list/discuss/rate - your recently watched movies

Rarely is a film so extraordinary that it's hard to put into words.   Suffice to say Joker is the best portrayal of mental illness I've seen in movies, and a very special piece of work.

Going to the San Francisco Noir Film Festival tonight at S.F.'s historic Castro Theater.   This year's focus is on international Noir, particularly films set in post-War Europe.   Tonight's feature is 'The Fifth Horseman is Fear' from 1965 about a Jewish doctor in Prague who archives property confiscated by the Nazis  --

In a welcome return to James Cameron's original storyline, Dark Fate shows the world as Sarah Connor left it: saved from the rise of the machines as an ironically crusty and bitter Connor watches an unappreciative and oblivious world pass her by.   Until a young woman who's fate impacts the future is marked for termination by an as yet destroyed Skynet and an enhanced human is sent to protect her.   The film has merits and plenty of moments, but in trying to recapture the first two Terminator films it only reminds how good they were and how unnecessary a retelling is.   A fine two hours of entertainment but unrewarding ultimately. 

Good car racing movies are hard to come by and this one both proves and disproves that rule.  Certainly superior to a Days of Thunder or a Grand Prix, Ford vs. Ferrari makes an effort and considering they wanted to cast Tom Cruise & Brad Pitt as the leads, we benefit from that change of direction.   However, the story appears to be greatly fictionalized and has little relation to the real life of sportscar racer Ken Miles or innovative builder Carroll Shelby and as usual, is mucked-up by Hollywood's unflinching drive to mix drama, romance, action, tragedy, and humor into one dumbed-down spectacle we've seen too many times before.   Not bad, just not great.

Girl on the Third Floor 2019 Directed by Travis Stevens

Despite a 'straight edge' wrestler (CM Punk) failing entirely to convince in the role of disgraced lawyer, philandering husband, recovering alcoholic and wannabe handyman (Don Koch) this gets incredibly good after a very sluggish opening half hour. That said, the best performance on screen until the redeeming entrance of Mrs Koch (Trieste Kelly Dunn) towards the conclusion is that of the family dog (Cooper) who exhibits a range and nuance of expression that dwarfs those of both scorned 'ghost' hooker (Sarah Brooks) and 'ethical' African American lawyer (Travis Delgado) The ominously unnerving visuals advance the story far better than the dialogue and it's the uber creepy house and the aforementioned Cooper doing most of the heavy lifting here. You also get a superb twist thrown in for good measure. It's gory in places yes, but never gratuitously so as the psychological dismantling of an already very flawed man (Mr Koch) is the real payback here. Carries a deferential nod from debut Director Stevens in the direction of the Shining, the Amityville Horror and the Devil's Candy. If this was an album on PA it would get 4 stars out of five.

Midsommar - 2019 Directed by Ari Aster

I has seen the directors previous film Hereditary which I found confusing (especially the last act) but quite enjoyed the 'intent' at making a proper creepy horror film that gets under your skin. Being a fan of the 1973 British film The Wicker Man (surely the greatest film about pagan cults) and being a genre that is very often overlooked or lampooned ( As was the case in Hot Fuzz) then it was very intriguing to hear about this film.

Basically the set up is a group of young college age friends decide (or are they persuaded? ) to travel to Sweden for a festival . The one girl in the group has had a recent tragic family bereavement event and her boyfriend is one of the group. He is a real stand up guy and looks after and genuinely cares for her. That is not a spoiler as this is made clear from the beginning.

So they arrive in Sweden at the perfect rural setting. The people all seem genuine and likeable. I mean the Swedes are all a nice bunch aren't they. The film like so many modern films is very long clocking in at 2 and half hours but I was never bored at any point. The actors are excellent and the beautiful scenery keeps the thing chugging along nicely. Yes we know something is just not quite right with this hippy community and the first sign of this comes with a weird ceremony. Now at this point most normal people would just hot hoof it out of there pronto! I'm really not clear why this doesn't happen and for the characters you know they are going to regret it. 

Really its a pretty standard horror film plot wise but there's enough fun to be had along the way and it's enjoyable if you like this sort of stuff. I do!

(3 out 5 stars) but maybe add an extra mark if you really like the psychological horror film genre.