Rate The Last Movie You Saw

The Last of Sheila - 6/10
After seeing the very good "And Then There Were None", I thought I'd check out the older mysteries, but it doesn't come close. I didn't care about any of these characters, what happened to them, what they did, and what was their end, while I was very engaged with the other.

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By Phil Roberts - Impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12487409

Detroit Rock City - (1999)

It takes Detroit Rock City only seconds to score it's first big laugh, but my expectations after that moment were let down a little bit - it's decidedly a mixed bag. Kids in these rock and roll/punk rock films can be the good kind of bad and rebellious or simply gross - and in this a good example of what they're like is when the four male characters give a girl a lift in their car and then proceed to sexually harass her for the entire journey. If that hadn't set enough of a tone, Edward Furlong has several scenes where he tries to win a male stripper contest that's hosted by Ron Jeremy. Not at all this film's fault for including him, for they probably weren't aware of his alleged crimes, but him being part of this film now just makes me feel a little ill. It's a wish fulfillment kind of flick, as our four teen KISS fans all end up gratifying themselves as heroes or with sex - some of it's fun, and features decent comedy and some of it's off-putting, and not that funny. In it's quest to appeal to rebellious teens (which I'm sure it did) it does things I'm in favour with (all of the adults are squares in a very comically exaggerated way), but also has moments that make it's characters obnoxious. Surprising that Furlong still seems so young, nearly a decade after Terminator 2 - his career would nosedive as his problems with addiction and domestic violence spiraled out of control.

6/10

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Phffft (1954)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

Flamin' Hot -

I'm a sucker for rags-to-riches stories, and this may be not the greatest or apparently most accurate one, but it has enough going for it for me to recommend it. It's the story of Richard Montañez, a longtime janitor at Frito -Lay who worked his way up to a director role. The secret of his success? It's in the title: he came up with the popular and much-memed Cheetos variety. During his rise through the ranks, we witness how much the cards are stacked against Mexicans in the U.S.

Montañez was born in California, but we get a compelling firsthand account of why it's hardly an advantage for himself or his family. If it's not the racial slurs directed towards Richard or even his children, it's his excruciating job search, which the movie presents in a clever montage featuring many a rejection and swiftly removed "Help Wanted" sign. Touches like these as well as Richard's funny visions of how he wished certain milestones in his career played out and a scene where we see a decade and then some pass by on the factory floor make me interested in what first-time director Eva Longoria will do next. If she does direct again, I hope she's able to rally the same level of character talent. Besides Dennis Haysbert and Tony Shalhoub's turns as a sympathetic engineer and CEO respectively, as a Better Call Saul fan, it was nice to see Peter Diseth as a doubting PepsiCo executive. I also expect streaming movies to seem like uncanny valley versions of theatrical releases, but this one has a surprising amount of authenticity and grit. This especially applies to the factory, which might as well be a real one.

Despite what I appreciate about the movie, it's a bit too familiar and unambitious in every other area to be great. From the loyal wife to the high expectations father, it has its fair share of oft-parodied clichés. For its uncompromising presentation of the Mexican-American experience, stylistic touches and infectious optimism, it at least stands out from the average streaming-exclusive movie these days. This especially applies to those of you, like I admit I was before pressing play, who assume this is just an "origin of Maggie's pacifier" story.

All this time I thought Eva Mendes was the director not Longoria.

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Long & very talky. Lost track of the plot points a few times.



I thought I would hate this since I don’t much care for period & costume pieces. But, I highly rate it. I’m familiar with Strindberg’s play & I watched it for Chastain, who was brilliant, but Farrell was very good too. Written & directed by Liv Ullman.

Wow, she hasn't been in a movie since 2014? That's a long time. I mean, more power to her, but I hope we see her again some day.

8th Re-watch...After almost 30 years, this movie still makes me laugh out loud.

Holy crap. Ethan Hawke looks exactly like Corey Feldman on the poster.

Mad Dog Morgan, 1976

Daniel Morgan (Dennis Hopper) emigrates from Ireland to Australia to take part in a gold rush. But when he finds himself broke and turns to a (relatively mild) life of crime, it’s not long before he’s sentenced to prison and hard labor, where he endures physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. On his release, Morgan becomes an outlaw, targeting the wealthy and powerful along with fellow outlaw Billy (David Gulpilil).

