hazelhawks

Christopher Lee sings! Another horrible wonderful masterpiece from the early 80s along side The Apple, Christmas Evil, Surf II, Repo Man, etc.... probably my favorite era for film. I dunno...maybe it's nostalgia.

68 _62%

Amsterdam (2022) - Rated 07 Oct 2026

It's a preachy Spielberg film done in the style of Hudsucker Proxy. Probably misguided, Amsterdam shoots for moons and reaches for stars and usually falls short of its lofty aspirations. But when it hits, it's gorgeous. I liked Russell's first four films but haven't seen anything since. He's taken a sharp left turn toward Wes Anderson and the Cohen Bros artifice here which I guess is a good way to fail now (Digger & Don't Look Up & See How They Run & Mickey 17). It was good.

73 _72%

Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) - Rated 19 Sep 2026

Funny and stunningly shot. MMM focuses most on the 4 main characters and their relationships. The mystery is born out of Keaton's midlife crisis but the characters always maintain interest in each other rather allowing the crime to overwhelm everything. Putting up with Keaton and Allen's constant bickering is a trial but I can't deny they're astonishingly good at it. Great soundtrack too.

58 _41%

Mad Mission Part 3: Our Man from Bond Street (1984) - Rated 04 Sep 2026

Directed by Tsui Hark, the 3rd Aces Go Places was king of the 1984 HK box office, beating out even Jackie Chan's all-time classic Wheels on Meals. This Bond parody is more live action cartoon than 1 or 2 thanks to Hark's relentless pace - it's often exhausting to keep up with the endless gags. Much of it is dumb, funny, nonsensical, and often inventive for the sake of invention. My favorite bit: Richard Kiel asleep at the wheel on the sub. Sylvia Chang and Little Baldy are great too.

51 _29%

Mad Mission (1982) - Rated 24 Aug 2026

Crime farce reminiscent of Pink Panther series with a bit of Foul Play is entertaining up until the surprisingly dull and incompetently filmed climax. Karl Maka and (under-utilized) Sylvia Chang are both funny and Sam Hui (HK’s biggest pop star at the time) is serviceable, if a bit bland, as the leading man. I suspect a lot of the humor is lost in translation.

50 _27%

Border Radio (1987) - Rated 15 Aug 2026

Hep indie film noir set in the dying 1980s LA punk scene doesn't really deserve a score. A real trial to sit through but with too many priceless moments to dismiss. It ain't Clerks or Slackers or Stranger Than Paradise by a long shot but if those kinds of things are your thing, you might want to try Border Radio (see how low you can go). I have to give them credit for including the scene with the glam band at the studio cause that really happened.

65 _55%

McQ (1974) - Rated 19 Jul 2026

42 _18%

The Arrival (1996) - Rated 13 May 2026

I liked the scenery in Mexico, but the rest was a bit ho-hum.

58 _41%

Mad Mission Part 2: Aces Go Places (1983) - Rated 08 May 2026

I haven't seen the first so this was kinda nonsensical but still entertaining fluff filled with clever action scenes and broad slapstick comedy. The set-up is the best part with America well-represented. And Karl Maka is hilarious but the robots wore out their welcome pretty quick.

44 _20%

The Protector (1985) - Rated 14 Apr 2026

Rewatched. I guess I'm as quick as any Chan fan to condemn this sleazy wrongheaded attempt to Americanize Chan's action style. But if I had a choice between rewatching this vs. Raw Deal, Cobra, or any Chuck Norris flick, I'd probably go this. For mid-80s films featuring the Statue of Liberty caked in scaffolding, I'd definitely go Remo Williams every time. an 80's Rush Hour with Eddie Murphy was probably too much to ask.

Actors	Dave Bautista Maggie Cheung Adam Driver Richard E. Grant Buster Keaton Jean-Pierre Léaud Jet Li Brigitte Lin Paul Newman Saoirse Ronan Jason Statham Karl Urban
Directors	Wes Anderson Ethan Coen Joel Coen Wong Kar-Wai Buster Keaton Guy Maddin Jean-Pierre Melville Hayao Miyazaki Orson Welles