with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as the two sci-fi "nerds" trying to help him escape from government agents after him. also features SNL's Bill Hader, Blythe Danner and Sigourney Weaver as the evil govenment agent trying to capture Paul. FUN movie BUT definitely NOT for small childern with all the foul language. plays again on the IFC movie channel again Sunday August 16th @ 12:00pm & 9:00pm pacific time. recommend recording because IFC is over-run with commercials. rate it    of four

River's Edge (1986) kind of interesting teen drama staring Dennis Hopper with early work by Crispin Glover and Keanu Reeves. Daniel Roebuck is excellent as Samson aka "John" Tollet. really surprised he didn't get more and bigger rolls after this movie as he is the most interesting character. same for Ione Skye as Clarissa in her first ever film roll. it's kind of "arty-smarty" like the 1983 Francis Ford Coppola teen movie Rumble Fish but NOT as  played on MGM Movie channel and will probably repeat soon. rate it   of four

It Follows    Slow moving but suspenseful movie about a curse that is transmitted sexually and follows the person whom it was passed upon and only they can see it as it takes a human form.  It's low-budget, has a late 70's-early 80's feel to it and does drag at some parts, but it is also pretty original and is scary without the cheap jumps.

Death Sentence (2007) "revenge" action-thriller with good suspense and "oodles of ordnance" esp at the end. stars Kevin Bacon as an average "Joe Square" corporate executive who goes looking for payback on the punks who murdered his son in an armed robbery and the police do NO-thing. also stars Garrett Hedlund who is excellent as the psycho-villian leader of the punk gang with John Goodman in the small but interesting part of the punk leaders criminal father. the real story of the movie is that the fukking cops are totally incompetent at keeping the average American family safe from gang violence. runs a fairly fast 105 minutes esp the last 30. plays again on the ActionMAX Cinemax channel again Monday August 17th @ 11:35pm, Thursday August 20th @ 5:00pm and Sunday August 23rd @ 9:05pm. rate it    for action fans

Let It Ride (1989) in my opinion THE funniest gambling themed comedy EVER. stars Richard Dreyfuss as Trotter the horse betting cabbie, David Johansen as his hapless buddy Looney, Teri Garr as Trotters long suffering wife Pam, Jennifer Tilly as the "Holly Go Lightny" rich guys mistress Vicky who falls for Trotter  and Robbie Coltrane as the ticket writer. great small parts by Richard Dimitri as Tony Cheeseburger and Mary Woronov as Quinella the snack bar counter girl who probably has THE best single line in the movie "You could be walking around lucky, and not even know it".

as a side note: the screenplay for Let It Ride was written by Nancy Dowd, who was credited as Ernest Morton, the same screen writer of one of the funniest sports comedies ever Slap Shot (1877). plays again on Encore-Classics Saturday August 22nd @ 6:30am & 2:40pm. obviously I rate this     of four as a movie I can watch over and over and STILL laugh. it is a definite "must see" for all Covers degenerates

A Bridge Too Far (1977) WWII epic about Operation Market Garden in September 1944 which was British Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery's half baked plan to to force an entry into Germany over the Lower Rhine BUT failed due to a number of factors not the least was pizz poor planning ans support. the movie has just about every major film star of that era short of John Wayne who by that time in his life was deathly sick from cancer. well told but VERY long at almost three hours. it's worth watching IF you are into WWII history and is very well acted by all involved. played on the MGM movie channel and hopefully will replay soon. I rate it of four

The Anderson Tapes (1971) When Duke Anderson (Sean Connery) gets out of the cooler, he discovers the mother lode in his rich girlfriend’s (Dyan Cannon) ritzy apartment building. With help from a safecracker (Christopher Walken), a decorator and a thug, Duke might be able to pull off the greatest heist yet. What he doesn’t know if that someone is watching his every move and beating him at his own game. Beautifully made caper film by one of the best directors in his prime, Sydney Lumet.

I rate it    of four.

Passenger 57 (1992) John Cutter (Wesley Snipes) is an undercover security operative who has taken a job training flight attendants on how to deal with dangerous terrorists. When Cutler takes a flight for his new job in Los Angeles, there is a handcuffed international terrorist, Charles Rane (Bruce Payne) in FBI Custody, unknown to the agents, his fellow terrorists are on the plane and soon enough take over it. Now Cutler is forced to deal with the dangerous situation. The stunts and action scenes are terrific. Snipes makes a dynamic action hero counterpart to Payne's brilliantly chilling villain.

