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Debaser Film

The Hunt for Red October

Even though I love this movie, I waited quite a while to watch it during this marathon because I had already revisited it a few years ago while doing a rewatch of all the Jack Ryan films (ahead of the start of the Jack Ryan TV series). But despite it still being relatively fresh in my mind, I still had a blast watching it, and still felt the tenseness whenever you should feel it. This is just such a great film, and definitely one of my favorites of 1990. I also wish John McTiernan had directed more Ryan films.

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Debaser Film

Presumed Innocent

I enjoyed watching this. It starts off slow, and at first I wasn’t really into Ford’s glum performance, but the story does get quite good, and luckily I had forgotten how it ends, so I didn’t know what to expect — really didn’t see that ending coming, even though I definitely watched this back in the day. This also made me think that I used to really like courtroom dramas (sure, lots of them of the John Grisham variety), and it feels like I haven’t watched a new one (and I’m specifically referring to movies here, not TV series) in ages. Then again, maybe it’s because I don’t pay enough attention to new releases these days, while spending so much time revisiting old films.

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Debaser Film

Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael

I was probably just in the right mood for this, because I don’t think it’s an especially good film, but I found myself really enjoying it. Just a sorta feel-good teen drama of the era, and hey, it stars Winona Ryder, which is a-ok with me. Going in I didn’t really remember anything about it, but it slowly started coming back to me as I was watching it. Just a nice little movie to watch on a Saturday night.

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Debaser Film

Goodfellas

What a great film. I’m pretty sure I haven’t re-watched this since back in the day, and so I was pretty fresh going in, not really remembering how the story went. I think it’s also interesting to see this after The Irishman, as you can draw some interesting parallels — not just the presence of Pesci and De Niro, but also the fact that Liotta and De Niro can’t be “made” because they’re of Irish descent. All of the performances are of course fantastic, including bright-eyed Liotta. I also really enjoyed some of the amazing long tracking shots that Scorsese executes throughout. Still deservedly one of the best films of 1990.

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Debaser Film

Robocop 2

I know that the sequels never had a good reputation, but I was expecting to have fun watching this, and I didn’t. I was especially struck by how badly the “world building” has aged — I feel like the first Robocop still feels relatively “near future,” while this feels squarely as 80s a setting as can be, which really took me out. And the use of CG for the Robocop 2 interface screen (to show Cain’s face) is just so awful. And 30 years later, it still bugs me that they gave Robocop’s armor a blue tint for this one. I know I shouldn’t have expected much, but I still feel disappointed with this re-watch.

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Debaser Film

Wild at Heart

It was fun getting back into this era of Lynch, and I also got a big kick out of seeing so much of the Twin Peaks cast in this (the series was happening around this time even, although most are Lynch regulars anyway). It’s weird, it’s wild, in all the right ways. I quite like this movie, but I do prefer Blue Velvet and Lost Highway, and even Mulholland Drive (and Twin Peaks remains my all time favorite TV series).

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Debaser Film

Misery

I’ve rewatched this movie quite a few times over the years, and I enjoy it just as much every single time. Along with The Shining, it’s probably the best Stephen King film adaptation — and it probably doesn’t hurt that it’s one of the rare King novels I’ve actually read and enjoyed (for some reason I’ve barely read any of his novels, but I’m sure I’ve seen every single movie based on them). And yes, I still gasp every single time when it gets to the hobbling scene.

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Debaser Film

Edward Scissorhands

The first thought when watching this is just how weird it is, I mean, to the point where I wonder if a film like this could even get made anymore — it doesn’t really feel like it. Then, even though you accept that this is just fantasy and so you just go with it, you sill wonder: how does he feed himself, how does he put on that tight leather suit, how does he use the washroom… But hey, that’s not the point here, it’s just a fantastical tale that is as fun as it is weird, with of course that unique Burton aesthetic (although at this point it’s still pretty tame, and more colourful than you’d think). I had also forgotten that Anthony Michael Hall is in this, but I’ll say that I’ve never really liked when he plays bully/jock/asshole roles (as opposed to the nerdy roles we know him from in those classic John Hughes films). All in all, it was fun, and a nice way to end the year (I watched it on New Year’s Eve).

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Debaser Film

The Godfather Part III

I watched the new re-edit by Coppola, that retitles the film to The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone (this is what he originally wanted as a title, but the studio insisted on using “Part III”). In a way I wish I had rewatched the original earlier this year, to then better appreciate how this re-edit affects the film — but I did read an article in which Coppola explains what he wanted to achieve with this revisit, and it did sound like an improvement. I remember liking this movie fine back in the day, but it had its criticisms, and didn’t really compare to the earlier two films. But at this point, I quite enjoyed it, and that could be because of the new edition being better structured — one big change is the opening of the film, which now really sets the stage for everything that comes after (politicking with the Vatican), and I honestly can’t see how the movie would make sense any other way. That’s certainly a sign that he made the right decision with this, even if it did come 30 years later.

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Debaser Film

Die Hard 2

Die Hard 2 is pretty much the perfect movie sequel. Sure, it’s not as good as the original Die Hard, but you can’t blame it for that, and it manages to be entertaining as all hell, while playing around with the premise that made the original so great (stuck in an environment that’s being controlled by villains). It’s a shame that none of the subsequent sequels ever managed the same trick — although I’ve been entertained here and there, I’ve never really thought any of them were great. And the climax with the lighter is so incredibly inspired.