Anchored by a strong lead performance and an unpredictable lead character, this gritty action drama keeps you glued to the exploits of its doomed protagonist.



Full review

Puberty Blues, 1981

Debbie (Nell Schofield) and Sue (Jad Capelja) are teenagers living in a seaside suburb of Sydney, Australia. As summer begins, the girls are determined to integrate themselves into the “cool kids” group---a crew of surfer boys and their girlfriend groupies. The girls succeed in gaining a place in the group, but are unprepared for some of the brutal hierarchical elements and the dangerous or harmful side of the group’s idea of fun.

This generally empathetic and clear-eyed look at trying to find one’s place amidst intense peer pressure, this film is let down at times when it tries to force the comedy elements to the front.



Full review

Dennis Hopper looking like a Jeremiah Johnsoned Matthew Broderick in that pic.

Lynch/Oz - It's an odd tribute to David Lynch. First, you have to realize that the dark and strange director of movies like Eraserhead, Blue Velvet and the Elephant Man considers his biggest influence and inspiration to be The Wizard of Oz, the 1930's classic. Then you get a bunch of movie personalities to tell stories about their experience of Lynch movies and then you intercut that with clips from The Wizard of Oz, sharing split screen space with Lynch movies.....Dorothy and the Elephant Man going on at the same time.

My local favorite among the commentators was John Waters, a guy who grew up near me and used people I knew as actors and crew in his early low low budget cheapies. Waters is a big fan of Lynch and did one of the retrospective segments. Clips from Waters movies were intercut with Lynch sequences.

While it was an interesting idea, I thought the movie didn't live up. It was disjointed, episodic, and given all of the disparate comments from different commentators, there was no consistent flow that made sense aside from the obvious fact that they all admired Lynch. I'm not sure how you actually DO a tribute like this, but this isn't it.

By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51476915

Ghostbusters - (2016)

Ghostbusters comes with a lot of pop culture baggage - you can go all the way back to 1989 and Ghosbusters II to try and fathom why the original film captured lightning in a bottle, and how following it up might be a foolhardy endeavour. I thought remaking it with a female cast was an interesting thing to do - but the reason I steered clear of this was the sample of jokes we saw in the trailer. As far as director Paul Feig is concerned, I liked Bridesmaids but didn't at all care for The Heat - and his career subsequent to those two films seemed to be on a downward trajectory. So, with this film I didn't think everything in it was necessarily bad - but the only thing that distinguishes it from other CGI effects-heavy big budget comedies was the Ghostbusters brand. This is not exceptional in any way, only intermittently amusing and glossy without being clever. I like the idea in general, and liked Melissa McCarthy along with Kristen Wiig - although the former seems to be at a loss with so many props and so much physical stuff her character needs to contend with (the type of physical stuff - knowing that she's comfortable with physical comedy in and of itself.) I ended up firmly in the zone of liking it enough not to hate it, but not liking it enough to end up scoring it on the positive side of the ledger. It lands firmly in the middle. It sorely needed more to end with than a 10-minute shoot-em-up frenzy - that finale was awful.

5/10

Elemental (2023)


Stunning visuals, but a surprisingly bland script....caught my daughter yawning during this one with me. I didn't have high expectations going in, but I feel like there is so much more creative exploration that could have been done here.

#97 on our Documentaries list, and I watched it for the war countdown. I was a bit lost times or else I would rate it higher. It's the most incredible and wild documentary I've seen.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, 1968

Eccentric inventor Potts (Dick van Dyke) lives in the countryside with his children Jemima (Heather Ripley) and Jeremy (Adrian Hall). They soon cross paths with Truly Scrumptious (Sally Ann Howes), the daughter of a local candy tycoon. The group bonds, and soon ends up on a wild adventure to the land of Vulgaria where they must evade various villains and attempts to steal their flying car.

A charming adventure, this musical just about justifies its long runtime with fun song-and-dance numbers and endearing performances.



Full review

Hunter’s Blood, 1986

Doctor-in-training David (Sam Bottoms) heads out for a hunting trip in the woods with his father Mason (Clu Gulager), brothers Al (Ken Swofford) and Ralph (Mayf Nutter), and rich kid Marty (Joey Travolta). Unfortunately, the men quickly get on the wrong side of the locals, eventually ending up in a fight for survival against a group of poachers who think of the woods as their territory.

Decent tension keeps this one afloat, despite a shockingly unlikable batch of protagonists.



Full review

I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (1968)