^ I've heard good things about Prey so far. Will have to check out.
Uomini si nasce poliziotti si muore AKA
Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man AKA
The Terminators [1976] by Ruggero Deodato
What a title tho. Back on my 70s Italian crime thriller bullshit. Heard about this one via the infamous Edgar Wright/Tarantino commentary. Low budget, edgy, exploitation flick. Starts off with a 10 minute bike chase through the streets of Rome, where I'm not totally sure they got permission to shoot. Guerilla. I like it, Picasso. Usual buddy cop film following two "secret special-op super cops" who operate "above the law" and "play by their own rules". You know the vibes. They work hard and party harder. Expect to see a fair amount of boobs and bush and gore and shootouts in this one. Classic funk/jazz score. Like 2am taco bell, so bad it's good, guilty pleasure type beat. 3.5/5
Le Trou AKA
The Night Watch AKA
The Hole [1960] by Jacques Becker
I'm a fan of prison shows/documentaries (
60 Days In,
Locked Up, etc). So seeing how they portray jail life in this film takes some suspension of belief and took me a bit out of the story, tbh. The inmates are buddy buddy with the guards and bffs with the warden? No one is ever handcuffed and are able to walk around freely? WTF? Maybe prison in 50s Paris was really like that, I don't know. That aside, the story is solid. It starts off a bit slow (5 minute close up continuous take showing them just try to hammer the floor with no dialogue? Umm...) but it picks up in the latter half.
Bit of a heartbreaking end and the scene where the mirror shows all the guards literally made me gasp out loud, holy!! This could have been a stage play and it feels very much like a Twilight Zone episode for some reason, minus any weird or paranormal shit. 3.75/5
The Guilt Stricken Audio Recorder Trilogy!
The Conversation [1974] by Francis Ford Coppola
First up, we got what might be my favorite Gene Hackman performance. Plus a bonus young Harrison Ford. A lot to unpack in this one. In a good way. The religious angle. The privacy angle. The ending!! Woof, that ending. Even at two hours, there isn't a lot of fat here. Some may argue the plot meanders at times, but the character development is worth it in this case, IMO. The directing has just enough 'spice' to keep things interesting. I'll have to rewatch this someday for sure. Would love to see this remade with an NSA update and Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role. 4.25/5
Das Leben der Anderen AKA
The Lives of Others [2006] by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Are all spies lonely sad saps? Based on the this one and
The Conversation it would appear so. Like other movie, guy has done this a million times and is the "best of the best" but when he learns his actions have consequences he has a change of heart.
Convo was a lot more frantic paced, where this is a slow burn. Ulrich Mühe did a great job here, very subtle in his role. I read he somewhat lived through the same things in this film so that makes sense. Hard to believe his character would flip that quickly though? He seemed to be a very hardcore government lackey so? They didn't really explain what was building up to this moment where he flipped. I understand the trigger, per se, but not why it was so triggering. This was *highly* hyped but I don't agree. The acting was good and the plot was solid. Overall ethical theme checks out. But I don't see any WOW moments. Another slow burn but not quite that burning. Maybe dramas like this just aren't my bag. 3.5/5
Blow Out [1981] by Brian De Palma
Travolta does really well here. In my mind, young Travolta is
Grease and
Saturday Night Fever. So seeing him in a role like this is impressive. There are some big plot holes, especially with the ending.
What happened to the killers body? How did Travolta get away with ramming his car through a parade and not get jail time? How did he know where the girl was being taken to after he woke up in the ambulance?? Tough. Anywho, those things aside, visually its a great movie. It's shot mostly at night and has that neo-noir vibe I love. All of the lead roles (Franz, Lithgow, Allen) all just really nail it. It's funny I originally know Lithgow from
Third Rock but after seeing his work here and in
Dexter it's crazy how stark the differences are and how versatile he is. The ending is a bit abrupt (which I normally kinda like tbh) and it's pretty fucking sad. As far as how it ties into
The Conversation and
Lives of Others, its a character who comes across a tape and he has doubts about turning in its contents based on trust issues. Oh, and of course, he feels guilt stricken. Anyway, really enjoyed this one. The pacing was nail biting and twisty til the end. I read afterward that De Palma was on his Hitchcock shit in this one and I can totally see it. 4/5
Blow-Up [1966] by Michelangelo Antonioni was supposed to make this a four film marathon but it did not pan out. Ah well.