Another I need to revisit from time to time.
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Battle Beyond the Stars 1980
I really like this one. I only wish John Sayles had written more low budget movies, because he doesn't just elevate them by including themes and moments that are as good as anything, he avoids condescending to them. He knows what he's supposed to deliver with something like this and makes sure all of that fun goodness is in there and is fun and sincere.
And here, he really gets Seven Samurai and knows which elements to take in order to rip it off, along with just a seasoning of Star Wars, and still deliver a fun little romp through space.
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Young, Violent, Dangerous 1976
On some level, this is a Eurocrime version of Just For the Hell of It with Tomás Milián as a Police Commissioner looking into the crime spree. And if that had been the sum total of it, that would have been more than enough for me.
It is something more, though, it's a thoughtful and well-acted movie. Not only by Milián, who can essentially do no wrong in my world, but by Eleonora Giorgi as well as Stefano Patrizi, who gives a strangely haunted and thoughtful portrayal of the gang's ringleader.
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Star Wars: The Force Awakens 2015
The original trilogy is like a great band at their peak. They're making hits, feeling it. They fall away a bit at the end, trying too hard to sound like themselves, but it's what everyone remembers. The prequels are like their weird period of experimenting with orchestras and world music and big concepts they can't quite keep contained in the realm of the pop song. This is like a cover band made up of skilled musicians playing their greatest hits competently but soullessly in an order that robs them of any context or meaning.
