Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
69% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 102 reviews)
Runtime: 106 minutes
Directed by: Gary Dauberman
Starring: McKenna Grace, Madison Iseman, Katie Sarife, Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga
From: Warner Bros/New Line Cinema
Featuring an AM Gold radio soundtrack.
The past few days have been busier than expected but last night I was able to watch something theatrically as it was on the way to the airport and I had to pick someone up. Their flight got delayed and I wasn't sure at the time when they would arrive so this movie fit my schedule the best. I have seen the two Conjuring movies along with the two Annabelle pictures so this was a natural for me to check out.
A lot of people would be interested in this because Ed and Lorraine Warren are in it... as some may have suspected beforehand, their roles are not too extensive, and instead the focus is on their daughter Judy. Then again, you don't see too much of Annabelle either; rather, she was the catalyst for several different legends-none of which I'll reveal here and I wouldn't be surprised if at least one got a spinoff movie in the future-and much of the movie takes place in the Warren house with the three main characters being Judy, her babysitter Mary-Ellen and Mary-Ellen's nosy pal Daniela. Plenty of time is spent getting to know the trio, and such events as ordering pizza occur-as others have noted, said pizza wasn't visually appealing and to me it looked more like the cardboard pizza you got in elementary school lunch!
Anyhow, all three manage to be enjoyable, even the one who is dumb and instigates everything... at least there is a not entirely hard to swallow explanation for her actions. Once the scares really start, it is quite a ride as various gimmicks are used, some better than others-no surprise that this late night crowd ate all of it up. Plenty of fog is seen, but I can't complain as at least it was a nice idea for atmosphere. The score was nice-of course I dug the soundtrack which featured several 70's pop tunes; in addition, the opening and closing credits screamed “1970's” when it came to aesthetics. This managed to be a fun time while at times being different from the other pictures in this universe.
Friday, June 28, 2019
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Taxi Driver
Long ago I reviewed that and I more liked than loved it. Last night on TCM I saw that a second time and I now appreciate it quite a bit more.
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Anna
Runtime: An overlong 119
minutes
Directed by: Luc Besson
Starring: Sasha Luss,
Helen Mirren, Luke Evans, Cillian Murphy, Lera Abova
From: It was made by
several European entities but Summit dumped it here in the United
States
Anna... more like “Annachronistic”.
As it was brought up on Twitter by some people, I feel like I should mention this off the bat: yes I do know of the serious accusations made by 9 different women against Luc Besson, and I do know that in the 90's when he was 31 he started dating the lady that would later become his second wife (Maiwenn Le Besco) who was FIFTEEN years old at the time... unfortunately, there are many bad people in the movie industry-actually, the entertainment industry as a whole-and if I start boycotting all the films involving individuals who apparently aren't good human beings... talk about limited options. The way his studio has been floundering and if these charges do hold up, Besson may not be making too many films in the future anyhow. Even though I am grossed out by his actions and alleged actions, I still went and saw this, in part because the scores on Letterboxd were all over the place, as if it was a DC movie.
This does seem like a retread of things that Luc has done multiple times before, and the fact that it came off from the trailers as Atomic Blonde 3-of course, Red Sparrow was Atomic Blonde 2-did not help its cause. But it was due to Besson's real life problems that this was dumped in United States cinemas this past weekend with little fanfare. The setting is the mid 80's to 1990 and the titular Anna is a poor Russian girl who improbably is discovered and becomes a super assassin for the KGB. Things become complicated when she makes it clear she does not want to be in this role forever, then the CIA is introduced...
Anna is a nonsense movie. I mean, I made the anachronistic comment because several near-modern or modern things are in plain sight; if it was vehicles in the background that'd be one thing but it is cars that characters get out of, laptops, cell phones that are not “giant brick” in appearance, and... flash drives! Yes, there are flash drives and laptops that can accept them! You can't even use the excuse of “government agencies have technology years ahead of the general public” here... what a stupid, careless movie this is. Yet I was able to laugh with and at Anna the film, and the fact that Anna the character is usually likable does help too. For her first big role, Sasha Luss was more than just a pretty face-naturally, Helen Mirren steals this movie as a stereotypical old cranky Russian lady called Olga, because of course Olga would be her name.
To keep her cover as a model in Paris, Anna gets into a lesbian relationship and how that and the lesbian in question (Maud) is treated can certainly be questioned and that may something about Besson's opinion on such matters... yet I'll perhaps be a bit kind and say this was fine overall. This is told in a nonlinear fashion and that is to tart things up & make this more interesting and it does happen often... for the most part I wasn't too bothered by it; Anna being an expert at chess was not just a random plot point... the movie and her thinks a few steps ahead to try and get out of pretty bad situations. This is more about general spy things than about action scenes, which there are only a few... that is what I suspected going in so I was OK with that. The highlight was the big restaurant brawl that was spotlighted in the trailers.
This is overlong for a B movie at 2 hours and there is a lot that can be torn apart if you really want to eviscerate it. People wanting to avoid this-whether it is due to this being a retread or the director being in hot water now-is a valid opinion to have. For me, unless you are enrolled in something like AMC A-List (which I have been for almost a year now and have had zero issues with it, unlike the dumpster fire that everyone has complained about, MoviePass), it may be best to wait until you can watch this at home.
As it was brought up on Twitter by some people, I feel like I should mention this off the bat: yes I do know of the serious accusations made by 9 different women against Luc Besson, and I do know that in the 90's when he was 31 he started dating the lady that would later become his second wife (Maiwenn Le Besco) who was FIFTEEN years old at the time... unfortunately, there are many bad people in the movie industry-actually, the entertainment industry as a whole-and if I start boycotting all the films involving individuals who apparently aren't good human beings... talk about limited options. The way his studio has been floundering and if these charges do hold up, Besson may not be making too many films in the future anyhow. Even though I am grossed out by his actions and alleged actions, I still went and saw this, in part because the scores on Letterboxd were all over the place, as if it was a DC movie.
This does seem like a retread of things that Luc has done multiple times before, and the fact that it came off from the trailers as Atomic Blonde 3-of course, Red Sparrow was Atomic Blonde 2-did not help its cause. But it was due to Besson's real life problems that this was dumped in United States cinemas this past weekend with little fanfare. The setting is the mid 80's to 1990 and the titular Anna is a poor Russian girl who improbably is discovered and becomes a super assassin for the KGB. Things become complicated when she makes it clear she does not want to be in this role forever, then the CIA is introduced...
