Movies you saw in May

two more Akira Kurosawa classics played on Turner Classic Movies early Saturday May 16th. hopefully both will play again soon

Throne of Blood aka Spider Web Castle in Japan (1957) uses the plot of Shakespeare's Macbeth only set in feudal Japan. stars the great Toshiro Mifune as Samurai commander Washizu (Macbeth) and Isuzu Yamada as his wife Lady Asaji (Lady Macbeth). Chieko Naniwa is way spooky as the Forest Spirit (The Three Witches). do NOT know HOW Kurosawa shot the final "arrows" scene. it is amazing FX for the 1950's. well worth watching for Kurosawa fans. I rate it   of four

Yojimbo (1961) again with Toshiro Mifune playing a "ronin" (masterless samurai) coming into a small Japanese village and playing the two competing crime lords against each other. "tour de force" by Mifune and the plot has been used in both Sergio Leone's "Spaghetti Western" A Fistful of Dollars (1964) which made Clint Eastwood a star and the 1996 Last Man Standing set in Prohibition-era South Texas which is an outstanding remake with Bruce Willis in the "ronin" part and also with Bruce Dern, Christopher Walken, William Sanderson, David Patrick Kelly and Michael Imperioli. I rate all three of four

Great flick, lot's of twists and turns. Stephen King is a genius.

Have you seen "Thinner?"  Another SK winner. Not many people know about it.

Things to Come (1936) played late Saturday night on Turner Classic Movies. early sci-fi with the dialogue and plot devised by H. G. Wells from his 1933 novel "The Shape of Things to Come". stars  Raymond Massey, Ralph Richardson and Cedric Hardwicke. I find it interesting because of what the producer Alexander Korda thought the next 100 years in human history would look like. Wells did predict in his plot that the next world war would be a "air war" and he was correct. the portrayal of future automated industrial machines that require few workers turned out to be pretty much correct BUT he got it pretty much wrong with developments in aviation and the method of space flight launches. overall it's pretty "campy" by today's standards esp what they thought men's fashion would look like in the 21st century. I rate it   for it's historical value

From Hell (2001) horror mystery drama based on the investigation of Jack the Ripper murders in late 19th Century London with some interesting speculation of WHO did the crimes and WHY. stars Johnny Depp with an excellent supporting cast of Heather Graham, Robbie Coltrane, Ian Holm and Ian Richardson. just may be one of Depp's best "pure drama" movies that I can watch multiple times without it getting stale. plays again on Starz-Cinema Friday may 22nd @ 7:00pm and Monday May 25th @ 6:00pm & 11:10pm all times pacific. rate it    of four

The Insider (1999) Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, Christopher Plummer.

Saw a couple of sequels this week:

well I'll be swizzled. C-T let me OUT the BOX early. have seen The Insider (1999) a while back  and just recorded to re-view again. agree 100% with doggs. excellent movie based on true events with "tour de force" performances by Al Pacino and Russell Crowe. plays again on Cinemax channels Wednesday May 27th @ 10:50 am & 1:50 pm pacific time. I rate it of four

Pi (1998) low budget black & white New York "avant-garde" movie about a psychotic number theorist using his computer to try and predict the stock market and decipher other events. really WEIRD but I thought entertaining movie. a mostly unknown cast with Sean Gullette as Max the theorist, Samia Shoaib as Devi his way cute neighbor who keeps hitting on Max but he's too dense to pick up on it. Ben Shenkman as Lenny Meyer a Hasidic J-ew trying to get Max to use his computer to decipher the Torah and Mark Margolis as Sol a retired number theorist who is a friend and somewhat mentor to Max.

only cost $68K to produce BUT earned over $3.2 million box office which puts it in the "Holy $hit" profit category along with the 1994 Kevin Smith written and directed cult classic Clerks. writer and director Darren Aronofsky won the Directing Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and the Gotham Open Palm Award. I thought well acted by all involved esp by Gullette as the borderline insane Max and Margolis (the only really "known" actor involved) as Sol. worth a look IF you are into "arty-smarty" "film noir". plays on Starz-Beyond channel again Wednesday May 27th @ 6"55am and Sunday May 31st 4:05am pacific times. I rate it   of four

this is NOT to be confused with that over-hyped. over-rated Ang Lee mess Life of Pi (2012) about some Indian kid on a boat with a Tiger. I kept hoping the Cat would bite the kid's balls off and I still can NOT believe they give Lee the Best Director Oscar for his CGI fest instead of  Steven Spielberg for Lincoln (2012). in my opinion the whole 2013 Oscars were a complete "clusterfukk" and about the ONLY major awards they got CORRECT were Argo for Best Picture (BUT Director Ben Affleck was NOT even nominated although he WON the Golden Globe?) and Daniel Day-Lewis Best Actor as Abraham Lincoln

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011). I'm really NOT a big fan of the Planet of the Apes franchise as I think the plot concept is pretty lame BUT this one and the 2011 "prequel" were entertaining with good action esp late in the movie.plays on HBO Sunday May 24th, Wednesday May 27th and daily Friday May 29th thru Monday June 1st. I rate it   of four

Kite (2014) crime-action "revenge" movie. fast paced and entertaining IF you are into the old "ultra-violent". India Eisley as Sawa, the teenaged assassin cutting down the villains who murdered her family, is both way cute AND "mean b!tch". also stars Samuel L. Jackson. crazy "plot twist" at the end. pretty much non-stop action and only runs 90 minutes. I rate it   of four

OOPS!!! almost forgot. Kite plays again on Starz channels Sunday May 24th, Tuesday May 26th, Wednesday May 27th, Thursday May 28th and Sunday May 31st

Valkyrie (2008) German-American historical movie depicting the  July 20th 1944 bomb plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. all-star cast including Tom Cruise as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg with Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Eddie Izzard, Terence Stamp and Tom Wilkinson as other major players in the plot. really well acted movie that as a history buff I can watch numerous times. plays again on Starz channels again Friday May 29th and Saturday May 30th in theater 2X1 format. I rate it    of four

Avengers: Age of Ultron - A sometimes daffy, occasionally baffling, surprisingly touching and even romantic adventure with one kinetic thrill after another. It has color, great delivery, amusing interludes, a cohesive story and a payoff that doesn't betray the sensibilities of its direction.

Far from the Madding Crowd - A romantic rollercoaster of sorts. Well-chosen cast. A thoroughly modern film anyone can relate to. A richly orchestrated score.

welcome to Covers, Patricia_W. hopefully you will continue to contribute to the Movie & TV forum

two more watched last night on Turner Classic Movies...

Across the Pacific (1942) WWII spy thriller staring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, and Sydney Greenstreet. really needed Peter Lorre to complete the The Maltese Falcon (1941) cast. some OK action and suspense but by and large NOT one of "Bogie's" better films. Greenstreet is his usual "menacingly excellent" villain once again. worth a watch IF you are into Bogie movies. rate it   of four

The Time Machine (1960) classic H G Wells story staring Rod Taylor and the luscious Yvette Mimieux with Alan Young, Sebastian Cabot and Whit Bissell has become somewhat of a sci-fi classic. has excellent FX for it's day and the Wells story is ageless. this and the 1953 The War of the Worlds staring Gene Barry are definitely worth watching when on TCM for classic scf-fi fans. do NOT think any later movies really improved the telling of these two Wells stories. rate BOTH    of four

Airplane! (1980)