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Strangers (1996)
A forgotten romance...
I only recall seeing a few episodes of this program, but that seems to be more than others do, going by the lack of user reviews here.
Strangers was an intriguing HBO series about couples meeting in Paris under unusual circumstances. There was an episode where an American businessman was obsessed with a stripper, stalking her and treating her like a prostitute, while she strangely wielded control over their sensual relationship. Another episode starred Emily Lloyd as a tomboyish female entranced by a man dressed as a woman (played by Samuel West) and their unique connection that upended gender/sex tropes. I think another one was about a woman falling for her husband's mistress, but that one didn't strike a chord with me as the other episodes did.
Although I saw this show about 25 years ago, it still lingers in my mind, like romance that could have been. Really wish there was someone else who remembers this!
Ramekin (2018)
I'll never look at dishware the same again...
Ramekin is a quirky, creepy slow burn of a horror film. What is art supposed to mean? It means whatever you want it to mean. At least, that's what the main character Emily says in the film.
Ramekin has a unique premise and I don't want to give too much of this short 70 minute film away. Emily, a college student, is living with a terrible roommate when her grandmother passes away, leaving her apartment to Emily. And everything in it, including one very mysterious little ramekin. This low-budget horror rests on the shoulders of its main actress, whose wide eyes and disturbing grin make her oddly mesmerizing. She spends much of the film with the eponymous ramekin as she slowly edges to a solitary madness. Or is it possession? Or is something else entirely? Watch it and judge for yourself.
I was glad to know no ramekins were harmed during the making of this film. 7.5/10 stars
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Fun, Campy & Unfairly Maligned
I know I'm in the minority, but I love, love Attack of the Clones. For so many reasons, both good and bad.
The Good: "Across the Stars" (my favorite love theme from any movie). Gorgeous Naboo. Padme's dazzling costumes. Jango Fett (the sexiest single dad in the universe). The seismic charges, pure aural magnificence. Kamino and the Kaminoans. Christopher Freaking Lee. Dooku's unique lightsaber. The arena scene. All those Jedi in battle dueling with lightsabers--pure eye candy. The clones coming to the rescue. The beautiful, hopeful ending where Padme & Anakin get married and Padme grasps Anakin's metal hand.
The Bad: The hammy, meme-worthy dialogue that makes my belly hurt with laughter. Hayden Christensen's valiant attempt to act decently, in spite of that awful, hammy dialogue. Two of the ugliest hairstyles ever worn by two handsome men (Obi-Wan's Jesus mullet & Anakin's pony-tail/rat-tail combo).
And last, but not least, AOTC takes me back to my childhood. It reminds me of watching those cheesy B-movie adventures on Saturday afternoons, movies that were supposed to be objectively bad, but I had no idea, because watching them brought me so much fun & joy. Too few films fill me with childish joy, and AOTC is one of them.
Rogue One (2016)
Criminally Overrated
Rogue One was so boring, I fell asleep 2 times before being able to watch it all. I hated this movie. But at least unlike The Last Jedi, it didn't crap all over the first 6 SW films.
Jyn, Cassian and the gang were not memorable or interesting, except for the blind guy. Whittaker & Mikkelsen were criminally underused in their roles.
The best parts of Rogue One were K2SO, the over the top & wonderfully hammy villain, Krennic, and the final Vader scene. As a Vader fan, however, I was disappointed with the Mustafar scene, as it looked nothing like Hell-planet it did in RotS. And Vader's dad joke was so cringy. It's blasphemous to say this, but James Earl Jones's voice is too old for Vader. It may be age, or dentures, but he did not sound menacing in the least. CGI Tarkin sounded scarier.
I know I'm in the minority, but this was not a good movie. It came off as bad fan fiction.
Gone Girl (2014)
Loved the book; the movie, not so much...
I loved, loved Gone Girl and have enjoyed all of Flynn's works. She has an insight into the human condition that is so accurate and disturbing which makes her writing addictive. Sadly, Flynn's screenplay- adaptation of her own novel falls flat. Although she retained the plot and most of the detail the crafty manipulation of the novel was gone.
Amy was supposed to be this fascinating multi-faceted enigma of a person that you were horrified to find yourself rooting for. In the movie she's this generation's Glenn Close or Rebecca DeMornay, another crazy woman scorned set upon murder.
Rosamund Pike was OK as "evil" Amy, if not a bit robotic, but her narration and performance as innocent Amy was all wrong. From the instant the first diary flashback started, you just knew she was full of it. Her Cool Girl rant, one of the book's highlights, is supposed to hit hard because up until that point Amy was a Cool Girl, not this evil, calculating creature.
Ben Affleck was fine as a smarmy Nick, but there was too much of him. He's not charismatic enough to carry a whole film. It should have been a story about the messed up things that Nick and Amy did to each other, a warped game of one upman-ship, not the story of "The Bad Thing That Amy Did To Nick."
Except for Nail Patrick Harris, I think the supporting cast was solid. He just didn't make Desi as fearsome as he should have been. I also expected more from Fincher's direction, who helmed the ingenious "Fight Club." This was little better than a Lifetime movie.
All in all, I was disappointed by the Gone Girl. Cliché as it is, but the book was so much better.