Films You Have Watched

[Nu-Eclipse]

Just Another Girl On The I.R.T. (Leslie Harris, 1992)

Watched this last night on Amazon Prime. Even now, I'm not quite sure how to process it.

It's a fascinating visual and audio snapshot (read: excellent rap and New Jack Swing soundtrack) of early 1990s New York City as a young, spiky and smart African-American teenage girl tries to navigate her way out of generational poverty in Brooklyn while aspiring to graduate from high school and study to become a doctor. She appears to have it all mapped out, until an accidental pregnancy causes chaos (something depressingly relevant in 2025 given what a Trump-powered US Supreme Court has since done to Roe v Wade).

Ariyan Johnson is ridiculously charismatic in the lead role (what was her debut acting role!) but even she can't stop the second half of this film coming off like the 90s big-screen indie version of an after-school special/PSA informercial, and that's not even accounting for the pretty grim last part of the story involving the character's childbirth.

Ultimately, it's clear what the messages of this film is/was trying to relay and I wanted to like it more than I ended up doing, but it was a little underwhelming for me.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Jacknife (David Hugh Jones, 1989)

Film adaptation of Stephen Metcalfe's 1982 stage play Strange Snow, focusing on the complex tension between people in a close relationship, all of whom are connected by the emotional, mental and physical fallout from the well-explored subject of Vietnam War veteran PTSD.

It's shot and musically scored in a way that comes off as pretty mawkish even for its time (think 1980s Sunday-evening made-for-TV-movie version of The Deer Hunter) but it's somewhat elevated above the sum of its parts by the trio of lead performances from Kathy Baker, Robert De Niro and Ed Harris.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Tag (Jeff Tomsic, 2018)

Precisely the type of comedy that is so absolutely ridiculous and dumb enough to the point of not even being that funny that it somehow works and subsequently will be enough for a lot of people who watch this, and the earnest life-lesson theme of enduring friendship lends it something of a cheesy charm (of course it's based on a true story! #OnlyInAmerica). That said, the soundtrack and music selection is definitely a plus point here.

[Nu-Eclipse]

The Equalizer (Antoine Fuqua, 2014)

Watched this on Netflix last night. I do believe the first two films are leaving that particular platform soon and I'd not seen them before. I'm old enough to remember the original 1980s TV show with Edward Woodward. It's fair to say that this is obviously a substantial reworking of that for the feature-length form.

The shootouts, fight scenes and action set-pieces were really well done (Denzel doing the Denzel thing and Marton Csokas surprisingly effective in the villain role) but I found the storyline surrounding them to be boring and cliched for the most part. That said, I at least intend to watch the second film in this trilogy.

[QualityChimp]

I've said it before, but I watched The Equalizer the day before watching John Wick and the short, jarring cuts of the former was made to look even clumsier by the long, steady takes of the latter.

I don't think you see Denzel connect a hit. It cuts at every single punch.

[Nu-Eclipse]

I don't think you see Denzel connect a hit. It cuts at every single punch.

To be honest, you can say that about a hell of a lot of film fight sequences once you actually know and understand how they are co-ordinated.

[Nu-Eclipse]

The Equalizer 2 (Fuqua, 2018)

Watched this last night.

Action scenes, fights/shootouts and set-pieces not as good as the first one but arguably a better story, and definitely a tighter film because it is shorter.

Admittedly, there isn't that much in it between the two so I'd be hard-pressed to really hold it against anybody who said that they preferred the first one. Can't say I'm in a rush to watch The Equalizer 3.

[QualityChimp]

I think Equalizer 3 was my fave, on reflection, mainly because the location is so stunning. I think him being older means that he fights smarter, not harder and it's fun seeing his plans play out.

This is what I mean about the heavily-edited action.
Once I'd seen it, it drove me crazy.

[Nu-Eclipse]

I think Equalizer 3 was my fave, on reflection, mainly because the location is so stunning. I think him being older means that he fights smarter, not harder and it's fun seeing his plans play out.

This is what I mean about the heavily-edited action.
Once I'd seen it, it drove me crazy.

NO NEED FOR SPOILERS. I HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET!

Fair enough about the editing. I thought you were referring to the choreography.

[QualityChimp]

That's from the first film, which you said you'd seen.
Either way, I'm not a spoilers guy, so you're safe.

[Nu-Eclipse]

That's from the first film, which you said you'd seen.
Either way, I'm not a spoilers guy, so you're safe.

Apologies - didn't read the clip title and assumed it was from the third film.

[QualityChimp]

No problem!

Thanks for that Magic Crystal link. I'll check that out.

I watched Lady Dragon (Prime) and it was decent enough.
Rothrock and Norton are on form, with Norton looking particularly sharp and fast.
His passing is a real loss to action cinema, but it's lovely to see the impact he left.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)

Re-watched this on Tuesday night.

As much as I think Tarantino is both massively overrated as a director and a massive arsehole of a person (the latter of which is incredibly evident in the scene he has in this film as well as what we all know about him IRL), this remains his best work three decades on and it's not even close.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Flow (Gints Zilbalodis, 2024)

Caught a lunchtime showing of this at the cinema a couple of hours ago. For the most part, it's easy to see why this film garnered the critical praise that it did on release and also why it won the awards that it did earlier this year.

Visually stunning animation in parts that we would all absolutely laud had it come from a traditional western or Japanese animation powerhouse, with some blandness in other parts of it.

The use of using the environment and absolutely no dialogue whatsoever to tell the story is mostly pros but not without cons, imo. On one hand, the animals look and act nothing less than realistic whilst being able to convey their emotions and characters to the viewer. On the other hand, I did find that the story being told, and the pacing of it, occasionally lulled to the point that it almost felt like it slightly struggled to keep itself on-topic at certain points.

Overall, one of the more refreshingly original animated features that I've seen in quite a while. Worth a watch.

[Nu-Eclipse]

La Cocina ("The Kitchen") (Alonso Ruizpalacios, 2024)

Watched this at the cinema last night.

I know there's obviously a salient commentary about America's relationship with capitalism, multicuturalism and immigration being made in this film, it is never not striking to look at when it is entirely shot in B&W and the uncompromising/unflinching brutality, pressure and frantic pace of working in a fast-paced restaurant is perfectly captured, but it still felt like it didn't do enough to hold my attention for its full two hours runtime. Raúl Briones admittedly shines in the lead role despite his character being rather difficult to like but I could take or leave everybody else in it, including Rooney Mara.

Also...let's just say that I'm not quite sure I'll be rushing to order any red meat dish the next time I'm in a restaurant...