Rate The Last Movie You Saw

[exiler96]

Angel Heart (1987) - There is a big, however done-hundreds-of-times-elsewhere and still silly kind of twist at the end of this but it almost doesn't matter just because how thrilling the whole affair is. It tells a story of voodoo and characters named "epiphany" and black dogs coming at you to bite your legs; almost as if they all want to tell you something! but Alan Parker directors it all (the pacing, the lighting etc.) in a grounded way - save for a Nic Roeg-esque sex scene which still unnverves as it must have at the time of it's release. If Sinners is half this fun I'll be a happy man.

It's been a long time since I've seen DeNiro in such a mysterious and interesting mode (and I loved that he reportedly based his performance here on his pal Marty!) and Rourke easily makes for one of best leading men in a latter-day neo-noir that I've encountered. Between this and Diner and Rumble Fish and Grinweech Village he proves to be a total beast of an actor, and how he kept destroying it all is a bummer for ages.

Chickens... why did it have to be chickens?... 8/10.

https://devilinthedetailssite.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/angel-heart-robert-de-niro.jpg

[Fabulous]

My One and Only (2009)

3

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/6zaAygLsXI6HS1OlCZMolpGtu8I.jpg

[chawhee]

A Hidden Life (2019)
https://cbn.com/sites/default/files/media/standard/images/hidden-life-movie_si.jpg
3.5
Outstanding story about a man refusing on moral grounds to join the Nazi ranks. It definitely made me ponder some hypotheticals, like the role religion can play during times of war. Great acting. I thought the cinematography and shot selection was a bit distracting though, and it's another movie that probably could have reduced it's nearly 3 hour runtime.

[LeBoyWondeur]

Angel Heart (1987)
One of my favourite films of the 1980s, and I would describe it as "sophisticatedly grotesque".
There is a big, however done-hundreds-of-times-elsewhere and still silly kind of twist at the end of this
Can you think of any pre-Angel Heart examples? (excluding the Twilight Zone series which had already covered every imaginable plot twist not necessarily seen by all of the late eighties audience that sat down for Angel Heart).

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTYxNDMyOTAxN15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMDg1ODYzNTM@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg


3rd Rewatch...This glossy, big budget combination of romantic comedy and soap opera remains just as entertaining on my initial viewing. Rachel Chu is an economics professor at NYU who has been invited by her boyfriend, Nick, to accompany him to his best friend's wedding in Singapore, where Nick is to be the Best Man. Rachel happily accepts the invitation, but is thrown, when, upon arrival, learns that Nick's family is the first family of Singapore, ridiculously wealthy and run by Nick's steely and manipulative mother (Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh). A conventional story is given a fresh coat of paint , thanks to a clever screenplay and an attractive cast of Asian actors. I don't like the way Nick hid the truth about his family from Rachel and took way too long to have her on back when his mother came in for the kill, but there's so much cinematic bling here, it's easy to overlook the minor issues. Constance Wu lights up the screen as Rachel and Michelle Yeoh plays her role like a Bond villain. Awkefina also steals every scene she's in as Rachel's BFF. 4

[exiler96]

Can you think of any pre-Angel Heart examples? (excluding the Twilight Zone series which had already covered every imaginable plot twist not necessarily seen by all of the late eighties audience that sat down for Angel Heart).

Frankly, I changed my phrase from " hundred-times-before " to " elsewhere " exactly for the reason that I don't have an answer to this question, lol. Stuff like Fight Club and Shutter Island (which I grew up with) came long after AH of course, so it might've been pretty unique for the audience at that point in time. Psycho maybe? that one fits every bill in one way or another...

And "sophisticatedly grotesque" is a damn good articulation for it!

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTkzOTk0MjYwM15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNTE5ODQxNTM@._V1_.jpg


1st Rewatch...Melissa McCarthy's comic genius makes this film seem a lot beytter than it really is. McCarthy plays a housewife who, right after dropping her daughter off to cllege, is dumped by her husband. With nowhere to go, she makes the decision to return to college to get the degree in archeology that she gave up when she became pregnant. On the surface, this film appears to be just a distaff version of Back to School, but this film is different because McCarthy's Deanna is truly sincere about wanting to get her diploma and gets unconditional support from her daughter. MCCarthy commands the screen like she always does. I also liked Matt Walsh as her scummy ex, Julie Bowen as his new fiancee, and Heidi Gardner as Deanna's creepy roommate who never leaves her dorm room. 3.5

[ueno_station54]

watched a couple shitty tubi movies on my phone while my wife was in surgery.

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/9/8/9/9/5/5/989955-the-farlooker-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=d15fb482fc
one of those movies where you're kind of on board with what its saying until it drops some psycho shit on you lol. the exact kind of bullshit i'm looking for but not the best example of it.
rating_3_5

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/6/3/5/1/1/6/635116-acrylic-2020-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=afa4cfc901
not quite good enough or bad enough for me to fully love it but i was so onboard with the premise and its a fun watch. wish there was more focus on the nails tho, or like, any focus on the nails.
rating_3_5

[Allaby]

Sinners (2025) Sinners is a smart, ambitious, and original film that delivers. Although this isn't Ryan Coogler's best film, it is very well directed. The screenplay is sharply written and the cast is quite good, especially Michael B. Jordan. The cinematography is excellent and I thought the score was effective. Sinners works on several different levels and is engaging and entertaining. One of the top 3 films of the year so far. 4

[exiler96]

Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) - The mystery here isn't as interesting as the people solving it - which is my preferable kind of doing this type of story. I can watch Diane and Woody sneaking around all day, and I found him (the on-screen Allen persona) getting jealous towards a blissfully chill Alan Alda over his loved one (a call-back to Crimes and Misdemeanors? it's Farrow there and Keaton here) hilarious.

It went some unpredictable directions too (like re-creating the mirrors stand-off from The Lady from Shanghai, one of those classics I haven't checked out yet), and while I think it doesn't resolve itself too well (a last-minute girlfriend showing up to end the danger) I chuckled enough times to give this a pass if not more... 6.5-7/10.

https://www.shutterstock.com/editorial/image-editorial/Mczck7z3M5z4Y6y4Mjk4/film-stills-'manhattan-murder-mystery'-1993-jerry-550nw-390928cr.jpg

[mrblond]

The Room Next Door (2024)

Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
Starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore

Almodóvar's works of the last 10-15 years are very stylish visually. It is absolute pleasure watching them. Colours, Film sets, Costumes, Interior Designs, Architecture, Fashion, etc. That's very very nice!
His last work - The Room Next Door - keeps this high visual level, alas the plot here is somewhat done for the sake of the drama and somehow banal which is so pity for this great cinematography.
3++
65/100
107490

[mrblond]

Angel Heart (1987)

https://devilinthedetailssite.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/angel-heart-robert-de-niro.jpg

Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)

https://www.shutterstock.com/editorial/image-editorial/Mczck7z3M5z4Y6y4Mjk4/film-stills-'manhattan-murder-mystery'-1993-jerry-550nw-390928cr.jpg

It is always nice to see someone who chooses well the films to watch. I think, I can smell a taste for high quality here...:yup:

[exiler96]

It is always nice to see someone who chooses well the films to watch. I think, I can smell a taste for high quality here...:yup:

I've made it a goal to finally watch the titles that have been on my watchlist for the longest time this year. Glad that some of them piqued your interest. Cheers!

