When my Sister and I were kids, this movie came on and almost immediately, she laid down on the floor and her eyes were glued to the screen (I had already seen it). It says a lot about this movie's quality that it would grab her attention like that. She tends to lean more towards Adam Sandler movies (although to her credit, Grown Ups must be pretty bad if she thought it was "boring and stupid"). Robert Mitchum is amazing in this. The last thing I saw him in (I think it was even his last part before he died) was Dead Man, with Johnny Depp. Even then, he was crushing it.

I'm fascinated that Teague has only just recently seen Psycho (my personal favorite Hitchcock film) and I hope that means a commentary is eminent.

I wish people would stop perpetuating that bullshit about Black Widow in The Avengers. I feel like Eddie would/should know better.

I'm not saying Black Widow is a completely flawed, bad character.  What I am saying is that her kicking ass in Iron Man 2 (which I totally dug for what it was) tends to be the singular characteristic of strength for a woman in a modern film.  Now, Black Widow in Cap 2: The Cappening, is FAR more interesting, and her strength comes through in ways other than face-punchery.  And again, there's nothing wrong with women facepunching.  But, and I should have been clearer about my reference being limited to Iron Man 2, if facepunching is all you give me to indicate that this female character is strong, then that's not really enough.

I'm responding to Pavlich's last sentence in his post above.

Hey Eddie, good call on this. I watched it, and appreciated it, but watching it again with your commentary really helped unpack it. There was a lot more going on than I thought. Really interesting film (that I otherwise wouldn't have ended up seeing), thanks!

Disclaimer: if you dislike the tone of a post I make, re-read it in a North/East London accent until it sounds sufficiently playful

Glad you liked i!

Here's something I realized recently: Reverend Powell is a clear inspiration for Kent Mansley in The Iron Giant.

Both are adult men in positions of power that are usually trustworthy.

Both stalk and menace children, because the children have information that they need. These children are, in both cases, being raised by a single mother.

Both are intimidating most of the time, but they both also fall into slapstick antics when thwarted.

Both have a scene where they stay up all night hoping that their opponent will fall asleep before they do.

I'm glad we did this movie. Thanks for the recommendation, Eddie.

*checks watch*

What, too soon?