thekimphilbycinemaclub
TV and Cinema in the 21st Century
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Very much a working class version of a Succession style story. This is a piece of television that everyone should be talking about.
Jeremy Allen White gives a performance that will hopefully send his career into the stratosphere.
A tense and at times uncomfortable depiction of working in a Chicago restaurant which has seen better days.
An almost stage play aesthetic which jettisons the usual HBO style of montage/editing and instead employs tight close ups and Raimi style shakicam to construct the visual grammar.
Oliver Platt and John Berenthal round out a largely unknown cast in one of the freshest and most interesting dramas of recent years.
It's on Disney+. Give it a go! #thebear #fx #thekimphilbycinemaclub
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Fukusaku's Yakuza classic presented for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK.
This film has all of his trademarks, kinetic camera, staccato editing and the grimy Mise en scene you would expect from Italian neo realist cinema or British Kitchen sink drama.
It's aged badly in its depiction of female characters however, as an allegory for otherness and the effects of post WW2 immigration from Korea, this is an interesting social document.
Japanese cinema of the 70s is one of its most interesting times. Kurosawa was still working, Tohei was still producing edgy films such as this, Sonny Chiba was at the height of his powers and this brand of genre cinema was being used to wrestle with Japan's place in the world.
It's a great film, here presented via a 2k scan of the negative. Radiance is becoming one of the most interesting independent Blu-ray labels in the market at the moment. I hope they get to give some HK titles this type of treatment. Well worth a purchase!
#radiancebluray #fukusaku #japanesecinema #yakuzacinema
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Catastrophe
Quite simply one of the finest sitcoms of the last 20 years! Starring the killer combination of Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney, the writing on this pops with great dialogue and a cast to die for.
The basic premise of this series is Horgan gets pregnant after her and Delaney have a brief relationship. The comedy drama deals with the fallout from this.
Very funny, at times sad and as an added bonus it features one of the last performances of the late, great Carrie Fisher.
Horgan starts the 4 season run as an amateur and finishes as one of the most interesting actors working in UK television. Delaney should be in everything, he's fantastic.
The producers also take the controversial decision to cast Scottish actors in Scottish roles. Ashley Jensen is hilarious but the real standout is Mark Bonnar. These 2 deserve their own show!
It's on Netflix, give it a go and thank me later! #sharonhorgan #robdelaney #markbonnar #catastrophe #scottishactor
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The Flash
Okay, where do we start with this one? This film has tanked at the Box Office, likely because Ezra Miller is one of the most unpleasant people in Hollywood(Which is quite an achievement!).
A vastly inferior version of the classic comic The Flashpoint Paradox, this removes the edges from that text and plays the story mostly for laughs.
The film begins with a chase through Glasgow which, in the most far fetched scenes in the film shows Batman tearing through traffic during rush hour on the Kingston Bridge!🤣
The pros are the welcome return of Batflek, the even more welcome return of the almost 70 year old Michael Keaton. He's worth the ticket price alone as Batman!
The cons are the CGI. It looks like it was done on a Sega Mega drive and at points it seems unfinished. Strange considering this was delayed by a year.
This is worth seeing however, it will likely be years before there is another Flash movie. If this is the best we'll get then that's a shame. #michaelkeaton #batfleck #theflash #segamegadrive
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I loved this series as a kid. Picked up the DVD(Only the original series is available on Blu Ray 😥) for a few quid ages ago and decided to rewatch.
Camp, at times soap opera like and often laughably bad, this hasn't aged well. This however, is great fun.
Disowned by Kenneth Johnson(Who wrote the mini series a few years before this) because of the studio interference with the script and the constant cutting of the budget. It's clear that the shortcomings Johnson was concerned about were never addressed.
What puts this over the top is the acting. Jane Badler as Diana and Marc Singer as Donovan are pantomime in their performances and hugely enjoyable. A pre Freddy Robert Englund is great as Willie the show's audience surrogate.
The real standout is Michael Ironside as Ham Tyler. His special forces soldier played as a haunted Vietnam Veteran lingers in the memory. Ironside would have been in his mid 30s at this point. He still manages to look like an old man.
Total shit but you'll have a good laugh. As a tip don't play this on a UHD Blu Ray Player. The upscaling makes it look horrific. #v #80s #michaelironside
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Make no mistake this is one of the best shows on streaming at the moment.
Written by Ted Lasso alumni Bret Goldstein (one of the best writers around. He's also a good actor, his role as Roy Kent in Ted Lasso is a series stand out) this production balances tragedy, comedy, race relations, grief, friendship and work relationships.
This is the best thing Harrison Ford has done in years. He is nothing short of fantastic in this show. He's ably assisted by Jason Segel on the lead.
Segel's performance as a kind of 21st century Frasier, is a highlight of 2023 so far.
The scripts zing, Ford lairs his performance with a depth that few actors around can capture. Please watch this, it's on Apple TV and I want a season 2. #harrisonford #jasonsegel #appletvplus #shrinking
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Arguably one of the best films of the 90s. So much better than the 'New Jack City' gangster films of the same era.
This is a meditation on the concept of purgatory and how the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
What would appear to be a straight forward undercover cop story in the text, becomes a critique of 90s race relations, capitalist materialism and Christian morality in the sub text.
Directed by Bill Duke and written by Michael Tolkien, neither did work as good as this before or after.
Forgotten in the streaming age, this film should be sought out and enjoyed. It has career best performances from Fish and Jeff Goldblum who plays the villain. Please watch this, you won't regret it.