Anna is a nonsense movie. I mean, I made the anachronistic comment because several near-modern or modern things are in plain sight; if it was vehicles in the background that'd be one thing but it is cars that characters get out of, laptops, cell phones that are not “giant brick” in appearance, and... flash drives! Yes, there are flash drives and laptops that can accept them! You can't even use the excuse of “government agencies have technology years ahead of the general public” here... what a stupid, careless movie this is. Yet I was able to laugh with and at Anna the film, and the fact that Anna the character is usually likable does help too. For her first big role, Sasha Luss was more than just a pretty face-naturally, Helen Mirren steals this movie as a stereotypical old cranky Russian lady called Olga, because of course Olga would be her name.
To keep her cover as a model in Paris, Anna gets into a lesbian relationship and how that and the lesbian in question (Maud) is treated can certainly be questioned and that may something about Besson's opinion on such matters... yet I'll perhaps be a bit kind and say this was fine overall. This is told in a nonlinear fashion and that is to tart things up & make this more interesting and it does happen often... for the most part I wasn't too bothered by it; Anna being an expert at chess was not just a random plot point... the movie and her thinks a few steps ahead to try and get out of pretty bad situations. This is more about general spy things than about action scenes, which there are only a few... that is what I suspected going in so I was OK with that. The highlight was the big restaurant brawl that was spotlighted in the trailers.
This is overlong for a B movie at 2 hours and there is a lot that can be torn apart if you really want to eviscerate it. People wanting to avoid this-whether it is due to this being a retread or the director being in hot water now-is a valid opinion to have. For me, unless you are enrolled in something like AMC A-List (which I have been for almost a year now and have had zero issues with it, unlike the dumpster fire that everyone has complained about, MoviePass), it may be best to wait until you can watch this at home.
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Child's Play 2
Child's Play 2 (1990)
Runtime: 84 minutes
Directed by: John Lafia
Starring: Alex Vincent, Christine Elise, Jenny Agutter, Gerrit Graham, and the voice of Brad Dourif
From: Universal
Featuring a SWEET red Ford Taurus wagon.
This is not the ideal place to talk about this but I'll do it anyway: don't expect me to see the Child's Play remake, which from all accounts would have been better off if it hadn't been tied into a franchise that is still ongoing (as they have a lot more not in common than similarities) and a favorite among a small but fervent fanbase. They wouldn't have pissed off series mastermind Don Mancini, had important actors from the films also voice their displeasure, and give this an air of stink among horror fans in general long before it ever came out. I hear it's actually not bad, is far different from the franchise and has some amusing elements which probably would make me laugh. Personally, though... Aubrey Plaza being in it is a good reason for me NOT to ever watch it; I know many love her for being “quirky” and “weird” but to me it's “annoying” and “extraordinarily unappealing.”
Anyhow, Child's Play 2... of course it was silly but this movie was more tongue in cheek than the original so I won't analyze too deeply the explanation for how Chucky was brought back to life, except that it was a nice bit of corporate satire. Charles Lee Ray is still in the doll, finds Andy (now with foster parents as his mom was committed) and still wants to do the voodoo ritual that would allow him to enter the boy's body. This foster home is colorfully weird and full of strange bric-a-brac-no surprise considering that his new parents are Jenny Agutter and Gerrit Graham-and teen girl Kyle also lives there. Once again, nobody believes Andy until it's too late.
The kills that we do get aren't always the most gory but at least they were darkly humorous, and of course it was great hearing Brad Dourif voicing a creepy murderous toy. There were some nods to famous horror movies of the past and the final setpiece was in an interesting setting, in addition to being a lot of fun. Kyle was also an easy character to root for so I'll say that this was a good time even if you don't want to look at the story with a fine-toothed comb made of logic.
Runtime: 84 minutes
Directed by: John Lafia
Starring: Alex Vincent, Christine Elise, Jenny Agutter, Gerrit Graham, and the voice of Brad Dourif
From: Universal
Featuring a SWEET red Ford Taurus wagon.
This is not the ideal place to talk about this but I'll do it anyway: don't expect me to see the Child's Play remake, which from all accounts would have been better off if it hadn't been tied into a franchise that is still ongoing (as they have a lot more not in common than similarities) and a favorite among a small but fervent fanbase. They wouldn't have pissed off series mastermind Don Mancini, had important actors from the films also voice their displeasure, and give this an air of stink among horror fans in general long before it ever came out. I hear it's actually not bad, is far different from the franchise and has some amusing elements which probably would make me laugh. Personally, though... Aubrey Plaza being in it is a good reason for me NOT to ever watch it; I know many love her for being “quirky” and “weird” but to me it's “annoying” and “extraordinarily unappealing.”
Anyhow, Child's Play 2... of course it was silly but this movie was more tongue in cheek than the original so I won't analyze too deeply the explanation for how Chucky was brought back to life, except that it was a nice bit of corporate satire. Charles Lee Ray is still in the doll, finds Andy (now with foster parents as his mom was committed) and still wants to do the voodoo ritual that would allow him to enter the boy's body. This foster home is colorfully weird and full of strange bric-a-brac-no surprise considering that his new parents are Jenny Agutter and Gerrit Graham-and teen girl Kyle also lives there. Once again, nobody believes Andy until it's too late.
The kills that we do get aren't always the most gory but at least they were darkly humorous, and of course it was great hearing Brad Dourif voicing a creepy murderous toy. There were some nods to famous horror movies of the past and the final setpiece was in an interesting setting, in addition to being a lot of fun. Kyle was also an easy character to root for so I'll say that this was a good time even if you don't want to look at the story with a fine-toothed comb made of logic.
Friday, June 21, 2019
The Toy Story Movies
My apologies for going ghost these past few days but the week has been spent revisiting the first three Toy Story films; all of them are still a delight. Sometime next week I'll be checking out the new one, which I am not too enthused about because it seems so unnecessary. Tomorrow I'll be back with a review.
