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Filligan

filligan
Cinema Addict - 1589 Film Ratings
Member Since: 31 Mar 2006
204 Game Ratings
Location: BC, Canada
Bio: How I rank simplified:
95-100 = 10
85-94 = 9
75-84 = 8
65-74 = 7
55-64 = 6
45-54 = 5
35-44 = 4
25-34 = 3
15-24 = 2
5-14 = 1
0-4 = 0

Follow me on Twitter where I'm always chattin' about film/TV, sometimes with regular punctuation, sometimes not -- what more could you ask for?? https://twitter.com/DustyBuurd

more Recent Ratings

89 75% The Last Picture Show (1971) - Rated 14 Jul 2024
"It's common to hear folks say "they don't make them like that anymore" and I often roll my eyes at the sentiment, but if said about The Last Picture Show, it might give me pause. This style of storytelling is seldom done anymore, partly because audiences have changed over time but also because if you don't nail the characters and setting and themes with sublime sincerity like The Last Picture Show, then audiences will see through you, unmoved. Stoic, dense, and thought-provoking film."
68 17% Fat City (1972) - Rated 14 Jul 2024
"Can't help but feel like this is trying to capture the lightning in a bottle of Midnight Cowboy; that down-and-dirty story of trying to make it in a fundamentally broken America again and again until it breaks you, directed in a manner that captures the general coat of grime everything had on it back then. But ultimately this doesn't find enough avenues to explore in its characters; it feels very surface for most of its runtime, and by the time it finds its soul, the credits roll."
86 62% The Missouri Breaks (1976) - Rated 08 Jul 2024
"A western for those bored by gunplay. I was roped into this quickly and while it is gradually paced, I only found it needed tightening up in one or two scenes. For the most part, this is a wicked twist on the genre that I enjoyed, particularly Brando, who, despite the cue cards and the improvisation, is perfectly devilish; unpredictable yet calm, refined yet bedraggled, and you can never pin down how psychotic he truly is, making him funny one moment and menacing the next."
60 11% Superman: The Movie (1978) - Rated 08 Jul 2024
"If this is the superhero film progenitor, then maybe it's too far removed from current sensibilities. But hell, I love Batman 89, so there must be more at play here, and surely that includes the dated effects, the lunacy of Hackman's Luthor, the flatlining stakes, the unmoving love story, the several odd choices like the preamble meant to explain what comic books are or the pointless inclusion of General Zod. Ultimately, I just don't care about Superman or the people in his life."
85 59% Angels in America (2003) - Rated 07 Jul 2024
"Certainly feels more of a time now than it used to; I'm sure when this adaptation was released, it furthered the notion that Kushner's play was timeless despite the historical focus. Now we're treated to an absurd epilogue that shoehorns the Israeli-Palestine conflict in at the last second. But that's just a five-minute epilogue. Much of this is still effectively moving, especially into its second part, and the cast is remarkable."
87 67% Ripley (2024) - Rated 07 Jul 2024
"This might be the best-photographed show or film I've seen in a decade. Not since Road to Perdition has the phrase "every frame a painting" bounced about in my head so much. But given the story, the gorgeous presentation can almost alienate at times, and the whole thing feels a little... delicate, like a trinket in an antique shop you want to examine further but refuse to pick up in fear you might break it. I'd watch another season, though."
79 39% Hardcore (1979) - Rated 05 Jul 2024
"Always in for a Scott party; as usual, he grabs the film by the sides and refuses to let go. Though this is an engaging story, it's mostly thanks to Scott's uber-religious character being thrown into his personal seventh circle of Hell; the mystery itself is secondary to his fervent pursuit, and the daughter's whereabouts take on this nihilistic quality that is squandered in the final moments."
88 71% High Plains Drifter (1973) - Rated 29 Jun 2024
"Eastwood makes some shocking decisions from the jump in order to communicate that this Deadly Stranger archetype doesn't fit the usual mold, and it's almost enough to turn the audience against him. It wasn't until the third act that I felt like I knew what he was doing, what the screenplay in its entirety was doing. Once you stop positioning Eastwood as the story's hero (or even its villain), suddenly the hellscape he paints becomes utterly engaging. The film deserves a thorough dissection."
57 9% Murder by Death (1976) - Rated 29 Jun 2024
"It's worth enduring Sellers' performance to enjoy everybody else, particularly Smith and Guinness, who get the lion's share of dry British punchlines. Guinness, in particular, is having a blast and it's infectious. The film needed a more artful eye in the director's chair to make it visually interesting, because it's largely staged like a play and the environments get tiresome quickly. Overall, it's sometimes funny, other times racist, and other times surprisingly immature."
82 47% The China Syndrome (1979) - Rated 29 Jun 2024
"This is about as 70s as you can get: ideological actors, paranoia, issue-of-the-day plot, and an ending that would be reshot today because the algorithms say people prefer abject optimism."