[LeBoyWondeur]

Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
I got Woody's Shadows And Fog in my Prime watchlist. It's got an impressive cast list and I'm really excited about it.

But today was a rewatch.

Disclosure (1994)

107496

A twisty corporate thriller that includes the topic of sexual harassment as part of an elaborate scheme.
It all makes sense as you watch it, but seeing the end and thinking back how it all started then it becomes a bit confusing, especially the characters motivations.
Michael Douglas seems to be very comfortable in these type of roles, but it's Demi Moore who steals the show as the devious office vamp with the sexy vocal fry.
CD-roms, virtual reality (one particular scene looks very Black Mirror) and they even mention the word "algorithm". That really surprised me.
It's also got erotic bits and perhaps too much information about Michael Douglas' penis.

It's possible that this film got its priorities mixed up but overall it keeps the pace and intrigue steady. The supporting cast is also very watchable.

3

[Allaby]

Freaky Tales (2024) This is really inconsistent and all over the place. The rap battle and the scene with Tom Hanks and Pedro Pascal was good, but stretches of this did not work for me. The writing isn't great either. I liked some of the music and the vibes. Very much a mixed bag and a case where the parts are better than the whole. 3

[markdc]

Force of Nature (2020)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Force_of_Nature_poster.jpg
Another fun heist movie that takes place in terrible weather conditions. It’s the sort of movie you watch if you’re in the mood for brainless entertainment.
rating_2

[markdc]

Empire State (2013)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f3/Empire_state_--_dvd_cover.jpg
Fun direct-to-DVD movie about a heist that took place in New York City in the early 1980’s. He’s no Bobby De Niro, but The Rock is always enjoyable to watch. I was interested to see that the DA who handled this case was a young Rudolph Giuliani. Back then, America’s Mayor was fighting crime rather than committing it.
rating_2_5

[LeBoyWondeur]

Force of Nature (2020)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Force_of_Nature_poster.jpg
Another fun heist movie that takes place in terrible weather conditions. It’s the sort of movie you watch if you’re in the mood for brainless entertainment.
rating_2


Could that be considered a remake of Hard Rain (1998) ?

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fc/Porco_Rosso_%28Movie_Poster%29.jpg
By https://www.movieposterdb.com/kurenai-no-buta-i104652/0726dc08, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3889172

Porco Rosso - (1992)

I'd seen this, but the last time I watched the trailer I realised I couldn't remember much of it - perhaps because I hadn't fully invested myself the first time around. This second time, I found this had a nice touch of humour about it that couldn't help but make me smile. It's also much nicer watching a Ghibli movie with the original Japanese voices providing the oomph behind the dialogue, and reading subtitles. It strikes a nice balance between the fantastical and real - and is probably the least weird Ghibli animated adventure (not that I mind weird.) I'll remember most of it from this point on, as I was much more invested last night and paid careful attention to every aspect.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/55/Alone_in_the_dark_ver1.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8707260

Alone in the Dark - (1982)

Fun and intense home invasion horror/thriller that features enjoyably crazy turns from Jack Palance and Martin Landau (along with Donald Pleasence, who plays one of the doctors.) You can tell director Jack Sholder and producer Robert Shaye cared about their product, which makes Alone in the Dark a very easy movie to watch and enjoy. I'm sure that if I'd hired it during those heady VHS days in my youth it would have become a firm favourite and I'd have had a memorable time with it. Full review here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2555705#post2555705), in my watchlist thread.

7/10

[markdc]

Bull Durham (1988)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ef/Bull_Durham_film_poster.jpg
Bull Durham is the Amadeus of baseball movies.
Nuff said.
rating_5

[markdc]

Could that be considered a remake of Hard Rain (1998) ?
No. Hard Rain shares more similarities with a movie I watched last weekend called The Hurricane Heist, but that’s not a remake either.

[Wooley]

Bull Durham (1988)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ef/Bull_Durham_film_poster.jpg
Bull Durham is the Amadeus of baseball movies.
Nuff said.
rating_5



I think Bull Durham is one of the more underrated movies of my 50+ years on Earth. It's just a great, great script. It's simple and unambitious so I'm not saying it's Citizen Kane here, but I think the script is just fantastic and I think it gets overlooked as just a fun baseball movie.

[markdc]

I think Bull Durham is one of the more underrated movies of my 50+ years on Earth. It's just a great, great script. It's simple and unambitious so I'm not saying it's Citizen Kane here, but I think the script is just fantastic and I think it gets overlooked as just a fun baseball movie.
The reason why I called Bull Durham “the Amadeus of baseball movies” is because it’s essentially a remake of Milos Forman’s classic (albeit with baseball substituted for music) and because it’s a dagum MASTERPIECE. I never got into baseball, but of all types of sports movies, baseball movies are my favorite. Moneyball, Field of Dreams, Major League, Fever Pitch, and The Sandlot are great, but Bull Durham tops them all!
And you’re right, Wooley, Bull Durham has an excellent script. There are so many great scenes and lines. One of my favorites is that scene where Nuke and Annie are in bed doing the nasty and Nuke takes issue with Annie shouting Crash’s name, and she says, “Would you rather me be making love to him using your name or me making love to you using his?” And I also love the quote: “Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. And sometimes it rains.”
In addition to making my favorite baseball movie, Ron Shelton also made my favorite golfing movie, Tin Cup (although Bull Durham is better).

[mrblond]

Papillon (1973)

Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
Starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman

My fourth rewatch for the last 20 years.
Great interesting classic adventurous-prison movie featuring outstanding performances by McQueen and Hoffman.

5
99/100
107532

[Allaby]

825 Forest Road (2025) Watched on AMC+. I thought this was eerie and atmospheric and did a good job of building suspense. Performances were solid. 3.5

[Thief]

TRAP
(2024, Shyamalan)

https://i.imgur.com/lMHtn8n.jpeg


"Not all of you is a monster. Not all. You're my son and this is who you are. End of story."



That is the assurance that a certain character gets late in this film. That you're not necessarily defined by your actions, regardless of how horrific they might be; at least in the eyes of mom, that is. That is part of the premise that this M. Night Shyamalan film toys with. Trap follows Cooper Abbott (Josh Hartnett), a firefighter and family man, that takes his teenage daughter (Ariel Donoghue) to a concert, only to realize that the whole concert might be a trap to catch a dangerous serial killer.

Special kudos to Hartnett, who's having a hell of a comeback. His performance here is great and he manages to have us rooting for him. Donoghue is pretty good as his daughter, and I thought Saleka Shyamalan (the director's daughter) was very good as singer Lady Raven, who somehow gets caught in the trap as well as the killer tries to find ways to escape. If anything, I wish the characters of Cooper's wife (Alison Pill) and the profiler (Hayley Mills) would've been executed better. The way it is, Hartnett gets more moments to shine, but I think there could've been a nice counter-balance there.