Monday, June 17, 2019
Kwaidan
Runtime: 183 minutes
Directed by: Masaki
Kobayashi
Starring: Rentaro Mikuni,
Michiyo Aratama, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiko Kishi, Katsuo Nakamura,
Takashi Shimura, Kanemon Nakamura, Noboru Nakaya
From: Toho
I needed to see something completely different last night so I went
with this much-heralded Japanese horror anthology containing a quartet
of old ghost stories from the country; I viewed the full 183 minute
version that Criterion released a few years ago. Despite that length I
was never bored with any of the stories.
It has to be said that this is highly stylized and the world is mostly artificial on purpose. This was filmed in a giant airplane hangar and except for some exterior shots they needed, plenty of action takes place in buildings or on soundstages where the backdrops are painted in an exaggerated fashion done so to present a certain kind of mood. Hell, one story has snowstorms and during those moments, the sky paintings include several large eyes, which was startling for me at first. That style manages to fit this movie like a glove (or maybe it should be a pair of sandals) as all these tales are otherworldly and definitely eerie. This is methodically paced but at least for me, I was never bored. Various motifs are also repeated in each story, none of which I'll spoil here.
I can say the tales are about a samurai who regrets leaving his wife in order to escape poverty, a poor woodcutter that has to keep a secret concerning a strange sight he saw one bitterly cold night, a blind monk at a temple who is a great musician and he unwittingly plays in front of an supernatural audience, and a final brief story called A Cup of Tea that I am unable to describe succinctly here but it is both creative and the funniest entry. Each one in the quartet entertains and the first three deal with serious themes such as regret, promises not kept (even if it's to an undead army) and love, so this is not a scare a minute sort of horror picture. Although, in the best story-the third one, Hoichi the Earless-there is a rather horrifying moment in what was a lovely tale based on a real life battle between clans in the late 12th century.
This was quite the different journey, w/ a soundtrack that is rather sparse and it is always a visual treat. Another treat for me was realizing one of these tales was also modernized for a segment in Tales from the Darkside: The Movie. Anyhow, this was a kind of ethereal horror movie that is pretty rare but would not mind it if creative talent tried making more motion pictures like this in the future.
It has to be said that this is highly stylized and the world is mostly artificial on purpose. This was filmed in a giant airplane hangar and except for some exterior shots they needed, plenty of action takes place in buildings or on soundstages where the backdrops are painted in an exaggerated fashion done so to present a certain kind of mood. Hell, one story has snowstorms and during those moments, the sky paintings include several large eyes, which was startling for me at first. That style manages to fit this movie like a glove (or maybe it should be a pair of sandals) as all these tales are otherworldly and definitely eerie. This is methodically paced but at least for me, I was never bored. Various motifs are also repeated in each story, none of which I'll spoil here.
I can say the tales are about a samurai who regrets leaving his wife in order to escape poverty, a poor woodcutter that has to keep a secret concerning a strange sight he saw one bitterly cold night, a blind monk at a temple who is a great musician and he unwittingly plays in front of an supernatural audience, and a final brief story called A Cup of Tea that I am unable to describe succinctly here but it is both creative and the funniest entry. Each one in the quartet entertains and the first three deal with serious themes such as regret, promises not kept (even if it's to an undead army) and love, so this is not a scare a minute sort of horror picture. Although, in the best story-the third one, Hoichi the Earless-there is a rather horrifying moment in what was a lovely tale based on a real life battle between clans in the late 12th century.
This was quite the different journey, w/ a soundtrack that is rather sparse and it is always a visual treat. Another treat for me was realizing one of these tales was also modernized for a segment in Tales from the Darkside: The Movie. Anyhow, this was a kind of ethereal horror movie that is pretty rare but would not mind it if creative talent tried making more motion pictures like this in the future.
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Shaft 2019
Runtime: An overlong 111
minutes
Directed by: Tim Story
Starring: A cast that
deserved better
From: Warner Bros./New
Line Cinema
Well, at least the crowd I saw the movie with seemed to like it...
Despite my reservations with this movie after seeing its trailer present itself as a comedy (which turned out to be accurate) I could not resist the appeal of seeing Richard Roundtree on the big screen in 2019 so I went and checked this out-on a giant screen, no less... with a small audience; not a surprise to me as I barely saw any advertising for this and multiple people I knew expressed shock that there even was a Shaft 2019-and it was yet another reminder why modern comedies in general are pretty repellent.
All this movie is: old out of touch people in Hollywood crapping on millennials. You see, John Shaft III is a graduate of MIT and is a data analyst for the FBI yet because he has a vase full of lemons in his apartment, likes lacrosse, respects women, uses terms like “cis-gender”, doesn't like guns, drinks coconut water, knows Capoeira and texts... his dad will not only call him “a pussy”, but even ask him if he “likes pussy”-also, what a comment to hear during Pride Month. Sorry for stating this bluntly but that was the method Shaft 2019 used to express such a message. These one-note characters quickly became tiresome, especially III as even during the climax he is portrayed as a “soft wuss” and an incompetent fool, and I grew even more tired of all the constant vulgarity and gross moments. At least every fifth word out of Regina Hall's mouth is an F bomb and in no way was that appealing to me.
Besides being insulted that this crass “comedy” besmirched a classic blaxploitation character and set of films from the 70's, the plot is completely weak. Shaft III needs help from his dad Shaft II (they haven't met each other since III was an infant) to investigate what he deems to be a fishy death of his best friend. It's not even worth spoiling what the scheme is but of course this friend was murdered because he knew too much. Not a lot of investigating actually happens and instead it is father and son bickering with each other. I mean, it's not even until deep in the third act that the original Shaft finally shows up.
Say what you will about Christian Bale as Alt-Right member Walter Wade Jr. and Jeffrey Wright either impersonating Carlito Brigante or Tony Montana as Peoples Hernandez, those characters at least were memorable; the heels here are barely even seen and when they are, talk about nothing characters that might as well have been portrayed by puppets. If the score would have been awesome and the action would have been glorious, that would have helped... but of course both are for the most part pretty flaccid, even with the usage of a quality James Brown tune.
I know many reading this on Letterboxd will automatically reject this now knowing it (poorly) attacks millennials for the stereotypical things they like and also is offensive against some marginalized groups (as this does not paint the rosiest picture of Muslims either... come to think of it, that subplot went nowhere); me, I am too old to be a millennial and I am not automatically against someone poking fun of them. However, let's not do it in a movie that is tied into the Shaft franchise and have someone better than Tim Story direct it, alright? This is not COMPLETELY dire and this did elicit a few chuckles; otherwise, this would have received an even worse score.
