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To Live and Die in L.A. 1985
Before there was Heat, we had To Live and Die in LA. More cynically than operatically tragic compared to the later film by Chicago’s other purveyor of lawman/outlaw machismo, it is no less a match for action. Featuring a cast of then unknowns and theater actors, like many Friedkin films it comes down to a battle of wills between men who can’t help but to be what they are.
William Petersen plays an obsessive Secret Service agent in search of…
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The Fifth Element 1997
I watched enough of this on a TV at the local arcade bar to log it. I really didn’t connect with this the first time I saw it and I think the plot and the aesthetics are too scattershot to really work. But I was intrigued and distracted visually by the film, and I enjoyed only seeing and not hearing Chris Tucker, so that was a plus! Very 90s, probably about 5 years before it’s time to be fully realized.
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Challengers 2024
Hard not to get swept up in the hype for Challengers, but boy does it deliver on the premise of a sexy tennis film directed by Luca Guadagnino, one of our most sensuous working filmmakers. Our viewing experience was enhanced by a group of young women who were audibly scandalized by Challenger’s steamiest scenes (particularly the churro chomp) which brought the temperature up in the whole theater.
How can you not get a bit hot and bothered by these leads?…
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Death of a Unicorn 2025
A crowd pleaser and a clear transitional feature for A24 as a brand/studio. 5 years ago this would have been made with one star, a quarter of the budget for CGI, and perhaps more serious tonality. Instead, Death of a Unicorn is a mid-budget, high-concept vehicle packed with recognizable actors. It’s funny - my preview crowd was into it - but with the change in approach does come some growing pains.
Drawing on folk horror tropes and an eat the…
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