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2555825#post2555825)

[ueno_station54]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/8/5/5/1/6/9/855169-putrefixion-a-video-of-nina-temich-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=7ed3e0f1c5
found footage horror shot on a 360 camera and i love that concept so much and its really good until the "horror" happens. the 360 camera is actually so good at capturing the mood and the earlier parts of the movie that are more just a hangout movie with some dramatic moments it works so well it just really feels like it didn't need to be a horror movie at all.
3


https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/4/6/2/6/1/46261-encino-man-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=082cfadf4a
a surprising delight. Shore and Fraser are really fun together and it made me happy.
4

[Thief]

FORBIDDEN PLANET
(1956, Wilcox)

https://i.imgur.com/y3ijZL8.jpeg


Captain Adams: "And yet, in all these years, you personally have never again been bothered by this planetary force?"
Dr. Morbius: "Only in nightmares of those times. And yet, always in my mind... I seem to feel the creature is lurking somewhere close at hand... sly and irresistible, and only waiting to be re-invoked for murder."



Set in the 23rd Century, Forbidden Planet follows Captain Adams (Leslie Nielsen) and his crew as they arrive at the planet Altair. Their mission? To find the whereabouts of the crew of the Bellerophon, a ship that was sent there 20 years earlier but never returned. As soon as they arrive, they encounter only two people: Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon and his daughter Altaira (Anne Francis), as well as Robby, their robot.

The film also has a fairly intriguing plot as we try to figure out the fate of this crew as well as the motivations of Dr. Morbius. The film is a bit of a slow burn and doesn't rely on action setpieces. It does manage to build up dread effectively, though, even if the pace seems a bit off from time to time. Still, I think that the interactions between the main characters (Adams, Morbius, his crew) manage to hold your interest pretty well.

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2555839#post2555839)

[markdc]

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/71/Skycaptainposter.jpg
This criminally underrated cinematic masterpiece is a globetrotting adventure that, in terms of sheer entertainment and artistry, rivals the best of the Indiana Jones series. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a film that tickles the senses and stimulates the imagination. It’s one of those movies (like Edge of Tomorrow) that deserves to achieve blockbuster status but failed at the box office. My only hope is that people will eventually discover and cherish this forgotten classic.
rating_5

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/42/Days_of_the_Bagnold_Summer_%28film%29_poster.jpg/250px-Days_of_the_Bagnold_Summer_%28film%29_poster.jpg

3.5

SF = Z

Viewed: Amazon Prime


Trailer:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=2d4jQyw4h1M&pp=ygUiZGF5cyBvZiB0aGUgYmFnbm9sZCBzdW1tZXIgdHJhaWxlcg%3D%3D


[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

[chawhee]

Boiling Point (2021)
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w300_and_h450_bestv2/wPksyah6NboJAUrT6o6hAGiL2pV.jpg
4
I wanted to give the Adolescence director Philip Barantini and lead actor Stephen Graham some more of my time, and this one fit the bill. Intense kitchen dramas are a dime-a-dozen, and though I don't think this one brings much new to the table, it is still high quality. Like Adolescence, it is also a one-take presentation.

[Stirchley]

Boiling Point (2021)
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w300_and_h450_bestv2/wPksyah6NboJAUrT6o6hAGiL2pV.jpg
4
I wanted to give the Adolescence director Philip Barantini and lead actor Stephen Graham some more of my time, and this one fit the bill. Intense kitchen dramas are a dime-a-dozen, and though I don't think this one brings much new to the table, it is still high quality. Like Adolescence, it is also a one-take presentation.

Loved it. Seen it twice.

[matt72582]

The Big Clock - 6.5/10
I said I'd never watch another Mystery, but I saw it was leaving Criterion in a couple of days, but most importantly, Ray Milland was in it.. First half is much better.


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/46/TheBigClock.jpg

[Wooley]

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/71/Skycaptainposter.jpg
This criminally underrated cinematic masterpiece is a globetrotting adventure that, in terms of sheer entertainment and artistry, rivals the best of the Indiana Jones series. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a film that tickles the senses and stimulates the imagination. It’s one of those movies (like Edge of Tomorrow) that deserves to achieve blockbuster status but failed at the box office. My only hope is that people will eventually discover and cherish this forgotten classic.
rating_5



Interesting.
That was actually the book on it when I saw it, "Oh, it's actually great and should have been huge but people just didn't get it or whatever."
So I saw it and it did nothing for me and I found it silly, off the mark, and a bit of a chore.
Maybe I need to give it another go.

[matt72582]

Something Wild - 7/10


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2c/SomethingWildPoster.jpg

[Torgo]

Strangers on a Train - 4

Have you ever had someone in your life who just won't go away no matter how hard you try? If The Gift (2015) and The Cable Guy didn't make you realize how much this would make your life a living hell, this movie surely will. I was not surprised when I learned that Patricia Highsmith of Ripley fame wrote the source novel because the insinuator, Bruno (Walker), is cut from the same cloth. Like Ripley, what makes him a formidable antagonist is that he is used to a certain level of privilege and does not exactly want to do an honest day's work to maintain it if you know what I mean. Robert Taylor totally sells this, and as for the other half of Bruno's proposal to off unwanted acquaintances, Farley Grainger makes tennis pro Guy another classic Hitchcock "ordinary man in an extraordinary situation." Ordinary is the key word here - he practically fades into the background - but it makes it all the easier to walk in his shoes and makes Bruno's tendencies all the more unsettling. As it goes in the other movies I mentioned, it gets no more unsettling than when Bruno shows up unannounced and uninvited. His appearance at Guy's future father-in-law's party is a highlight, especially since his idea of amusing the guests is to demonstrate how to use your bare hands to kill someone. After all this, if you still need more evidence that this is a Hitchcock movie, no scene better demonstrates why he earned the "master of suspense" nickname than a race against time featuring a pivotal tennis match. Also, like he did in Saboteur, North by Northwest, et al, the director concludes the affair with an iconic set piece that may be the most fast-paced scene I have witnessed in a '50s movie.

If anything, this movie proves that there is no such thing as a job, agreement, etc. that has no strings attached. Also, if you have ever wondered how the phrase "don't take your work home with you" came about, it provides as good an explanation of it as any! If there's anything worth griping about here, it's that Bruno's homosexual tendencies are comically exaggerated at times. Even so, they could be a lot worse when you consider the movie's age. Highsmith and Hitchcock are a dream pairing that unfortunately did not become an ongoing partnership, but it's hard to complain when we got this one from them.