Despite my reservations with this movie after seeing its trailer present itself as a comedy (which turned out to be accurate) I could not resist the appeal of seeing Richard Roundtree on the big screen in 2019 so I went and checked this out-on a giant screen, no less... with a small audience; not a surprise to me as I barely saw any advertising for this and multiple people I knew expressed shock that there even was a Shaft 2019-and it was yet another reminder why modern comedies in general are pretty repellent.
All this movie is: old out of touch people in Hollywood crapping on millennials. You see, John Shaft III is a graduate of MIT and is a data analyst for the FBI yet because he has a vase full of lemons in his apartment, likes lacrosse, respects women, uses terms like “cis-gender”, doesn't like guns, drinks coconut water, knows Capoeira and texts... his dad will not only call him “a pussy”, but even ask him if he “likes pussy”-also, what a comment to hear during Pride Month. Sorry for stating this bluntly but that was the method Shaft 2019 used to express such a message. These one-note characters quickly became tiresome, especially III as even during the climax he is portrayed as a “soft wuss” and an incompetent fool, and I grew even more tired of all the constant vulgarity and gross moments. At least every fifth word out of Regina Hall's mouth is an F bomb and in no way was that appealing to me.
Besides being insulted that this crass “comedy” besmirched a classic blaxploitation character and set of films from the 70's, the plot is completely weak. Shaft III needs help from his dad Shaft II (they haven't met each other since III was an infant) to investigate what he deems to be a fishy death of his best friend. It's not even worth spoiling what the scheme is but of course this friend was murdered because he knew too much. Not a lot of investigating actually happens and instead it is father and son bickering with each other. I mean, it's not even until deep in the third act that the original Shaft finally shows up.
Say what you will about Christian Bale as Alt-Right member Walter Wade Jr. and Jeffrey Wright either impersonating Carlito Brigante or Tony Montana as Peoples Hernandez, those characters at least were memorable; the heels here are barely even seen and when they are, talk about nothing characters that might as well have been portrayed by puppets. If the score would have been awesome and the action would have been glorious, that would have helped... but of course both are for the most part pretty flaccid, even with the usage of a quality James Brown tune.
I know many reading this on Letterboxd will automatically reject this now knowing it (poorly) attacks millennials for the stereotypical things they like and also is offensive against some marginalized groups (as this does not paint the rosiest picture of Muslims either... come to think of it, that subplot went nowhere); me, I am too old to be a millennial and I am not automatically against someone poking fun of them. However, let's not do it in a movie that is tied into the Shaft franchise and have someone better than Tim Story direct it, alright? This is not COMPLETELY dire and this did elicit a few chuckles; otherwise, this would have received an even worse score.
Shaft (The One From 2000)
Runtime: 99 minutes
Directed by: John
Singleton
Starring: Samuel L.
Jackson, Christian Bale, Vanessa Williams, Jeffrey Wright, Richard
Roundtree
From: Paramount
I viewed this Friday night so I could check out the new film on Saturday. At the time I was not a big fan of this but in hindsight, this is notably better than Shaft 2019, as I'll discuss in a few hours.
As the new Shaft film is out this weekend,
it seemed like the opportune time to finally check out this movie for
the very first time. At the time I did not hear good things about this
version (which seems proper to the new film as that apparently isn't
lighting anyone's ass on fire either) so I never bothered and instead
stuck to the original 1971 blaxploitation classic. In 2019, I definitely
noticed how this just screamed “early 2000's” in style and appearance;
it's the damndest thing how so many from that period have such a
similar aesthetic.
The other thing I noticed pretty quickly: what a mean-spirited, unpleasant movie this is. I am not asking for something light-hearted and cheery when they chose a story about a racist rich punk total tool (Christian Bale!) who tries to do everything to get rid of a frightened witness to his hate crime that resulted in a death (and not that such a scenario could happen in real life... looks around sheepishly...*) but this is full of vulgarity & cursing, everyone yells at each other and awful comments are made constantly. Maybe I'd be able to excuse that if the plot was interesting and thrilling, but it's not; in fact, it's a total mess.
I can at least say this was average, although I highly doubt I'll ever watch this again. Samuel L. Jackson is a bad mother... and occasionally I did laugh. It does have a quality cast and what a bizarre mix of talent: Jackson, Bale, Richard Roundtree (I wish there would have been more with him), Toni Collette, Vanessa Williams, Busta Rhymes, Dan Hedaya, Pat Hingle, Elizabeth Banks in one of her first movies, and even American football legend Lawrence Taylor. And the score from David Arnold was a 2000 version of a funk score, and was a decent facsimile of what was heard in blaxploitation films of old.
I just wish this would have been fun and wacky like a blaxploitation film of old.
* It is said that Bale's character is the "son of a prominent New York real estate developer." Insert your own comments if you wish.
The other thing I noticed pretty quickly: what a mean-spirited, unpleasant movie this is. I am not asking for something light-hearted and cheery when they chose a story about a racist rich punk total tool (Christian Bale!) who tries to do everything to get rid of a frightened witness to his hate crime that resulted in a death (and not that such a scenario could happen in real life... looks around sheepishly...*) but this is full of vulgarity & cursing, everyone yells at each other and awful comments are made constantly. Maybe I'd be able to excuse that if the plot was interesting and thrilling, but it's not; in fact, it's a total mess.
I can at least say this was average, although I highly doubt I'll ever watch this again. Samuel L. Jackson is a bad mother... and occasionally I did laugh. It does have a quality cast and what a bizarre mix of talent: Jackson, Bale, Richard Roundtree (I wish there would have been more with him), Toni Collette, Vanessa Williams, Busta Rhymes, Dan Hedaya, Pat Hingle, Elizabeth Banks in one of her first movies, and even American football legend Lawrence Taylor. And the score from David Arnold was a 2000 version of a funk score, and was a decent facsimile of what was heard in blaxploitation films of old.
I just wish this would have been fun and wacky like a blaxploitation film of old.
* It is said that Bale's character is the "son of a prominent New York real estate developer." Insert your own comments if you wish.
Friday, June 14, 2019
Sorcerer
Runtime: 121 minutes
Directed by: William
Friedkin
Starring: Roy Scheider,
Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, Amidou, Ramon Bieri
From: Universal/Paramount
Maybe the general story just isn't for me.
