Amazon Prime Instant Video Rec

[dookeyXXX]

THE CAPTAIN
The 2018 German film joins the ranks of Paths of Glory, All Quiet on the Western Front, and Come and See, in regards to its unflinching glimpse into the horrors of war.
Following a WWII German deserter it chronicles his character arc as he descends into Machiavellian madness, becoming the very thing he was apparently escaping from.
Filmed in stark black and white cinematography, it is bleak and harrowing, showcasing the malevolent debauchery of Nazi officers and its intoxicating allure to those caught up in its sinister aura.
A rather surprising turn from screenwriter/director Robert Schwentke, who is best known for helming glossy, big budget (and often mediocre) Hollywood B-Movies such as Red, Flightplan, Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, and The Divergent series..

[Mike Pow]

Started watching ‘The Whale’

Lasted about 25 mins

Anyone watch it / finish it?

What am I missing that the Academy saw?

[dookeyXXX]

•*•*•*• - you’ll have to sign up for the IFC free 7-day trial, but it’s totally worth it just for this flick.•*•*•*•

LOWLIFE
A luchador, a fish taco sex trafficker, a white gangsta from Compton, a shady accountant, a pregnant heroin addict, and the owner of a seedy motel walk into a bar…
This flick is a sick and twisted riff on the stylistic mayhem that Quentin Tarantino unleashed with Pulp Fiction.
Yet this escapade, which revels in the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, is nastier and slightly more fugged up than anything QT has committed to film.
You’ll laugh. You’ll cringe. And you will never be bored.
Violent, funny, and just the right amount of WTF insanity.

RIYL
RIYL
Pulp Fiction, Kiling Zoe, Lucky Day, Have A Nice Day

[dookeyXXX]

THE GRANDMASTER

Wong Kar Wai’s martial art(s)house take on the life of Ip Man is visually stunning and manages to accomplish everything that Ang Lee failed to do with Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon: combine a love quadrangle and insane action into a cohesive whole.
Rumor has it that more than 30 minutes were trimmed from the original Asian release, and one feels that a little something is missing from the third act, but overall the look and feel of the film is a well-crafted and updated ode to classic kung fu films; hardcore kung fu fans should be doubly pleased with the action and philosophical asides, while laypeople should be fine with the drama and opulent set pieces.
Yuen Woo Ping (yes, he of The Matrix/Once Upon A Time In China/Iron Monkey/Drunken Master/Fist of Legend fame) contributes some dazzling fight choreography which Wai turns into a cinematic ballet of balled fists and lightning feet.
Not as breezy as the Donnie Yen led Ip Man series, but decidedly richer in tone and visual nuance.

[Mike Pow]

•*•*•*• - you’ll have to sign up for the IFC free 7-day trial, but it’s totally worth it just for this flick.•*•*•*•

LOWLIFE
A luchador, a fish taco sex trafficker, a white gangsta from Compton, a shady accountant, a pregnant heroin addict, and the owner of a seedy motel walk into a bar…
This flick is a sick and twisted riff on the stylistic mayhem that Quentin Tarantino unleashed with Pulp Fiction.
Yet this escapade, which revels in the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, is nastier and slightly more fugged up than anything QT has committed to film.
You’ll laugh. You’ll cringe. And you will never be bored.
Violent, funny, and just the right amount of WTF insanity.

RIYL
RIYL
Pulp Fiction, Kiling Zoe, Lucky Day, Have A Nice Day

Really enjoyed it

There's a masterpiece lurking in there with better technical work and better acting

[dookeyXXX]

BABYLON
Imagine Singin’ in the Rain sans musical numbers mashed together with The Artist and Nickelodeon then re-imagined by Quentin Tarantino. Babylon is slightly more batshit bonkers than that.
The opening pre-title sequence bursts out with such gross bravado that it comes close to surpassing the likes of Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, Stand By Me, The Exorcist, and Triangle of Sadness in terms of sheer gag inducing reflex.
On the surface the film is a sprawling love story intermingled with the decline of a matinee idol and the racism endured by actors and musicians of color who are admired as exotic curios instead of talented human beings. The rest of the film peels back the allure of the Silver Screen to reveal the debaucherous underbelly with such unabashed glee and hubris that you often don’t know whether to laugh, cry, scream or squirm.
The film stumbles a bit in the final 10-minutes, as if writer/director Damien Chazelle fell into a refractory coma after prolonging his orgasmic insanity for the previous 2 hours and 59-minutes, but what a joyously demented romp is lavished upon us up until those closing moments.

[PB]

so .... a better Moulin Rouge??