[Gideon58]

https://ntvb.tmsimg.com/assets/p29966834_b_h8_aa.jpg?w=960&h=540


4

[Gideon58]

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5ycGPOvUtAA/maxresdefault.jpg


5th Rewatch...Sidney Lumet's stylish and funny film version of Ira Levin's long running Broadway hit remains imminently rewatchable. Michael Caine plays Sidney Bruhl, a playwright who has just had his third flop in a row and has also received the rough draft of a play written by a young aspiring playwright named Clifford Anderson (Christopher Reeve) who once took a writing seminar with Bruhl, Desperate to salvage his career, Sidney decides to invite Anderson to his home, murder him, and produce Cliff's play as his own, much to the dismay of his highly strung wife (Dyan Cannon). Lumet's direction, Jay Presson Allen's screenplay, and Johnny Mandel's music are all on the money, but the primary attraction here is the performance of his career by the late Christopher Reeve that makes this film appointment viewing all by itself. 4

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71nNZ2gn0aL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg


1st Rewatch...Amy Shumer's struggle to start a movie career was further slowed by this anemic comedy where she plays the pleasingly plump clerical employee of a large cosmetics empire who, while working out, falls off a stationary bike and hits her head. when she wakes up, she thinks she's the most beautiful and sexy woman on the planet and, for some reason, none of the other characters in the movie will tell her otherwise and those who try are not believed. The film has a lot of messages about body shaming but they are driven home with a sledgehammer, lessening the appeal of Shumer's appeal with each scene. The film is effortlessly stolen by Michelle Williams as Shumer's flighty boss, but that was no big accomplishment. 2.5

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71tM+ZNsAlL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg


1st Rewatch...The late Chadwick Boseman, who spent a healthy chunk of his career doing biopics, had one of his stronger efforts here playing future supreme court judge Thurogood Marshall. In this film, Marshall still works for the NAACP and is summoned to Bridgeport Connecticut to defend a black man (Sterling K Brown) accused of raping a white woman (Kate Hudson). The judge refuses to allow Marshall to try the case for what appears to be purely racial biased reasons, so a white attorney (Josh Gad) risks his career by being the mouthpiece for Marshall, who is really trying the case from the second chair. The underlying In the Heat of the Night type of racial tension that permeates the film makes it hard for the viewer to remain objective, but we're never really sure of the verdict until it is announced. Boseman is splendid, as always, but the real surprise here is Gad, perhaps best known as the voice of Olaf in the Frozen movies, in an eye opening performance as Marshall's mouthpiece. 3.5

[Gideon58]

https://resizing.flixster.com/-XZAfHZM39UwaGJIFWKAE8fS0ak=/v3/t/assets/p4534_p_v8_aa.jpg


2nd Rewatch...One of the worst adaptions of a Broadway musical to the silver screen. This is the 1974 film version of the 1966 Broadway musical that won Angela Lansbury a Tony Award in 1967, that was adapted from the 1958 comedy that earned Rosalind Russell an Oscar nomination, that was based on a book written by the show's main character, Patrick Dennis (got all that?). To say Lucille Ball was too old and too miscast in this role would be a masterpiece of understatement. And don't get me started on her singing. Her rendition of "If He Walked into My Life" should be used to put unruly children to sleep. The only completely satisfying performance in this film comes from the late Bea Arthur, reprising her Broadway role as Mame's BFF Vera Charles and I did like their duet, "Bosom Buddies", but other than that, this film is just painful to watch. 1.5

[Gideon58]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/Beetlejuice_Beetlejuice_poster.jpg


1st Rewatch...As a textbook on how important first rate production values are to film, there are only a few films that touch this one. Tim Burton and his amazing team of cinematic technicians can't be touched. That scene of the arrival of Delores, rolling out of a box in pieces and putting her self back together with a staple gun is a cinematic wonder that never gets old. However, the screenplay just tries to cover too much and ends up reducing ma\in character Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to a supporting character even though he gets the top billing here that he should have gotten in the first film. The story of Lydia (Winona Ryder) trying to deal with her daughter (Jenna Ortega) and her slimy producer boyfriend (Justin Theroux) works for the most part, but the return of Beetlejuice's never before mentioned ex-wife (Monica Belluci) falls flat. The attention to that story would have better spent on Delia Deitz trying to deal with the death of her beloved Charles. Catherine O'Hara steals every scene she's in as Delia and I also enjoyed Willem Dafoe as a ghostly police detective, but as a complete film experience, it never really comes together and goes on way longer than necessary. 3.5

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMDQ3NjE3YTMtYWY3ZC00NjcyLThlNDYtNTVmMDE2YjZjYzliXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg


Umpteenth Rewatch...Woody Allen knocked it out of the park with this enchanting romantic fantasy that is just as fresh and funny as it was in 1985. Mia Farrow was robbed of an Oscar nomination for her performance as Celia, a waitress during the depression trapped in a marriage to an unemployed pig (Danny Aiello) who spends every spare moment she gets gong to see the movie of the title over and over again. After walking out on her husband and losing her job, Celia goes to the movie again and Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels), notices that she has been t every performance, walks out of the movie screen and into the theater because he wants to meet. Meanwhile, the actors still on the screen are stuck and other Tom Baxters start to act up, so Gil Shepherd (also Daniels), the actor who played Baxter, travels to Celia's hometown to get Tom to go back into the movie. Woody's Oscar-nominated screenplay provides consistent laughs until the end of the movie, which is one of the most devastatingly tragic endings to a movie ever. Top five Woody Allen. 4.5

[Darth Pazuzu]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5f/Sinners_%282025_film%29_poster.jpg/250px-Sinners_%282025_film%29_poster.jpg

April 22, 2025

SINNERS (Ryan Coogler / 2025)

Well, I wouldn't exactly call it great, but I do think it's very good, and I think it's very original in the way it combines certain themes and ideas. On one hand, it's a period drama about music, artistic expression and inner demons. And on the other, it's an all-out vampire movie! I'd be lying if I said that I felt these two different thematic threads were interwoven in a completely flawless way, for I don't necessarily think it totally gels. And it wears its horror influences on its sleeve just a tad too obviously. This is probably the second horror movie I've seen within this past year which pays visual homage to a shot of Jack Nicholson locked inside the kitchen pantry in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980) (the other, of course, being Coralie Fargeat's The Substance from last year). And the "garlic test" is probably just a little too obviously influenced by the blood test in John Carpenter's The Thing (1982). Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn also feels like a very direct influence, and I don't think Sinners is quite as skillful a hybrid of period music drama and vampire movie as Rodriguez's film is a hybrid of crime thriller and vampire movie.

Having said all that, however, I would still heartily recommend Sinners quite heartily. It's quite possible that its horror elements just feel maybe a bit overly familiar to me personally, whereas with many other people they perhaps wouldn't be. And I actually watched the movie before I realized that sibling protagonists Smoke and Stack were both played by Michael B. Jordan! :lol: I think it's quite a tour de force from Jordan, who truly succeeds in making both brothers into distinctive individuals. (I also think that Jordan's double act feels a lot more organic and much less of a stunt than Robert De Niro's in Barry Levinson's The Alto Knights from earlier this year, probably because Jordan's characters are actually related by blood and not simply just childhood friends from the old neighborhood like De Niro's.)

Without giving any further story elements away - and simply because I'm feeling lazy right now and do not enjoy the prospect of grinding out another plot summary - I would just like to say: Do not get up and leave the theater before the credits are finished rolling, because if you do you'll miss one final scene! Let's just suffice it to say that blues guitar legend Buddy Guy gets a little more screen time, and he doesn't just play guitar...

[Hotel Security]

>However, the screenplay just tries to cover too much and ends up reducing ma\in character Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to a supporting character even though he gets the top billing here that he should have gotten in the first film.

Hate to say it, but he was kind of a supporting character in the first film. I believe he only has like 15-16 minutes of actual screentime. So the sequel isn't much different in that respect.