A few weeks ago I viewed The Wages of Fear and a 1958 B movie loosely based on that story called Violent Road. The latter came off as generic but the former had some extremely intense scenes. Unfortunately, it also was too long, was generally unpleasant and all the people we followed were various degrees of A-hole. I was hoping this cult classic wouldn't be like that, but regrettably it was.
I mean, this time our protagonists are:
*An assassin
*A Palestinian who is the only one of his militant pals who escapes after setting off a bomb in Jerusalem
*A stock broker who committed fraud and flees rather than faces punishment
*The driver for an Irish mob who... rob a church, kill a priest, then an accident happens where driver is the only one alive, AND due to contrivances the Mafia is also after him.
And I am supposed to give a damn about these louts? I certainly don't. The rest is the same as the original: they live in a poor town located in a third world country dominated by a corrupt oil company, they have to transport nitroglycerin over rough terrain, they bicker with each other, etc. Like with the original, not even some great moments could make this a pleasant experience for me. At least the Tangerine Dream score was pretty awesome.
A few weeks ago I viewed The Wages of Fear and a 1958 B movie loosely based on that story called Violent Road. The latter came off as generic but the former had some extremely intense scenes. Unfortunately, it also was too long, was generally unpleasant and all the people we followed were various degrees of A-hole. I was hoping this cult classic wouldn't be like that, but regrettably it was.
I mean, this time our protagonists are:
*An assassin
*A Palestinian who is the only one of his militant pals who escapes after setting off a bomb in Jerusalem
*A stock broker who committed fraud and flees rather than faces punishment
*The driver for an Irish mob who... rob a church, kill a priest, then an accident happens where driver is the only one alive, AND due to contrivances the Mafia is also after him.
And I am supposed to give a damn about these louts? I certainly don't. The rest is the same as the original: they live in a poor town located in a third world country dominated by a corrupt oil company, they have to transport nitroglycerin over rough terrain, they bicker with each other, etc. Like with the original, not even some great moments could make this a pleasant experience for me. At least the Tangerine Dream score was pretty awesome.
An Update
Things got pushed back a day because of what happened on Tuesday night. Just as I started viewing Paranormal Activity 4 (still a bad movie that does nothing to advance the mythology of the franchise and it has a plot twist that I still can't comprehend, BTW), the power went out... for almost two hours! That was a streaming rental so I was SOL there and I had to see that poor motion picture on Wednesday night. But, now things should be back to normal and sometime Friday proper I'll finally post a review again.
Monday, June 10, 2019
Streets Of Fire
Runtime: 93 minutes
Directed by: Walter Hill
Starring: Michael Pare,
Diane Lane, Amy Madigan, Rick Moranis, Willem Dafoe
From: Universal/RKO
Before I get to this
review, I'll mention that the next few days I will revisit Paranormal
Activity 2-4 for Letterboxd. Thus, I imagine I won't be back here for
a few days. Now, onto this flawed but still fun cult classic:
Rick Moranis is going out with Diane Lane... this really is “another time, another place.”
Honestly, no surprise that a movie which calls itself “a rock & roll fable” and takes place in an alternate universe which looks like the 50's fused with the 80's, that it would disappoint at the box office back in 1984. But as for certain audiences it's pretty awesome and the director is Walter Hill, of course this would later become a cult hit.
The story isn't too terribly complicated: a young singer named Ellen Aim (Diane Lane) is kidnapped by a motorcycle gang, led by Willem Dafoe.. who at one point wears an AMAZING outfit of pleather overalls w/ no shirt. She is managed by weaselly Rick Moranis, who hilariously is also her boyfriend, and he hires her ex-a soldier named Tom Cody (Michael Pare)-to rescue her. Of course, Cody forces him to come along as he knows the neighborhood and they are joined by a very tough gal named McCoy-Amy Madigan playing the best character in the film.
Various things could be nitpicked if you really wanted to, from story to overall logic, and not everyone loved Michael Pare as Cody. From what I gather, even some of the talent involved with the movie were not fans of the script. But I've decided not to get held up with that; perhaps it was because I was won over by the opening-it was incredible. Things start off with a tremendous rock instrumental, then Ellen Aim & The Attackers come out on stage singing a bitchin' 80's song called Nowhere Fast, by Fire Inc. After that opening I was hooked. This is a neon-drenched movie structured and plotted like a Western yet has some neo-noir elements and which features biker bars that has bands doing 50's covers, another act is a doo-wop quartet, there are explosions, cop cars that are Studebaker automobiles, Bill Paxton as a bartender missing a front tooth, Lee Ving as one of Willem's associates, and much more.
Like I said, for something where music is a keystone component, thankfully the soundtrack and score are both incredible. As always, Ry Cooder did a tremendous job with the former. The latter, such talents as Jimmy Iovine, Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks and Jim Steinman are all involved so of course that was something I also loved. As I've mentioned many times by now, style over substance is not something I am always a fan of, to underplay my beliefs. Yet that managed to work here with me.
Honestly, no surprise that a movie which calls itself “a rock & roll fable” and takes place in an alternate universe which looks like the 50's fused with the 80's, that it would disappoint at the box office back in 1984. But as for certain audiences it's pretty awesome and the director is Walter Hill, of course this would later become a cult hit.
The story isn't too terribly complicated: a young singer named Ellen Aim (Diane Lane) is kidnapped by a motorcycle gang, led by Willem Dafoe.. who at one point wears an AMAZING outfit of pleather overalls w/ no shirt. She is managed by weaselly Rick Moranis, who hilariously is also her boyfriend, and he hires her ex-a soldier named Tom Cody (Michael Pare)-to rescue her. Of course, Cody forces him to come along as he knows the neighborhood and they are joined by a very tough gal named McCoy-Amy Madigan playing the best character in the film.
Various things could be nitpicked if you really wanted to, from story to overall logic, and not everyone loved Michael Pare as Cody. From what I gather, even some of the talent involved with the movie were not fans of the script. But I've decided not to get held up with that; perhaps it was because I was won over by the opening-it was incredible. Things start off with a tremendous rock instrumental, then Ellen Aim & The Attackers come out on stage singing a bitchin' 80's song called Nowhere Fast, by Fire Inc. After that opening I was hooked. This is a neon-drenched movie structured and plotted like a Western yet has some neo-noir elements and which features biker bars that has bands doing 50's covers, another act is a doo-wop quartet, there are explosions, cop cars that are Studebaker automobiles, Bill Paxton as a bartender missing a front tooth, Lee Ving as one of Willem's associates, and much more.