#larwrencefishburne #jeffgoldblum #billduke #90sclassic
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A surprisingly fun piece of work from the directors of the excellent Game Night.
Funny, well cast and well written. A complete story that includes character arcs, emotional pay offs and competent action sequences. This is an Easter delight.
A family romp in the text but a meditation on loss and parental strife in the subtext, I actually loved this. Laughed throughout and was genuinely moved by the ending.
It's struggling at the moment, please go and see it. #dungeonsanddragons #chrispine
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Let's get this straight. This is one of the best action films of the 21st century so far. Period.
Chad Stahelski directs and choreographs this stunning achievement that has to be seen to be believed.
Keanu is now almost 60 years of age and performs like a man in his 20s.
Stahelski has quite an eye, his composition, use of mise-en-scene, colours and aspect ratio give us a visual experience similar to that of a Young Ridley Scott.
All that considered this film's strength is summed up by 2 words. Donnie Yen.
Donnie Yen plays a modern version of Zatoichi. Yes, Zatoichi!!!!! He is pure charisma and takes this to the next level.
The last hour is up there with Hard Boiled, The Raid, Enter the Dragon and Raging Fire.
I loved this, see it asap!
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Decent Netflix joint with a host of enjoyable performances.
The standard undercover cop in peril is subverted in an interesting way. The script collapses under its own ideas with probably one or two double crossed too many.
The action is well choreographed and original. There are a few nods to John Woo's A Better Tomorrow which made me smile.
Production design owes a large debt to John Wick and the ending feels slightly Beat Takeshi. The director has gone for a 3 X 4 In October style but doesn't quite land it. Worth a watch however, there are far better Japanese Productions on Netflix.
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IMDb: : The Driver
IMDb: : The Driver
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077474/
Walter Hill's classic Neo Noir. Watched on 4K Blu ray with the addition of a bombastic Sony Soundbar.
Very much a Western set in 70s Urban America. Instead of horses, Hill employs pretty much every 70s car you've ever seen.
Starring Ryan O'Neal playing Steve McQueen playing a character only referred to as 'Driver'. O'Neal is a terrible actor and comes across as the Pound Shop Steve McQueen. Blown off the screen by genre legend Bruce Dern, he speaks only 350 words throughout the film. Probably about 349 too many.
Dern is the real star here. His sleazy delivery and note perfect dialogue assimilation, make this one of his best roles.
A homoerotic allegory of a gay relationship. Dern chews scenery and makes the dialogue scenes watchable.
Let's face it, we are here for the car chases. This movie delivers in spades. Great action film with a poor leading performance, this is great.
This would make a great double bill with Nicholas Winding Refen film Drive. Basically the same movie with a better ending.
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70s tonight. #walterhill #neonoir #classicamericanmuscle https://www.instagram.com/p/CpqGqvuoM-W/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
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Croupier. Dir Mike Hodges
Excellent 90s Mike 'Get Carter' Hodges joint. A fresh faced Clive Owen plays the central protagonist in a rare British Neo Noir.
The sparsely written script has a slightly underwritten plot involving Owen as an author suffering from writer's block who takes a night job in a Soho Casino for inspiration.
The sub text of corporate greed that pollutes and steals the vision of an artist is understandable given that Hodge's film prior to this was taken from him in the editing suite.
It's dated slightly but this is a well constructed piece of work with an excellent performance from Owen and Alex Kingston in support.
No Get Carter but well done. The end is worth the price of the ticket alone.
RIP Mike Hodges
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Escape From New York. Dir John Carpenter
Quite simply one of the best films ever made. Carpenter and Russell worked together many times but in my opinion this is their opus.
Set design to die for, a supporting cast that includes Issac Hayes, Lee Van Cleef, Harry Dean Stanton and Ernest Borgnine. Donald Pleasance plays the US President in peril.
The world building of this film is subtle and effective, the script is near perfect and uses throwaway lines to nuance the character relationships. If this was made today it would be a 13 episode Netflix series.
Instead Carpenter opts to make a lean, mean thrill ride that clocks in just over 90 minutes. A subtle indictment of the military industrial complex on the surface, a story of trauma and redemption as the sub text.
Kurt Russell is perfect in this role, Plissken is the type of character they don't write anymore. Russell is never given the credit he deserves as an actor, this film is his best.
It's worth watching just for the end. An absolute stone cold classic.
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Yellowstone
Basically The Sopranos sponsored by Levis. Excellent writing, a cast to die for, some of the best direction in TV for the last 10 years and breathtaking vistas.
This show is the real deal. A worthy successor to recent TV classics if not quite as good as The Wire or the aforementioned Sopranos. I love this.
Costner was born to play this role and chews every part of the scenery. Stop what you're doing and watch this now.
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Breaking News Dir Johnnie To
Barnstorming Johnnie To action joint from 2004. This is arguably one of the best HK films of the new century.
A sub-textual critique of the Media's depiction of the way the Chinese authorities deal with descent in Hong Kong.
The text of the movie is a cat and mouse thriller in the vein of Sydney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon. Shot in the style of a War documentary.
This is a masterpiece, forgotten since its release the film serves as an essential cinematic time capsule. 2003 is widely regarded as the worst year in HK cinema history. Sars and the deaths of Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui, inspired To's screenplay.
Sadly a flop at the time, this film holds up really well. Watched on the Chameleon Films Blu ray. This looks absolutely fantastic.
It also has one of the best opening sequences in the last 20 years. Brilliant!
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