---

Prince of the City (1981)
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51fqMY4zY0L.jpg

First Time Watching. Was looking for more Sidney Lumet movies to check out and this was recommended. It's his second police corruption movie but still finds a way to feel very different from Serpico. The main character feels less trapped than Pacino's character and yet is stressed, distraught and is an emotional mess for much of the movie. Treat Williams has to do a lot as the main character and pulls it off pretty convincingly. The movie itself didn't blow me away and is a bit of a downer (typical of Lumet) but it's very well made with a lot of excellent small performances from the rest of the cast. At 2:45, it's a bit lengthy but I never felt it dragged.

[doubledenim]

before[/I] I realized that sibling protagonists Smoke and Stack were both played by Michael B. Jordan! :lol:


My sister had the same experience :D

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjA2MDI0MDQ3OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwODM3MTAzMQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg


1st Rewatch...If memory serves, this was the first documentary I ever watched. Narrated by the late James Coburn, this documentary is a deep dive into the hell that was the production of Marilyn's final film project, Something's Got to Give, which was never completed because eight weeks after production began, Marilyn was fired from the film and a few months later she was dead. The highlight of the film is the conclusion where all of the available footage frm the film was spliced together into some kind of seuential order to give the viewer an idea of what the film might have looked like if it had been completed. A tragic look at the broken Hollywood icon. 4

[markdc]

>However, the screenplay just tries to cover too much and ends up reducing ma\in character Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to a supporting character even though he gets the top billing here that he should have gotten in the first film.

Hate to say it, but he was kind of a supporting character in the first film. I believe he only has like 15-16 minutes of actual screentime. So the sequel isn't much different in that respect.

---

Prince of the City (1981)
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51fqMY4zY0L.jpg

First Time Watching. Was looking for more Sidney Lumet movies to check out and this was recommended. It's his second police corruption movie but still finds a way to feel very different from Serpico. The main character feels less trapped than Pacino's character and yet is stressed, distraught and is an emotional mess for much of the movie. Treat Williams has to do a lot as the main character and pulls it off pretty convincingly. The movie itself didn't blow me away and is a bit of a downer (typical of Lumet) but it's very well made with a lot of excellent small performances from the rest of the cast. At 2:45, it's a bit lengthy but I never felt it dragged.
Prince of the City is one of Lumet’s best movies. Should have been nominated for Best Picture and is vastly superior to the movie that won that award.

[markdc]

Interesting.
That was actually the book on it when I saw it, "Oh, it's actually great and should have been huge but people just didn't get it or whatever."
So I saw it and it did nothing for me and I found it silly, off the mark, and a bit of a chore.
Maybe I need to give it another go.
Most of the people I know who’ve seen Sky Captain aren’t huge fans of it, and I’ll admit it’s not as great as Raiders of the Lost Ark or the original Star Wars, which it clearly models itself after. But the reason why I love this movie is because of its blend of World War history and pulp fantasy. (I’m a huge World War I buff.) Another reason is because Sky Captain takes a lot of inspiration from James Hilton’s Lost Horizon, which is one of my favorite novels. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (my favorite Indy movie) and Talespin (one of my favorite cartoons as a kid) also took inspiration form the same source.

[Hotel Security]

>Prince of the City is one of Lumet’s best movies. Should have been nominated for Best Picture and is vastly superior to the movie that won that award.

Watching it I didn't really feel "This is clearly a Best Picture nom" but it's still a very good movie. That said, 1981 was a somewhat weak year for films...kind of like last year, there didn't seem to be any perfect films.

[markdc]

>1981 was a somewhat weak year for films...kind of like last year, there didn't seem to be any perfect films.
Disagree. I think 1981 was a great year. Here are my favorite movies from that year:
1.Reds
2.Das Boot
3.My Dinner with Andre
4.Raiders of the Lost Ark
5.Prince of the City
6.Body Heat
7.Escape from New York
8.On Golden Pond
9.Gallipoli
10.Chariots of Fire

[Hotel Security]

>Disagree. I think 1981 was a great year. Here are my favorite movies from that year:

I guess when I said that, I meant it was more of a "weak Oscars year." I mean every year has good movies coming out but some years the nominees aren't as inspiring. Loved Body Heat though...Kathleen Turner is amazing.

[Fabulous]

Buffalo '66 (1998)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/oCcRRoalUWy83x3gqhCIl6pPUAi.jpg

[Wooley]

Most of the people I know who’ve seen Sky Captain aren’t huge fans of it, and I’ll admit it’s not as great as Raiders of the Lost Ark or the original Star Wars, which it clearly models itself after. But the reason why I love this movie is because of its blend of World War history and pulp fantasy. (I’m a huge World War I buff.) Another reason is because Sky Captain takes a lot of inspiration from James Hilton’s Lost Horizon, which is one of my favorite novels. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (my favorite Indy movie) and Talespin (one of my favorite cartoons as a kid) also took inspiration form the same source.



I hear ya and that's why I wanted to see it. You'd seen that sort of thing before in comics and pulp-art and maybe there were even some low-budget movies (I can't remember) but never a big theatrical-release Hollywood film doing it so I was super-excited (my wife thought I was such a nerd). But I just found it really cheesy and not that well done. I'm sorry I don't mean to harsh your buzz it's just a difference of opinion, I just didn't think they did as good of a job as they needed to.

[Wooley]

Strangers on a Train - 4

Have you ever had someone in your life who just won't go away no matter how hard you try? If The Gift (2015) and The Cable Guy didn't make you realize how much this would make your life a living hell, this movie surely will. I was not surprised when I learned that Patricia Highsmith of Ripley fame wrote the source novel because the insinuator, Bruno (Walker), is cut from the same cloth. Like Ripley, what makes him a formidable antagonist is that he is used to a certain level of privilege and does not exactly want to do an honest day's work to maintain it if you know what I mean. Robert Taylor totally sells this, and as for the other half of Bruno's proposal to off unwanted acquaintances, Farley Grainger makes tennis pro Guy another classic Hitchcock "ordinary man in an extraordinary situation." Ordinary is the key word here - he practically fades into the background - but it makes it all the easier to walk in his shoes and makes Bruno's tendencies all the more unsettling. As it goes in the other movies I mentioned, it gets no more unsettling than when Bruno shows up unannounced and uninvited. His appearance at Guy's future father-in-law's party is a highlight, especially since his idea of amusing the guests is to demonstrate how to use your bare hands to kill someone. After all this, if you still need more evidence that this is a Hitchcock movie, no scene better demonstrates why he earned the "master of suspense" nickname than a race against time featuring a pivotal tennis match. Also, like he did in Saboteur, North by Northwest, et al, the director concludes the affair with an iconic set piece that may be the most fast-paced scene I have witnessed in a '50s movie.

If anything, this movie proves that there is no such thing as a job, agreement, etc. that has no strings attached. Also, if you have ever wondered how the phrase "don't take your work home with you" came about, it provides as good an explanation of it as any! If there's anything worth griping about here, it's that Bruno's homosexual tendencies are comically exaggerated at times. Even so, they could be a lot worse when you consider the movie's age. Highsmith and Hitchcock are a dream pairing that unfortunately did not become an ongoing partnership, but it's hard to complain when we got this one from them.