Like I said, for something where music is a keystone component, thankfully the soundtrack and score are both incredible. As always, Ry Cooder did a tremendous job with the former. The latter, such talents as Jimmy Iovine, Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks and Jim Steinman are all involved so of course that was something I also loved. As I've mentioned many times by now, style over substance is not something I am always a fan of, to underplay my beliefs. Yet that managed to work here with me.
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Harlan County U.S.A. Is Still Great
I saw and reviewed that back in 2011; I viewed that a few hours ago on TCM for the purpose of seeing a tremendous documentary again and talking about it for the first time on Letterboxd.
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Overlord (No, Not That One)
Overlord (1975)
Runtime: 83 minutes
Directed by: Stuart Cooper
Starring: Brian Sterner, Davyd Harries, Nicholas Ball, Julie Neesam, Sam Sewell
From: Joswend
No, do not confuse this with the movie from last year. The Invasion of Normandy was known as Operation Overlord so the only thing those two films have in common is that it's a fictional account of D-Day. This played on Turner Classic Movies last night for the 75th anniversary of D-Day; before that they played The Longest Day, which I've reviewed here before and it is still great.
TLD and Overloard are drastically different accounts of the same event. While the former covers it on a wide scale and involving many different sides and people, this is devoted to a single sad-sack soldier known as Tom. In this movie with arty flourishes, Tom is followed from his enlistment in the British Army until June 6, 1944. Things start off fine for him but as things progress, a foreboding dread builds and builds. He manages to meet a girl while on duty but that doesn't help matters and really, that character seemed to be an excuse for Tom to write and narrate a letter to later on.
The most impressive aspect of Overlord is that about half the movie is archival footage from World War II, and as everything is in black and white, everything is integrated together pretty well. Having John Alcott be the cinematographer was a big asset... after all, he collaborated w/ Kubrick three times and in fact won an Oscar for Barry Lyndon. The journey Overlord takes is a surreal one but the message still comes through: some soldiers had an unpleasant and harsh experience in the military even before they made it to Normandy. A haunting experience, this was.
Runtime: 83 minutes
Directed by: Stuart Cooper
Starring: Brian Sterner, Davyd Harries, Nicholas Ball, Julie Neesam, Sam Sewell
From: Joswend
No, do not confuse this with the movie from last year. The Invasion of Normandy was known as Operation Overlord so the only thing those two films have in common is that it's a fictional account of D-Day. This played on Turner Classic Movies last night for the 75th anniversary of D-Day; before that they played The Longest Day, which I've reviewed here before and it is still great.
TLD and Overloard are drastically different accounts of the same event. While the former covers it on a wide scale and involving many different sides and people, this is devoted to a single sad-sack soldier known as Tom. In this movie with arty flourishes, Tom is followed from his enlistment in the British Army until June 6, 1944. Things start off fine for him but as things progress, a foreboding dread builds and builds. He manages to meet a girl while on duty but that doesn't help matters and really, that character seemed to be an excuse for Tom to write and narrate a letter to later on.
The most impressive aspect of Overlord is that about half the movie is archival footage from World War II, and as everything is in black and white, everything is integrated together pretty well. Having John Alcott be the cinematographer was a big asset... after all, he collaborated w/ Kubrick three times and in fact won an Oscar for Barry Lyndon. The journey Overlord takes is a surreal one but the message still comes through: some soldiers had an unpleasant and harsh experience in the military even before they made it to Normandy. A haunting experience, this was.
The Cars That Ate Paris
The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
Runtime: 91 minutes
Directed by: Peter Weir
Starring: John Meillon, Terry Camilleri, Chris Haywood, Bruce Spence, Kevin Miles
From: Several Australian companies
Runtime: 91 minutes
Directed by: Peter Weir
Starring: John Meillon, Terry Camilleri, Chris Haywood, Bruce Spence, Kevin Miles
From: Several Australian companies
Today's the day for me to catch up here. I'll post another review in a few minutes-tonight will be the third and final one:
Gymkhanas were around long before Ken Block.
This is another one of those movies I've known of for years but had never seen... who can forget such a title? The only reason why I checked it out late last night on Turner Classic Movies was that I saw a review here on Letterboxd from a mutual who compared it to a motion picture I have on Blu & haven't watched yet but hope to sometime this month. I understood the movie is rather odd, and I wasn't misled there. What a strange little movie where even I am unsure how to describe it.. is it a sci-fi western, arthouse, horror, satire, or maybe a combination of all those things... I dunno.
A dude and his brother get in a car accident near the tiny town of Paris, Australia. Due to circumstances he is unable to leave and he gets to know the residents... eventually he figures out that the only way this town survives is by diverting traffic to their area then causing accidents. Parts gathered from the crashes are used for barter and that I can comprehend... people who survive those wrecks becoming lobotomized is something else entirely, yet that also occurs here. Yet even this hamlet has disenfranchised youth and they turn vehicles into murder machines that look to be straight out of Death Race 2000; I guess that's appropriate as Corman was asked if he wanted to release this in the United States. He thought this was far too odd so that didn't happen but he must have been inspired by the final act, which turns bloody as what was supposed to be a gymkhana instead became total mayhem... and had such things as a Volkswagen Beetle covered with huge spikes.
While I don't love this like some do, this definitely is unique; of course “unique” doesn't always mean “good” but here I can say this curio was at least fine. I imagine I'd get more out of this if I was an Aussie (whether now or back in the 70's)-as a dumb American, I can note how this must have been an inspiration for Mad Max. Furthermore, I did get laughs out of the black humor and various absurd situations, along with various social comments that were made about consumerism-that was the key message-and other things. Definitely, a town surviving when it's not on a big highway... in the United States various places withered away and usually died when the Interstates happened and those hamlets were not by an exit.
It was interesting seeing the first feature film of a heralded director like Peter Weir, and something this quirky was honestly expected considering his future work; he literally did go on to bigger and better things.
