Rate The Last Movie You Saw

He Got Game
(Spike Lee, 1998)

There's a great film hiding within this Spike Lee Joint, but unfortunately it's marred by Lee's overindulgence. Some scenes are completely unnecessary, other scenes drag a few seconds too long. The movie also suffers from Lee trying to cram too many messages into one film. Real-life basketball star Ray Allen adds an authenticity to the basketball scenes (as do brief appearances from several NBA stars and college coaches), but Allen lacks the ability to emote, which makes his character dull and uninteresting.


The Ballad of Cable Hogue
(Sam Peckinpah, 1970)

This lighthearted western, playfully directed by Sam Peckinpah, shares themes with The Wild Bunch and Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, but it lacks the grit and grime and violence that I've come to expect from Peckinpah. Perhaps those preconceived notions kept me from liking the film as much as I'd hoped, since it was so different from the other Peckinpah films I've come to love. Some aspects of the film annoyed me, like the fast-forwarded, Looney-Tunes style running that is used in a few scenes. But there's still a lot in here to admire--- the performances of Jason Robards and Stella Stevens, for instance, as well as the dusty landscapes and cinematography.


Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
(Jeff Tremaine, 2013)

Lots of scatological and testicular humor, connected by a microscopic thread of a plot. The "movie"--- if you can call it that--- is dumb and juvenile and crass, but it does contain some cheap laughs.