I recently re-watched this and enjoyed it a great deal. Again.
I'm gonna admit that the idea that Bruno was homosexual was completely lost on me. However "comically exaggerated" his tendencies might have been, they went right over my head. I'll look for it next time.

[Wooley]

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5ycGPOvUtAA/maxresdefault.jpg


5th Rewatch...Sidney Lumet's stylish and funny film version of Ira Levin's long running Broadway hit remains imminently rewatchable. Michael Caine plays Sidney Bruhl, a playwright who has just had his third flop in a row and has also received the rough draft of a play written by a young aspiring playwright named Clifford Anderson (Christopher Reeve) who once took a writing seminar with Bruhl, Desperate to salvage his career, Sidney decides to invite Anderson to his home, murder him, and produce Cliff's play at his home, much to the dismay of his highly strung wife (Dyan Cannon). Lumet's direction, Jay Presson Allen's screenplay, and Johnny Mandel's music are all on the money, but the primary attraction here is the performance of his career by the late Christopher Reeve that makes this film appointment viewing all by itself. 4

I have such a warm spot for Deathtrap and, as I've said before, it is my favorite Christopher Reeve performance and actually the first one that jumps to my mind when I think of him, over Superman, because I watched this so many times when I was young and it's so memorable. He actually had interesting range. Would love to have seen more movies with him in significant roles including villains.

[Wooley]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/Beetlejuice_Beetlejuice_poster.jpg


1st Rewatch...As a textbook on how important first rate production values are to film, there are only a few films that touch this one. Tim Burton and his amazing team of cinematic technicians can't be touched. That scene of the arrival of Delores, rolling out of a box in pieces and putting her self back together with a staple gun is a cinematic wonder that never gets old. However, the screenplay just tries to cover too much and ends up reducing ma\in character Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to a supporting character even though he gets the top billing here that he should have gotten in the first film. The story of Lydia (Winona Ryder) trying to deal with her daughter (Jenna Ortega) and her slimy producer boyfriend (Justin Theroux) works for the most part, but the return of Beetlejuice's never before mentioned ex-wife (Monica Belluci) falls flat. The attention to that story would have better spent on Delia Deitz trying to deal with the death of her beloved Charles. Catherine O'Hara steals every scene she's in as Delia and I also enjoyed Willem Dafoe as a ghostly police detective, but as a complete film experience, it never really comes together and goes on way longer than necessary. 3.5

You have just blown my mind.

[Wooley]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMDQ3NjE3YTMtYWY3ZC00NjcyLThlNDYtNTVmMDE2YjZjYzliXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg


Umpteenth Rewatch...Woody Allen knocked it out of the park with this enchanting romantic fantasy that is just as fresh and funny as it was in 1985. Mia Farrow was robbed of an Oscar nomination for her performance as Celia, a waitress during the depression trapped in a marriage to an unemployed pig (Danny Aiello) who spends every spare moment she gets gong to see the movie of the title over and over again. After walking out on her husband and losing her job, Celia goes to the movie again and Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels), notices that she has been t every performance, walks out of the movie screen and into the theater because he wants to meet. Meanwhile, the actors still on the screen are stuck and other Tom Baxters start to act up, so Gil Shepherd (also Daniels), the actor who played Baxter, travels to Celia's hometown to get Tom to go back into the movie. Woody's Oscar-nominated screenplay provides consistent laughs until the end of the movie, which is one of the most devastatingly tragic endings to a movie ever. Top five Woody Allen. 4.5

This film kinda broke my heart and it was cruel because it tricked me into thinking it wouldn't.

[markdc]

But I just found it really cheesy and not that well done. I'm sorry I don't mean to harsh your buzz it's just a difference of opinion, I just didn't think they did as good of a job as they needed to.
Disagreement with me is not allowed; it’s against forum rules.😀
Hey, to each his own. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to love and enjoy that movie. Forgot to mention, I also love Frank Capra’s adaptation of Lost Horizon. Hope they find and release the complete version sometime.

[Wooley]

Disagreement with me is not allowed; it’s against forum rules.😀
Hey, to each his own. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to love and enjoy that movie. Forgot to mention, I also love Frank Capra’s adaptation of Lost Horizon. Hope they find and release the complete version sometime.


I have not seen that but I'll look for it. This really is my kinda thing which is why I've had that Nazis on the Moon movie in my queue for so long.

[exiler96]

The Long Riders (1980) - I adore Andrew Dominik's 2007 take on the story of the James gang, but this old school re-telling from Walter Hill made for an enjoyable watch too.

What distinguishes it in the dire land for westerns that is the 1980s is it's casting (four real-life pairs of brothers star as the so. many. brothers portrayed here); with the Carradines coming off as the most effortlessly cool.

7/10... might've been higher if I didn't need to leave my place half-way through, dammit.

https://derekwinnert.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/MV5BMTkzNzkwMTg5NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMjYyMTQ5._V1__SX999_SY633_.jpg

[hell_storm2004]

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/iteSAGKRWIp6X5uacPJ6vR5w2Cj.jpg

The Abyss (1989) - 5/10. Didn't like this movie at all. Just knew about the troubled shooting the movie had. The set design and all are great. But that doesn't make up for the fact, that its just plain boring.

[markdc]

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/iteSAGKRWIp6X5uacPJ6vR5w2Cj.jpg

The Abyss (1989) - 5/10. Didn't like this movie at all. Just knew about the troubled shooting the movie had. The set design and all are great. But that doesn't make up for the fact, that its just plain boring.
I’ve always liked The Abyss, though it’s far from Cameron’s best. The movie not as engaging as his other work but if nothing else, it has beautiful visuals. 170-minute director’s cut is the best version, IMO.

[Gideon58]

I have such a warm spot for Deathtrap and, as I've said before, it is my favorite Christopher Reeve performance and actually the first one that jumps to my mind when I think of him, over Superman, because I watched this so many times when I was young and it's so memorable. He actually had interesting range. Would love to have seen more movies with him in significant roles including villains.

It’s my favorite Christopher Reeve performance too.

[*Sky*]

To Be or Not to Be (1942) - Ernst Lubitsch: 8/10
https://palewriter2.home.blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/tumblr_mzil8npatu1rdfgw4o1_r2_500.gif?w=825

[Gideon58]

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/iteSAGKRWIp6X5uacPJ6vR5w2Cj.jpg

The Abyss (1989) - 5/10. Didn't like this movie at all. Just knew about the troubled shooting the movie had. The set design and all are great. But that doesn't make up for the fact, that its just plain boring.


LOVED this movie...a link to my review:


https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/2325239-the_abyss.html

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/ce/The_Final_Cut_movie.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1128131

The Final Cut - (2004)

I thought to myself that just because a movie hasn't received very nice reviews doesn't mean I won't like it. I should have listened to the reviews. This sci-fi thriller squanders an interesting premise with a really dumb screenplay and plot holes that drove me crazy. Robin Williams plays Alan Hakman - in a world where our entire life can be recorded via an implant, he's a "cutter" - a person who edits a person's entire life into a brief bite-sized presentation for viewing at funerals. To do this he often has to ignore some of his client's less noble moments - seeing as he has a window into their private life. Fletcher (Jim Caviezel) is an ex-cutter who has joined a group of people trying to ban the practice, and he wants Alan's new client - a man who ran the company that does it who was sexually abusing his own daughter - as he thinks this will discredit the whole organization. In the meantime, Alan has a dark secret of his own which he's not only desperately trying to hide, but has been recorded on his own implant.

