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War Games (1983)
Is it a game, or is it real?
Filmmaker(s): John Badham
Thriller
Science Fiction
Drama

High School student David Lightman has a talent for hacking. But while trying to hack into a computer system to play unreleased video games, he unwittingly taps into the Defense Department's war computer and initiates a confrontation of global proportions. Together with his girlfriend and a wizardly computer genius, David must race against time to outwit his opponent and prevent a nuclear Armageddon.

13 May

Posted at 22:12h in New Comments, Ones by
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Winken and Blinken is less reason to see this now than when it was made, except for the lesson that is more clear here than in current filmdom: how do you cinematically convey concepts that don’t fit our fairly limited vocabulary? The lesson here is stark,...


Published May 13, 2022
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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson: King of Blackmailers (1980)
Filmmaker(s): Igor Maslennikov
Mystery
TV Movie
Crime
Adventure

Mycroft Holmes hands Sherlock Holmes the case of the Master Blackmailer.

19 Sep

Posted at 18:02h in New Comments, Ones by
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Europe in Disguise is a Russian TV production, closely following the Conan Doyle stories. Comments that I have seen accept it as a good version, mostly on the basis of the characterisations. But I find it dreadful, and credit two influences. The first is my understanding...


Published September 19, 2022
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Death on the Nile (1978)
A murderer strikes on board the luxury Nile steamer Karnak – and Hercule Poirot faces his most baffling case.
Filmmaker(s): John Guillermin
Mystery

As Hercule Poirot enjoys a luxurious cruise down the Nile, a newlywed heiress is found murdered on board and every elegant passenger becomes a prime suspect.

31 Dec

Posted at 00:31h in New Comments, Threes by
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Faces and Places recently rewatched this because of the Branagh version. We now have three: this Ustinov version, a later Suchet, and the recent Branagh. I see that my original comment — likely 20 years ago — was one of those deleted from IMDB by...


Published December 31, 2022
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China 9, Liberty 37 (1978)
The deadliest crossroad.
Filmmaker(s): Monte Hellman
Action
Western

Gunslinger Clayton Drumm is about to be hanged when he is given a chance to live if he will agree to murder Matthew (Oates), a miner who has steadfastly refused to sell his land to the railroad company. Matthew’s refusal is a major obstacle to the railroad’s plans for expansion.

19 Sep

Posted at 12:50h in New Comments, Twos by
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Whoring and Teaching so we have it: arguably the last spaghetti western. Wonderfully photographed. Well acted. This time around what we get is an erotic western. Our hard boiled hero is a gunslinger as usual but good hearted enough to not kill his mark simply...


Published September 19, 2022
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Bilitis (1977)
A boarding school teenager on the verge of full erotic awakening.
Filmmaker(s): David Hamilton
Drama
Romance

A coming of age story centering on the exploits of a young girl during summer vacation.

31 Oct

Posted at 10:13h in New Comments, Threes by
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Wonder collecting my old IMDB comments for moving to this site, I find a few hundred missing — possibly a thousand. There was an era in IMDB history — before Facebook and Twitter — where IMDB was a social media hub. My comments were an...


Published October 31, 2022
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Storm Boy (1976)
Wild things should be free.
Filmmaker(s): Henri Safran
Drama
Family

Mike is a lonely Australian boy living in a coastal wilderness with his reclusive father. In search of friendship he encounters an Aboriginal native loner and the two form a bond in the care of orphaned pelicans.

01 Dec

Posted at 17:16h in New Comments, Threes by
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Internal Weather had the advantage of being old, and living in both the US and Australia and raising kids in each. That gives me a perspective on the book before seeing the film. Every so often, a young adult book hits a sweet spot in...


Published December 1, 2022
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Storm Boy (1976)
Wild things should be free.
Filmmaker(s): Henri Safran
Drama
Family

Mike is a lonely Australian boy living in a coastal wilderness with his reclusive father. In search of friendship he encounters an Aboriginal native loner and the two form a bond in the care of orphaned pelicans.

16 May

Posted at 18:28h in New Comments, Twos by
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Mockingbird had the advantage of being old, and living in both the US and Australia and raising kids in each. That gives me a perspective on the book before seeing the film. Every so often, a young adult book hits a sweet spot in the...


Published May 16, 2023
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The Man Without a Map (1968)
Filmmaker(s): Hiroshi Teshigahara
Mystery

A private detective is hired to find a missing man by his wife. While his search is unsuccessful, the detective's own life begins to resemble the man for whom he is searching.

30 Sep

Posted at 20:17h in New Comments, Threes by
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Life as Navigation has an anchor when they enter a film. With a little exposure to world cinema, that anchor for each film is rooted in the tradition you select from that culture. This is a personal choice, made long before you encounter the film....


Published September 30, 2022
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Gumnaam (1965)
And then there were none...
Filmmaker(s): Raja Nawathe
Mystery
Thriller

Eight people are trapped on an island when their plane abandons them. They find a large mansion whose butler is expecting them. Then one by one, they die...

09 Oct

Posted at 09:49h in New Comments, Ones by
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Indians is a famously popular film in India. The composition is simple: a story that gives the film an existence, and a series of Bollywood musical numbers. I cannot recall ever experiencing such dissonance, because I am coming at the from a background in Christie....


Published October 9, 2022
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Monitor: The Prince of Denmark (1963)

07 Dec

Posted at 16:22h in New Comments, Threes by
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Astonishingly Internal is a BBC interview show that has Orson Welles, Peter O'Toole and some other older fellow (Ernest Milton) talking about ‘Hamlet’. Orson was well into retirement from attempting film masterpieces, including two ambitious Shakespeare productions. His ‘Othello’ is really something. He’d been in...


Published December 7, 2022
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