Films I Watched This Week — Jan 6–12, 2025
Where Eagles Dare (1968)
Where Eagles Dare is a WWII action film starring Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton Burton and it is a great ride. It has everything a moviegoer wants: Huge explosions, thrilling gunplay, wild car chases, and wartime espionage, including twists at every turn. Along with the Dirty Dozen, this killing nazis action extravaganza must have been a inspiration for Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark several years later. Not only were the action scenes spectacular, but the stunts were intense, especially a fight scene that takes place on top of a moving cable car in the Alps!
The Stunt Man (1980)
A muddled plot with a ridiculous but fascinating premise, carried most definitely by Peter O' Toole, who gives a riveting Oscar nominated performance that is both mysterious and psychotic. It's a entertaining cult film that deserves a rewatch.
Salvador (1986)
This is a cynical, gritty and mean depiction of the civil war in El Salvador in 1980 and director Oliver Stone does not hold back one bit. The film gives you a disturbing glimpse into the world of journalism by having you follow a unemployed alcoholic foreign correspondent who has hit bottom. I'd rank the film's disturbing portrayal of corrupt journalism alongside the Killing Fields as one of the most powerful I have seen. Not Oliver Stone's best, but it's up there.
Hush (2016)
Watch the "shush" version. It was director Mike Flanagans original vision. Predictable and hits every cliche in the slasher/home invasion textbook, but I still found it very fun.
Baskin (2015)
Can Evrenoc's Turkish horror film Baskin (2016) is complete nightmare fuel. Its a literal walk through Hell and one of the best representations of the inferno along with Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Jigoku and the silent classic L' Inferno from 1911. You've been warned.
The Big Sick (2017)
"The Big Sick is everything a good romantic comedy should be. It's funny, sweet, smart, emotional, and even more amazing, it's true. Every laugh is full and genuine, and so are the tears."
Thelma (2017)
Loneliness, repression, and control only scratch the surface to Thelma (2017), a queer coming of age romance by Norweigian director Joachim Trier. It is a haunting supernatural thriller that delves deeply into extreme religiosity, childhood indoctination, and denying oneself to embrace who they are. Thelma is one of the most mysterious, beautiful, and unforgettable psychological thrillers of the 2010s.
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