I rate it    of four.

Big Hero 6 (2014) very entertaining animated action-comedy from the Walt Disney animation studios. fast paced pretty much non-stop action for it's 100 minute run time and actually has some interesting characters, esp the robot "Baymax", along with a decent plot that has some good "twists" in it. FUN movie that has some good laughs that I think most adult action fans will enjoy. won the Oscar for for Best Animated Feature and has an 89% "fresh" rating from Rotten Tomatoes. plays again on Starz-Edge channel again Wednesday August 20 and  Sunday August 23rd multiple times. I rate it    of four

speaking of Nancy Dowd writing Let it Ride(1989), they showed here signature work Slap Shot (1977) last night on Cinemax "5-Max" and I can never pass it up. probably THE best sports themed comedy EVER. Paul Newman said late in a life interview that Reggie Dunlop was one of his favorite characters ever and he had more pure FUN making the movie than any other. Joe McGrath has to be Strother Martin's greatest roll ever after the chain gang camp captain in Cool Hand Luke (1967). plays again on the 5-Max channel again Friday August 28th @ 5:35am pacific time and obviously I rate it     of four

also had one of THE best "degenerate gambler" movies of all time Rounders (1998) on late last night staring Matt Damon and Edward Norton with John Turturro, John Malkovich, Famke Janssen, Gretchen Mol, Josh (the son of Zero) Mostel and Martin Landau. this and Steve McQueen's The Cincinnati Kid (1965) probably THE most famous poker themed movies EVER. plays again on various Showtime channels all this weekend starting Friday August 21st thru Wednesday August 26th. I rate it    of four

for an excellent drama based on the events surrounding the Kennedy assassination, check out Parkland (2013). covers the effect on the Parkland Hospital emergency room staff where JFK was brought after he was shot, Abraham Zapruder the man the filmed the fatal shot and his family, the Dallas FBI agents, who could have probably stopped Lee Harvey Oswald by arresting him weeks earlier instead of just think he was a "nut", the Presidents Secret Service detail and Oswald's brother Robert and his family. I found it to be a really interesting and well acted film esp by Kat Steffens as First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy who has NO spoken lines but brings great emotion, definitely worth seeing for the history and also the excellent acting. plays on Starz-Cinema Wednesday August 26th @ 6:30am & 3:30pm pacific time. I rate it    of four

Con Air (1997) Nicolas Cage stars as Cameron Poe, a highly decorated United States Army Ranger, coming home to Alabama to his wife, only to run into a few drunken regulars where she works. Cameron unknowingly kills one of the drunks and is sent to a federal penitentiary for involuntary manslaughter for seven years. At the end of his sentence, Poe finds himself smack dab in the middle of an escape attempt aboard a plane full of career criminals, led by the charismatic Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom (John Malkovich). Buckle Up because "Con Air" is a great action flick! 

I rate it    of four

 

The Mechanic (2011) follows professional assassin Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) as he reluctantly kills his mentor Harry McKenna(Donald Sutherland) and subsequently in an effort at atoning for the murder, takes on the Harry's adult son (Ben Foster) as his apprentice. The remake of the classic '70s thriller which starred Charles Bronson, is entertaining with plenty of action; some of it fairly brutal. Jason Statham excels in roles like this and while it isn't his best film, it's still pretty good. The story itself is hardly the most original but that doesn't matter as it's all about the action and their is plenty of it.

I rate it   of four.

The Mechanic (2011) is an excellent action movie with Jason Statham (Ben Foster not so much) BUT think the 1972 original with Charles Bronson and Jan-Michael Vincent much better, the original has been playing on EPIX channels recently

Virtuosity (1995) Russell Crowe is Sid 6.7 - Sadistic, Intelligent, Dangerous. He's a composite of some 200 personalities, each and every one a notorious killer. A virtual reality creation designed to put L.A. police officers to the test. But Sid isn't playing games anymore. He's escaped the bounds of cyberspace and is able to take a licking because he can regenerate his silicon-based body parts. Denzel Washington is Parker Barnes, a Los Angeles cop who once took the law into his own hand and now carries the fate of L.A. in them. His job is to shut down the virtually unstoppable Sid.

I rate it   of four.