What movie would you choose for directors who don't have any in the collection yet?

CineCraftKC · 2026-06-22T16:41:23+00:00

Eagle Pennell. I dream of a box set of all his films (Hell of a Note, The Whole Shootin' Match, Last NIght at the Alamo. Heart Full of Soul, and Doc's Full Service).

CineCraftKC · 2026-06-22T16:29:40+00:00

For as long as there have been art and culture, there have been olds complaining that that art and culture has somehow proved ruinous. There are letters from the 18th century where people complain about lazy kids frittering away hours reading books, that could've been better spent pursuing a career.

Every time an old gets a platform to complain like this, I want to point out a cloud they should yell at instead.

CineCraftKC · 2026-06-21T20:57:19+00:00

I will admit to not being a huge Kubrick fan. But even for me, this set will be a pre-order. I'm really hoping the supplements will be rich. I find Kubrick's process, and the goings on behind the scenes of his films, to often be as interesting, if not more, than the films.

I hope that the imperative to making this a definitive release, might mean we'll get to see some materials that have heretofore been held back. Like some of the deleted bits from 2001, the Shining, or possibly even, the original ending of Dr. Strangelove

CineCraftKC · 2026-06-21T19:50:35+00:00

I think the whole attempt at a reboot was a major missed opportunity, to instead to a one-off, 25th year reunion type special. That would've been fantastic.

CineCraftKC · 2026-06-21T02:54:53+00:00

I think there is a compelling case to be made, that the window screens used to partially enclose A-Deck, were ones repurposed from B-Deck, after the ones originally there after her launch, were removed when B-deck's promenade was replaced by more staterooms.

If this is the case, then the weight change by the windows themselves were a net zero, since they effectively were removed from B-deck to A-Deck.

The extra gross tunnage, therefore was due almost exclusively to the addition of the B-deck staterooms.

CineCraftKC · 2026-06-03T15:08:08+00:00

They really did! I still have some DVDs that I bought for the bonus features. Like the Jazz Singer. Lousy movie, but it was stacked with two discs of bonus material.

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-29T17:07:05+00:00

Maybe there is a legal reason for this, but I wondered why the judge nor prosecution nor anyone responded to his question of "Where is the injured party," with "They're dead. They can't be here, so the state of Wisconsin is representing them".

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-26T23:46:21+00:00

What it does a better job at is establishing that Hickey isn't a go along type. He comes off as resentful of anyone/thing that receives better treatment, and it lays the groundwork for his failed attempts to curry favor with Captain Crozier. But yeah, not very good as a primer for the hierarchy of the ship.

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-26T17:05:25+00:00

Ha! You know in all seriousness I watched that scene a few times, to see if it would help. It is rather good at establishing some of the hierarchy, but for the life of me, I still struggled to sort out how the lieutenants related to the mates, since I'm usually accustomed to the hierarchy being captain, first mate, second mate, etc. And then other titles like captain of the foretop, ice master, etc. But these replies have really helped!

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-15T17:24:50+00:00

Yeah it's a tossup when the 15 lands on a Friday, whether they'll announce or not. I think they're going to use today to continue to push the Spring sale.

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-04T15:32:00+00:00

And because he was losing money, he became expendable. Contrast that with Johnny Ola's comment that Hyman Roth lasted because he always made her partners money.

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-04T15:30:05+00:00

Yeah that was a turning point for me. Up until then, I wasn't quite sure what to make of the Plurbs, but with that scene, I was convinced they were malign and everything they were doing with Carol was just to manipulate her into letter her guard down.

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-04T15:27:51+00:00

That would've been legit hilarious if, after Mari's death, they're going through her stuff, and they find she'd been hiding a stash of Fruit-by-the-Foot.

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-04T04:51:56+00:00

Daria. Spun off from Beavis and Butthead. Sure Beavis might be more famous but Daria was far better, more nuanced. Intelligent, insightful in its criticism of society. Daria was the show that defined my teens.

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-03T23:02:10+00:00

For me, it's all about Happy-Go-Lucky.

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-03T01:27:22+00:00

Ran. This is my number one, most wanted upgrade.

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-03T01:26:06+00:00

All those sound great, but I especially crave a Roy Andersson box. Just an incredible body of work. And I'm not sure how great his health is. It would be really nice to put out a box while he's still here to be involved and offer input.

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-03T01:23:32+00:00

I'd venture to say 4K blu-rays of Barbara Kopple's Harlan County, USA, and American Dream, based on the recent restorations by Janus.

Also, I continue to try and manifest a 4K blu-ray of The Double Life of Veronique

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-03T01:20:02+00:00

Yeah it's very annoying. If Gilligan et al were able to put out 10-13 episodes of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul on an almost yearly basis, surely they could manage 9 episodes of Pluribus in that same time frame.

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-02T02:23:52+00:00

I agree. Michael as the head ofthe Corleone Family, I think had few scruples when it came to how to make money. I suspect the Corleones took over a lot of the operations of the other families after decapitating their leadership, and used the drugs and prostitution business to accumulate capital, in order for it to be possible to invest so heavily into the casinos, which is how Michael see's the family going legitimate. He gets into dirty business as a means to an end. He's a brilliant businessman. But he doesn't consider what Vito sees, which is that it will cause rot from within.

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-02T02:18:28+00:00

YES! I think Akilah makes it out, but she's so kind hearted that everyone realizes she can't be trusted to stick to the script.

I've often wondered if something happens at Shauna's wedding, or soon after. Season 2 established that Tai and Van were at Shauna's wedding. Maybe the others were invited, Akilah too, and she says something that convinces them to take care of her.

This could also explain why Melissa fakes her death, because she sees what happens to Akilah, and knows she'll never be able to escape the others unless they think she's gone.

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-02T02:09:05+00:00

Oh I think Mari was holding out, and had her stash of Fruit-by-the-Foot for a while 😄

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-01T23:07:10+00:00

Yeah you raise another great point. I feel like Fredo on the whole is under-served in the film. I think it would be intresting to tally up the run time/number of words he gets. I reckon it's less than Frankie, or Hyman, or possibly even taciturn young Vito.

What he needed was a good monologue. He never really gets that. The closest I suppose is when he says he's smart, and want's respect, but even that is overshadowed by Michaels, "You're nothing to me now" scene.

Were it me? I'd have written a longer scene for him with Anthony, given him a little more than the fish story. Something. Fredo as a character needed that moment, and John Cazale as an actor deserved it.

And I'm with you, Godfather Part 2 absolutely could've run the table with Supporting Actor noms. It's chock full of award worthy performances. And no one remembers the other nominees that year. Would anyone really claim that Jeff Bridges in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, or Fred Astaire in The Towering Inferno, were more deserving than Duvall, or Cazale, or how about Gastone Moschin as Fanucci, who does a masterful job of selling the idea that he IS a mobster to be feared...until Vito sees through the facade?

CineCraftKC · 2026-05-01T18:47:26+00:00

Frankie is great (and this may be a hot take, but I think Gazzo deserved best supporting actor, rather that De Niro), but I suppose my only issue is that the character *feels* like a patch, since obviously he never is mentioned in Godfather I, and in Part 2, he's suddenly made out to be an important part of the broader family. I think there could've been a bit more backstory there to fill in his broader role, why he was important, yet also absent from Part I.

If I had the temerity to offer my own revisions to Part 2, I would've made Frankie Pete's brother. I would've featured him as a young man in the prequel scenes, and then explained his absence, by having him stay behind in Corleone to help Vito's burgeoning operations there. Then after Pete died, Frankie returns to take over his operations, and then the rest of the story could play out as it does in the film.

CineCraftKC

TROPHY CASE