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Brightburn
Runtime: 90 minutes
Directed by: David
Yarovesky
Starring: Elizabeth Banks,
David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones, Meredith Hagner
From: Screen Gems
I wish this had different trailers. It commits several sins but the
one I'll mention (without going into detail) is that they revealed too
much. Lest you think I am being unfair here, I have elsewhere complained
about how modern trailers in general aren't good because they are some
combination of misleading, spoiler-heavy, cliched, bad song choice, and
the awful moment of “slow atrocious covers of cool popular music of the
past”. For me it'd be preferable if I saw less of the advertising.
I
don't know if that was responsible for this not doing well at the box
office or that it has poor word of mouth, but I found that while this
did not fulfill all the promise of what is a great premise, I was still
entertained by this hard R-rated picture which features some quite gory
deaths and as I saw mentioned in an article posted just yesterday, this
seems analogous to the type of males that are Men's Rights Activists or
all the entitled idiots you see on Twitter or YouTube, as once alien
humanoid Brandon turns 12, that is when he suddenly has his superpowers
and becomes evil. There is an explanation as to why this happens,
although don't expect it to be elaborated upon and explained.
But the big problem for Brandon is that he becomes a D-bag who suddenly believes in the catchphrase Take the World. He's a maladjusted kid (or rather, being) who suddenly takes out those he feels are “inferior”, does not stay away from a girl who he has feelings for but the feelings aren't reciprocated as she becomes frightened of him, and cannot control his anger. It's not hard to imagine Brandon calling himself an incel, or joining the “Alt-Right.” I don't mean to start controversy here by bringing up some inflammatory topics, but James Gunn's brothers did note how it was an influence when they wrote this screenplay.
This is a horror movie which isn't particularly scary (as it has the standard scares... expect many moments where someone suddenly appears, before they suddenly disappear) and Brandon's parents-especially dear old mom-are incredibly naive at best and stupid at worst for thinking their alien child is “just going through puberty” when his behavior drastically changes and people they know-whether on the periphery or not-start dying... as dumb characters in this genre are a dime a dozen, I just rolled with it. As for the advertising I bemoaned earlier, at least it did not reveal the surprise cameo of a popular actor and I knew there'd be an eye scene I would have to look away from... which I did as the sound alone was enough for me. I did the same thing for the third John Wick once I realize this Fulci-esque moment would happen.
But the big problem for Brandon is that he becomes a D-bag who suddenly believes in the catchphrase Take the World. He's a maladjusted kid (or rather, being) who suddenly takes out those he feels are “inferior”, does not stay away from a girl who he has feelings for but the feelings aren't reciprocated as she becomes frightened of him, and cannot control his anger. It's not hard to imagine Brandon calling himself an incel, or joining the “Alt-Right.” I don't mean to start controversy here by bringing up some inflammatory topics, but James Gunn's brothers did note how it was an influence when they wrote this screenplay.
This is a horror movie which isn't particularly scary (as it has the standard scares... expect many moments where someone suddenly appears, before they suddenly disappear) and Brandon's parents-especially dear old mom-are incredibly naive at best and stupid at worst for thinking their alien child is “just going through puberty” when his behavior drastically changes and people they know-whether on the periphery or not-start dying... as dumb characters in this genre are a dime a dozen, I just rolled with it. As for the advertising I bemoaned earlier, at least it did not reveal the surprise cameo of a popular actor and I knew there'd be an eye scene I would have to look away from... which I did as the sound alone was enough for me. I did the same thing for the third John Wick once I realize this Fulci-esque moment would happen.
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Rebel Without A Cause
Runtime: 111 minutes
Directed by: Nicholas Ray
Starring: James Dean,
Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Corey Allen, Jim Backus
From: Warner Bros.
It
is quite the feat to still be influential and iconic more than 60 years
later. James Dean, his character and his red jacket outfit seemingly
will forever be legendary, and it is also impressive to inspire everyone
from Damien Chazelle and Robert Zemeckis to... yeah, Tommy Wiseau.
While some elements are of course dated (not too many people walk around wearing leather jackets and constantly combing their hair, or engage in knife fights where only light pokes are around), the general idea can still be understood today: parents and teenagers don't always understand each other as their world is different from when mom & dad are their age... and it is exacerbated when the parents are not around, the dad is too domineering or pops is too meek, allowing mom and grandma to oppressively rule the roost. Even if you're middle-class and your family seems fine when it comes to wealth or material possessions, that doesn't mean everyone's life is rosy and grand.
It is not difficult to see why Jim Stark, “Plato” Crawford and Judy are troubled teenagers who end up associating with the wrong people, even if they wish to avoid troubles. Stark definitely wishes to do so as his family moved yet again due to his rebellious ways... but in 1955, being called “chicken” is a big F'ing deal as your honor and pride are being questioned. Come to think of it, the same applies in 1885 or 1985... anyway, melodrama occurs, especially in the final act.
The cast as a whole does a nice job but of course it is Dean who is the standout; teen and young adult actors tried to imitate this performance for many years after this. As many people have noted in these modern times, the relationship between James and Sal Mineo comes across as differently than it did back then, unless there was subtext added to it that of course could never have been addressed in the 1950's. I've heard rumors that Dean was either homosexual or bi, but in any case it is easy to imagine that Jim and Plato were more than just friends. I mean, all the praise that Plato gushes to Judy concerning "his best friend", who he had known for, what, a few days?
Rebel Without a Cause is more than just a movie with a star-making lead performance, a vehicle where its main stars all died too young due to tragic circumstances, or several unforgettable moments.
While some elements are of course dated (not too many people walk around wearing leather jackets and constantly combing their hair, or engage in knife fights where only light pokes are around), the general idea can still be understood today: parents and teenagers don't always understand each other as their world is different from when mom & dad are their age... and it is exacerbated when the parents are not around, the dad is too domineering or pops is too meek, allowing mom and grandma to oppressively rule the roost. Even if you're middle-class and your family seems fine when it comes to wealth or material possessions, that doesn't mean everyone's life is rosy and grand.
It is not difficult to see why Jim Stark, “Plato” Crawford and Judy are troubled teenagers who end up associating with the wrong people, even if they wish to avoid troubles. Stark definitely wishes to do so as his family moved yet again due to his rebellious ways... but in 1955, being called “chicken” is a big F'ing deal as your honor and pride are being questioned. Come to think of it, the same applies in 1885 or 1985... anyway, melodrama occurs, especially in the final act.