Look, just as an example of how silly I felt the film was. Alan had an interaction with a young boy in his childhood, and he thinks he recognizes this person as an adult because he wipes his glasses with a cloth a certain way. In the same way around 100 million other people probably do. In the same way I do. It was such a bad way to have an "It's him!" response in the film - make it a birthmark, deformity or something - but a rather common habit doesn't sell the moment at all. Characters react in ways that are poorly contrived and the performances themselves are nothing to write home about. It's all a shame because the movie itself has terrific potential and gave Williams another chance to shine in a dramatic role (he seems to have switched off - perhaps coming to realise that the movie as a whole doesn't work.) Anyway, I gave it a chance - it had a very believable future technology in it, and I love sci-fi films that can really sell whatever advance features in them. Writer/director Omar Naim's career never really took off - this was his one chance to shine with A-grade actors and a budget.

4/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Victim_1961_poster.jpg
By Rank Film Distributors - http://www.lesbiansnorthlondon.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/victim.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40778600

Victim - (1961)

At a time when homosexuality was still illegal in Britain, collaborators Basil Dearden (directing) and husband and wife team Janet Green and John McCormick (writing) tackled the subject head on in a sympathetic and extremely courageous way with their 1961 film Victim. Dirk Bogarde is superb in it, it's very well shot and it opens up a really interesting window through which to view a society where sensible people were ready to start asking questions about prejudice and the "blackmailer's charter". Full review here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2555932#post2555932), in my watchlist thread.

8/10

[Gideon58]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/ce/The_Final_Cut_movie.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1128131

The Final Cut - (2004)

I thought to myself that just because a movie hasn't received very nice reviews doesn't mean I won't like it. I should have listened to the reviews. This sci-fi thriller squanders an interesting premise with a really dumb screenplay and plot holes that drove me crazy. Robin Williams plays Alan Hakman - in a world where our entire life can be recorded via an implant, he's a "cutter" - a person who edits a person's entire life into a brief bite-sized presentation for viewing at funerals. To do this he often has to ignore some of his client's less noble moments - seeing as he has a window into their private life. Fletcher (Jim Caviezel) is an ex-cutter who has joined a group of people trying to ban the practice, and he wants Alan's new client - a man who ran the company that does it who was sexually abusing his own daughter - as he thinks this will discredit the whole organization. In the meantime, Alan has a dark secret of his own which he's not only desperately trying to hide, but has been recorded on his own implant.

Look, just as an example of how silly I felt the film was. Alan had an interaction with a young boy in his childhood, and he thinks he recognizes this person as an adult because he wipes his glasses with a cloth a certain way. In the same way around 100 million other people probably do. In the same way I do. It was such a bad way to have an "It's him!" response in the film - make it a birthmark, deformity or something - but a rather common habit doesn't sell the moment at all. Characters react in ways that are poorly contrived and the performances themselves are nothing to write home about. It's all a shame because the movie itself has terrific potential and gave Williams another chance to shine in a dramatic role (he seems to have switched off - perhaps coming to realise that the movie as a whole doesn't work.) Anyway, I gave it a chance - it had a very believable future technology in it, and I love sci-fi films that can really sell whatever advance features in them. Writer/director Omar Naim's career never really took off - this was his one chance to shine with A-grade actors and a budget.

4/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Victim_1961_poster.jpg
By Rank Film Distributors - http://www.lesbiansnorthlondon.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/victim.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40778600

Victim - (1961)

At a time when homosexuality was still illegal in Britain, collaborators Basil Dearden (directing) and husband and wife team Janet Green and John McCormick (writing) tackled the subject head on in a sympathetic and extremely courageous way with their 1961 film Victim. Dirk Bogarde is superb in it, it's very well shot and it opens up a really interesting window through which to view a society where sensible people were ready to start asking questions about prejudice and the "blackmailer's charter". Full review here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2555932#post2555932), in my watchlist thread.

8/10

Never heard of this movie

[xSookieStackhouse]

5 loved the casting and loved the storyline and huge fan of florence pugh and loved her character yelena and omg this movie was so amazing. it has 2 post credit scenes and its connect to fantastic 4 (new one)
https://d32qys9a6wm9no.cloudfront.net/images/movies/poster/c0/634154bb1cd82dc56f1329e100b5e7c9_300x442.jpg?t=1745921751

[Torgo]

I recently re-watched this and enjoyed it a great deal. Again.
I'm gonna admit that the idea that Bruno was homosexual was completely lost on me. However "comically exaggerated" his tendencies might have been, they went right over my head. I'll look for it next time. It's not mentioned in the movie, but that is the consensus opinion of critics and movie historians. One article I found says Hitchcock wanted to make him gay, but you couldn't do that back then - maybe due to the anti-gay scare of the '50s - but I can't confirm if that's true. When you consider Bruno's aversion to relationships with women, his dad wanting him to get treatment, etc. in addition to his mannerisms, it fits.

[Thief]

POINT BLANK
(1967, Boorman)

https://i.imgur.com/WpL7Prg.jpeg


"You're a pathetic sight, Walker, from where I'm standing. Chasing shadows. You're played out. It's over. You're finished. What would you do with the money if you got it? It wasn't yours in the first place. Why don't you just lie down - and die?"



Point Blank follows Walker (Lee Marvin), a professional thief that is double-crossed and left for dead by his partner after a big hit. He then sets out to find him determined to get revenge and his money back. Based on the first of a series of crime novels, the film is one of several that served to push forward the neo-noir style/genre by featuring a no-nonsense, anti-hero lead with a simple goal and few scruples.

This is a film I've been hearing about for a while. Not sure why I hadn't moved on it before, considering I'm a big fan of Boorman's Deliverance, or how much I enjoy noir/neo-noir, and how much I've enjoyed what I've seen from Marvin up to this point. But anyway, now that I've seen it, I have to say it was definitely worth the wait. Point Blank is lean, mean, and to the point, but without sacrificing in style and atmosphere.

Grade: 4


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2556608#post2556608)

[Stirchley]

Never heard of this movie

Me either. I would watch it just to listen to Bogarde. His voice was exquisite.

[Wooley]

It's not mentioned in the movie, but that is the consensus opinion of critics and movie historians. One article I found says Hitchcock wanted to make him gay, but you couldn't do that back then - maybe due to the anti-gay scare of the '50s - but I can't confirm if that's true. When you consider Bruno's aversion to relationships with women, his dad wanting him to get treatment, etc. in addition to his mannerisms, it fits.

Hm. Ok, I'll think about this next time I watch it.

[Thief]

Y2K
(2024, Mooney)

https://i.imgur.com/PuK5imC.jpeg


"Never trust a computer you can't throw out a window."



Ahhh, 1999! The rise of personal computers, the Internet, and nu metal, paired with the inevitable dread that the combination of those three things could be the demise of humankind as we know it. That is part of the premise behind Y2K, an odd mish-mash of horror, romcom, and sci-fi that follows a group of teens trying to survive a technological apocalypse.