[dookeyXXX]

SMOKING CAUSES COUGHING
Quentin Dupieux’s latest will cost you 99cents for the rental, but it’s worth all those pennies.
A bizarrely brilliant mix of Power Rangers, Danger 5, and twisted campfire tales.
It’s absurd, hilarious, and grossly entertaining.

[subtle plague]

I have really enjoyed the covenant. Not a "typical guy ritchie" but very good.

[dookeyXXX]

•*•*•*• - you’ll have to sign up for the IFC free 7-day trial, but it’s totally worth it just for this flick.•*•*•*•

BUNNY AND THE BULL

Imagine if Michel Gondry, Wes Anderson, and Terry Gilliam had all collaborated on Withnail & I. This is what the result might have looked like.
A joyously twisted and manic buddy cum road trip cum romantic comedy that is brimming to overflowing with quirk.
Lovely jubbly in all the right ways.

[Mike Pow]

•*•*•*• - you’ll have to sign up for the IFC free 7-day trial, but it’s totally worth it just for this flick.•*•*•*•

BUNNY AND THE BULL

Imagine if Michel Gondry, Wes Anderson, and Terry Gilliam had all collaborated on Withnail & I. This is what the result might have looked like.
A joyously twisted and manic buddy cum road trip cum romantic comedy that is brimming to overflowing with quirk.
Lovely jubbly in all the right ways.

Loved it

Thanks

The Detectorists meets The Mighty Boosh

[dookeyXXX]

Loved it

Thanks

The Detectorists meets The Mighty Boosh

FWIW, writer/director Paul King directed all 20 episodes of The Mighty Boosh…

[Mike Pow]

FWIW, writer/director Paul King directed all 20 episodes of The Mighty Boosh…

Makes sense

[up an down]

Surf Girls Hawaii, a new Amazon 4 episode series, is pretty good. Basically a documentary about womans pro surfer season.

[dookeyXXX]

VIOLENT NIGHT
Despite borrowing heavily from two other recent Christmas themed action and horror movies—Fatman and Better Watch Out—and wearing Home Alone influences brashly on its outer sleeve, this Santa Claus kicking anus flick is a fun romp.
Its success lies firmly in director Tommy (Dead Snow) Wirkola’s quick pacing and deft handling of action sequences along with a crackerjack cast who take themselves just serious enough to keep their tongues planted in their cheeks and have a twinkling glint of mischievous jolliness their eyes.
In the end it’s like a wayward Disney holiday film teeming with Yuletide jeer and a sleigh load of blood and guts.

[dookeyXXX]

•*•Available via the 7-day free trial of Mubi

DECISION TO LEAVE
The latest film from Park Chan-wook (who is perhaps best known for Oldboy) is a slick neon noir with a heavy Hitchcockian slant. Teeming with gullible protagonists, sly femme fatales, slick camera work, and interesting flashbacks, it can at times be confusing (perhaps due to some lost-in-translation subtitle glitches?), but it is always entertaining and engaging.

[fomofo]

Interesting article on the BBC/Amazion series The Outlaws

https://www.interviewmagazine.com/fi...tish-adventure

[PB]

Wife and I loved that show! Diane and Gregory's practice date scene was hilarious.

[dookeyXXX]

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES
This film is silly and fun. It is the grand epitome of a popcorn blockbuster: simple story, quick pacing, jovial and likeable characters portrayed by decent actors, and solid action.
Hugh Grant, Justice Smith, and Rege-Jean Page steal the show.
My only real complaint is that there is a high profile cameo that is kind of weak and brings nothing to the story other than stilted celebrity humor. That and it needed more owlbear…

[AK47bp]

D&D was great. ^

[Supermoon]

Just watched it again on the plane today. I really like it.

[Danno]

Just watched the first episode of The Peripheral. Damn, that was a fucking trip.

[Flyoverland Captive]

Just watched the first episode of The Peripheral. Damn, that was a fucking trip.

You’re in for a fun ride.

[PB]

Just watched the first episode of The Peripheral. Damn, that was a fucking trip.

Damn straight.

Time for a re-watch!

[dookeyXXX]

INSIDE
This is an interesting slow burn containment thriller with subtle psychological elements.
I will admit that after 35-minutes I began to wonder how it would keep my attention for another hour-and-10 minutes, but it gradually sucked me in and held my attention for the duration.
It has some interesting subtextual commentary on art and survival, as well as the human condition.
Willem Dafoe gives a wonderfully understated performance that touches upon artistic creativity, the slow descent into madness, loneliness, and survival instincts.
The film is quiet, yet deceptively unnerving.