The cast as a whole does a nice job but of course it is Dean who is the standout; teen and young adult actors tried to imitate this performance for many years after this. As many people have noted in these modern times, the relationship between James and Sal Mineo comes across as differently than it did back then, unless there was subtext added to it that of course could never have been addressed in the 1950's. I've heard rumors that Dean was either homosexual or bi, but in any case it is easy to imagine that Jim and Plato were more than just friends. I mean, all the praise that Plato gushes to Judy concerning "his best friend", who he had known for, what, a few days?
Rebel Without a Cause is more than just a movie with a star-making lead performance, a vehicle where its main stars all died too young due to tragic circumstances, or several unforgettable moments.
Monday, June 3, 2019
Godzilla: King Of The Monsters
Godzilla, King of the Monsters (2019)
39% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 245 reviews)
Runtime: 131 minutes
Directed by: Michael Dougherty
Starring: A great cast that somehow got roped into an outrageous film
From: Warner Bros.
I saw this on Saturday afternoon and I still can't believe how wacky this was... although it's not like some of the Toho movies weren't strange in their own ways, as I explain below:
Maybe I am over-rationalizing, but...
Friday night I revisited the 2014 Godzilla, which I don't love as much as the first time but I still enjoyed. The human story was interesting, it was expertly put together, had a great score and when there's kaiju action, it was great. This film, I knew beforehand it'd be quite different, and opinions so far are even more polarizing than all the opinions surrounding '14. Once I saw this I was amazed that they got such a great cast for such a loony picture.
I admit I am being overly kind here and in another film I'd be mad at how stupid this is or all the moments that beggar belief, or the contradictory character moments, or how daffy it is overall. Here... honestly, in different ways there are some Toho films that have some zany plots, such as vs. Hedorah (appropriately, as the late Yoshimitsu Banno directed that, and was responsible for bringing this and '14 to the big screen) or many of the Heisei movies, like Biollante or vs. King Ghidorah. To be frank, the villains here-and I don't mean Ghidorah or Rodan-might as well be the Seatopians, the Xillians or some other humanoid race that is alien or otherwise not quite human. Some of the messages presented here are definitely straight outta the Showa or Heisei era, along with their master plan.
All that said, even though this is another example of why I avoid most modern summer blockbusters (and at times modern movies in general) and the focus on the Russell family-no relation-is not as strong as the Brody clan in '14 and “numbing” is another valid complaint... I'll still say that because it was as peculiar as some prior entries and the kaiju battles were rad-although the camera should have pulled back more often-I guess I'll say this was fine overall. The focus clearly was on “giving those complaining fanboys what they carped about what wasn't in the 2014 movie” above all else.
Like I said, this is a silly movie although not much more so than some of the Toho movies of the past, and this busy film is not lacking in action beats. Plus, the Bear McCreary score does contain a few familiar motifs. But can we have a show of hands for those that realized Zhang Ziyi played twin sisters? It took a YouTube review and IMDb to reveal this. Apparently that twin was only present in one scene to deliver one of the many moments of exposition. It is hard to notice as the movie hops around the globe so much and is overstuffed and a few moments could be described as Godzilla Ex Machina.
That YouTube review was more negative than this one so in a trend that has been going on for the past week or so, there's been a G Force that has left negative ratings and reviews towards those that did not love the movie. I imagine that won't be too much an issue here; I just hope next year's Godzilla vs. Kong is not quite so inane like this film was. At least I got entertainment out of this, although the kaiju involved was a big reason why.
39% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 245 reviews)
Runtime: 131 minutes
Directed by: Michael Dougherty
Starring: A great cast that somehow got roped into an outrageous film
From: Warner Bros.
I saw this on Saturday afternoon and I still can't believe how wacky this was... although it's not like some of the Toho movies weren't strange in their own ways, as I explain below:
Maybe I am over-rationalizing, but...
Friday night I revisited the 2014 Godzilla, which I don't love as much as the first time but I still enjoyed. The human story was interesting, it was expertly put together, had a great score and when there's kaiju action, it was great. This film, I knew beforehand it'd be quite different, and opinions so far are even more polarizing than all the opinions surrounding '14. Once I saw this I was amazed that they got such a great cast for such a loony picture.
I admit I am being overly kind here and in another film I'd be mad at how stupid this is or all the moments that beggar belief, or the contradictory character moments, or how daffy it is overall. Here... honestly, in different ways there are some Toho films that have some zany plots, such as vs. Hedorah (appropriately, as the late Yoshimitsu Banno directed that, and was responsible for bringing this and '14 to the big screen) or many of the Heisei movies, like Biollante or vs. King Ghidorah. To be frank, the villains here-and I don't mean Ghidorah or Rodan-might as well be the Seatopians, the Xillians or some other humanoid race that is alien or otherwise not quite human. Some of the messages presented here are definitely straight outta the Showa or Heisei era, along with their master plan.
All that said, even though this is another example of why I avoid most modern summer blockbusters (and at times modern movies in general) and the focus on the Russell family-no relation-is not as strong as the Brody clan in '14 and “numbing” is another valid complaint... I'll still say that because it was as peculiar as some prior entries and the kaiju battles were rad-although the camera should have pulled back more often-I guess I'll say this was fine overall. The focus clearly was on “giving those complaining fanboys what they carped about what wasn't in the 2014 movie” above all else.
Like I said, this is a silly movie although not much more so than some of the Toho movies of the past, and this busy film is not lacking in action beats. Plus, the Bear McCreary score does contain a few familiar motifs. But can we have a show of hands for those that realized Zhang Ziyi played twin sisters? It took a YouTube review and IMDb to reveal this. Apparently that twin was only present in one scene to deliver one of the many moments of exposition. It is hard to notice as the movie hops around the globe so much and is overstuffed and a few moments could be described as Godzilla Ex Machina.
That YouTube review was more negative than this one so in a trend that has been going on for the past week or so, there's been a G Force that has left negative ratings and reviews towards those that did not love the movie. I imagine that won't be too much an issue here; I just hope next year's Godzilla vs. Kong is not quite so inane like this film was. At least I got entertainment out of this, although the kaiju involved was a big reason why.
Saturday, June 1, 2019
I Revisited The 2014 Godzilla And...
While I do not love it as much as I first did during my 2014 theatrical viewing, it's still a movie I dig for what it did. It was patient and well-made. Tomorrow I'll review the new movie which... wow, that is different from 2014.
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