Rate The Last Movie You Saw

I haven't seen it, but I've heard/read that Stiller's pretty good in Permanent Midnight, which is an indie drama from the 1990s.

Anyway, I've always loved Empire of the Sun but I have to admit I haven't seen it in 15-20 years.

__________________

Just for fun... found a clip with Ben Stiller in it. He was good.



I like his haircut in the movie... he should combine that cut with his "Blue Steel"!

I knew Bale was in it, but didn't know Ben Stiller was. I have that on my most watch war movie list so will be getting to it one of these days...I did see it but so long ago I've forgotten most all of it. I seem to recall that it was a pretty good film.

Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11924124

Emma - (1996)

If you discount Clueless and Aisha there are surprisingly few feature film adaptations of Jane Austen's Emma. In fact, as hard as it is to believe, there's only this '96 Douglas McGrath directorial debut, and the 2020 version we got featuring Anya Taylor-Joy as the title character (there are many television versions however.) This one features Gwyneth Paltrow, Toni Collette, Alan Cumming, Ewan McGregor and personal favourite (I wish she'd been in more stuff) Juliet Stevenson. Emma (Paltrow) has just set her governess up with the man she marries, and thus considers herself a matchmaker supreme. She's only just reached adulthood however, and she overestimates her own wise powers, setting her poor friend Harriet Smith down one wrong path after another - she learns much through hard experience. I liked the 2020 version, and I've been meaning to read the novel ever since. This version isn't bad - but pales into insignificance costume-wise and it's art direction, set decoration etc isn't up to that beautiful second adaptation. The performances in this are first rate however - especially Ewan McGregor's and Toni Collette's. The poster (or at least my DVD cover) spells the former's name "McGreggor" - so either they misspelled it, or he dropped the extra "g" sometime in the past 25 or so years.

6/10

__________________

The Hired Hand (1971) -

If you've known me for a while, you've probably heard me mention that I generally don't pay attention to acting in films. Like, don't get me wrong. I have nothing against people who do. It's just typically not something which bothers me, with very few exceptions (and by the same token, the converse is also true: that acting generally isn't one of the things I enjoy about a film). While watching this film, however, I couldn't help but fixate on Peter Fonda's performance. I've seen a handful of film buffs I'm close to refer to Peter Fonda as the least talented of the Fonda family by a long shot and that might be true. The last time I watched Peter Fonda onscreen was in "Easy Rider", and that was at least a few years ago (as expected, I don't recall his acting affecting my opinion of the film much). I found Fonda's performance in this film though to be remarkably bland and emotion-free to the point I was somewhat bored whenever Warren Oates wasn't onscreen. To cut the film some slack though, Fonda's acting does suit the character he plays to a certain degree. When we first meet Harry, it's apparent that he lacks any direction in life and has no idea what to do with his future. Often when characters attempt to speak to him, we simply get a close-up of him looking around aimlessly. This effect continues when he arrives at Hannah's ranch, given the distant and somewhat unnerved reaction he displays around her. So, for a little while, Fonda's acting suits the film well. The more time he spends around Hannah though, he begins to warm up and grow closer to her. In spite of that, his acting remains wooden, thus making it hard for me to buy his supposed change. Unless this was to imply that he never actually warmed up to her, but his final conversation to Hannah says otherwise. Regardless of whether it was Fonda's intention or not, I did appreciate his wooden acting in the first half or so of the film, but the further I got, the more this effect wore off. Plus, going up against Oates oozing personality and charm in every scene did him no favors. In spite of that, I did find the film somewhat interesting due to the aforementioned first half (and Warren Oates, I suppose), and that helped to keep me from disliking the film. Another key takeaway was the amount of cross dissolves in the film. I generally dig them and while we don't get much, given the film's mostly straight face, I appreciated it whenever the film threw me a bone. Like, I straight up love the first scene, for instance. And not because you get to somewhat see Warren Oates naked...okay, fine; that's partly why.

__________________
IMDb
Letterboxd

Every Which Way but Loose (1978)

__________________

[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

Hostage is the sixth short film from this BMW project dubbed The Hire, which follows a nameless driver (Clive Owen) hired by different clients to perform different tasks. In this case, the driver is hired by the FBI to serve as the courier in a hostage situation. A disgruntled employee (Maury Chaykin) has kidnapped his CEO (Kathryn Morris) and is asking for... a gesture. Is it the money or is it something else?

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (2023) This was wonderful. Abby Ryder Fortson is charming and gives a winning, fantastic performance. The other kids are great too. Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates are stellar, as usual. The film is sweet, funny, and heartfelt. This is relatable and enjoyable for tweens and parents. There is something here for everyone, young or old, girl or boy. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is my pick for best film of the year so far.

The Entertainer

__________________
https://www.youtube.com/c/LoyalOpposition

I just got back from the Mario Bros. Movie. It was wonderful.

This and his other orangutan flick have to be two of the more inexplicable and dissonant choices I've ever seen in any artists catalogue.

By [1], Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20131523

The Towering Inferno - (1974)

I don't know if time's been entirely kind to The Towering Inferno, but it's earnestness is refreshing, and it's still a lot of fun to see such a large ensemble of A-listers mix it up amongst the carnage. It's basically a street-bound, 138-story tall Titanic, with anti-fire measures yet to be included and the cream of San Francisco society partying on the top floor. What could possibly go wrong? Richard Chamberlain, looking to both save money and pocket a few kickbacks - and pushing people out of the way to try and save himself - takes most of the blame, although William Holden has a few questions to answer. In the meantime, it's Steve McQueen and Paul Newman riding in to the rescue. Or should that be Paul Newman and Steve McQueen? Anyway - the cat comes through everything unscathed - a must for people like me. It's one of those movies where you think to yourself, "this should be wrapping up pretty soon", then check the run-time to see that there's still 90 minutes to go. Just put it out already! Very cool though, that this film inspired the book "Nothing Lasts Forever" which was adapted into a little film called Die Hard. Thank you Towering Inferno.

7.5/10

I've always liked the idea of enjoying watching The Towering Inferno more than I have ever actually enjoyed watching it.

I remember those halcyon days of wall to wall disaster movies. I also remember you had your pick between Earthquake and Towering Inferno.

Not the worst entry into the super hero genre, but it's certanly high up there. Don't waste your time

__________________
There has been an awekening.... have you felt it?

SF = Z


[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it

Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)

I get giddy with excitement whenever I'm about to watch the extended edition of The Swarm - that is the funniest movie I've ever seen in my life, and it never loses it's magical appeal.