I have to admit I was in the mood for something silly last night, and for the most part, this fit the bill. The film's main success is in developing likable characters that you can easily root for. For the first act, this is Eli and his best friend Danny (Julian Dennison), who easily steals the show (both in the party and the film). Then it easily shifts to Zegler, and most of the characters they pair up with. A lot of them are one-dimensional stereotypes, but for what the film is going for, it mostly works.

Grade: 3


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2556638#post2556638)

[exiler96]

... And God Created Women (1956) - Stuff of film history; wether you're considering how it popularized this type of youth-oriented French film, or how it made a tourist attraction out of St. Tropez, or Brigitte Bardot's era-defining sex appeal.... She plays Juliete; an attractive 18-year-old orphan girl who says yes to the sudden proposal from Jean-Louis Trintignant's naive Michel, but can her spontaneous nature be tamed?

The film lives on the sensual tension between the girl and the men around her, and the pleasant sunny locations they live in. Legit photography (cinematographer Armand Thirard had worked with Henri-Georges Clouzot) and good performances across the board, and while it doesn't say heavy things about it's subject matter, you'll remember the general thrill of what you've sat through... 6.5/10.

https://ilarge.lisimg.com/image/1193431/740full-poster.jpg

[Allaby]

Drop (2025) This was pretty entertaining. I enjoyed watching it and the film was fast paced. I liked the main characters and was invested in what would happen. 4

[Gideon58]

Me either. I would watch it just to listen to Bogarde. His voice was exquisite.

I’ve seen Vicitim it’s the Robin Williams movie I’ve never heard of

[LeBoyWondeur]

Victim - (1961)

At a time when homosexuality was still illegal in Britain, collaborators Basil Dearden (directing) and husband and wife team Janet Green and John McCormick (writing) tackled the subject head on in a sympathetic and extremely courageous way with their 1961 film Victim. Dirk Bogarde is superb in it, it's very well shot and it opens up a really interesting window through which to view a society where sensible people were ready to start asking questions about prejudice and the "blackmailer's charter"
I find the collector (on the motorbike) such a creepy character, kinda like the grinning chauffeur in Burnt Offerings (1976)

[doubledenim]

Y2K
(2024, Mooney)

https://i.imgur.com/PuK5imC.jpeg




Ahhh, 1999! The rise of personal computers, the Internet, and nu metal, paired with the inevitable dread that the combination of those three things could be the demise of humankind as we know it. That is part of the premise behind Y2K, an odd mish-mash of horror, romcom, and sci-fi that follows a group of teens trying to survive a technological apocalypse.

I have to admit I was in the mood for something silly last night, and for the most part, this fit the bill. The film's main success is in developing likable characters that you can easily root for. For the first act, this is Eli and his best friend Danny (Julian Dennison), who easily steals the show (both in the party and the film). Then it easily shifts to Zegler, and most of the characters they pair up with. A lot of them are one-dimensional stereotypes, but for what the film is going for, it mostly works.

Grade: 3


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2556638#post2556638)

I wasn’t prepared for that much of the guy with backwards cap! It was okay, I jest rolly, rolly, rolled with it 🤓

[matt72582]

Smithereens - 7/10


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/73/DVD_cover_of_Smithereens.jpg

[Allaby]

Another Simple Favor (2025) This was a significant drop in quality and enjoyment from the first one. The story isn't as good and it lacks the sense of fun of the first one. Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively are fine, but both were better in the first. The cinematography, sets and costumes are pretty good. A couple amusing moments, but not enough for my liking. 3

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91dKedYKgBL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg



Umpteenth Rewatch...The final film pairing of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepbiu=n, which earned Tracy the acadmey's first posthumous nomination and earned Hepburn her second Oscar, is still a joy to watch. I never get tired of that fabulous scene where Hepburn fires her assistant, played by Virginia Christine (Mrs Olsen on the old Folgers commercials). I think William Rose's screenplay plays it a little too safe in thsi story of an interracial romance. In this film Joey Drayton (Katharne Houghton) brings home a handsome doctor with multiple degrees, honors, and lost a wife and child in an accident. Over the years I've wndered how differently this story would have played if Joey had brought home a drug dealer or a pimp. It's still a great movie and Tracy and Hepburn are always worth watching. 4

[PHOENIX74]

I find the collector (on the motorbike) such a creepy character, kinda like the grinning chauffeur in Burnt Offerings (1976)

I saw that scene with the grinning chauffeur in Burnt Offerings as a very young child and it severely traumatized me! It still bothers me today.

[Stirchley]

Another Simple Favor (2025) This was a significant drop in quality and enjoyment from the first one. The story isn't as good and it lacks the sense of fun of the first one. Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively are fine, but both were better in the first. The cinematography, sets and costumes are pretty good. A couple amusing moments, but not enough for my liking. 3

Apparently the two female leads can’t stand each other so that surely must have dimmed the movie somewhat?

[Thief]

HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER
(1973, Eastwood)

https://i.imgur.com/8BVJwSy.jpeg


"It's what people know about themselves inside that makes 'em afraid."



This review might include some SPOILERS

High Plains Drifter follows a stranger (Clint Eastwood) that is hired by the townsfolk of Lago to protect them from a trio of gunslingers, only to have him uncover deep-seated corruption within the same town. That is part of the reason why he is warned to be careful, that people might be afraid of him. But he knows more about who these people are than most (including the audience) and he knows that's why they are afraid.

I've been hearing good things about this Eastwood western for a while, so it was high on my watchlist. Most of what I heard about it was accurate as the film, Eastwood's second, is technically well made. The direction and cinematography are pretty good, and the story has a lot of effective dread and tension as we try to piece out the puzzle of what's going on, and why the Stranger is doing the things he do.

Grade: 3


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2557121#post2557121)

[ueno_station54]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/film-poster/4/8/3/7/1/48371-mousehunt-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=7e95f06cd4
some decent laughs here
3


https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/pq/9f/sr/vt/aCIFMriQh8rvhxpN1IWGgvH0Tlg-0-2000-0-3000-crop.jpg?v=f3165fe17f
haven't had the gimmick of a movie make me not care about anything happening this much since i watched 1917.
1.5

[Hotel Security]

Loved High Plains Drifter. Sure, a lot of Eastwood westerns go the same but the mystery of what exactly he's doing in this movie had me hooked until the end which I thought was pretty riveting.

>haven't had the gimmick of a movie make me not care about anything happening this much since i watched 1917.

A bit cruel. 1917 was pretty awesome regardless of the single-shot gimmick.

[LeBoyWondeur]

Shadows And Fog (1991)

107664

I think this is a beautiful and lovely film and it delivers enough laughs in the trademark Woody Allen style.
My only critique is that it didn't need this stellar cast to make it work because they don't add anything special to the style or humour of the film, and as a result it looks too much like "special guest stars".
Julie Kavner gets to play the most interesting supporting part and of course Mia Farrow is always good to watch.

It doesn't have the oomph of, say, The Purple Rose Of Cairo, but on the other hand I had never seen a comedy homage to this type of classic filmmaking before so I guess that makes it unique enough.

3.5

[ueno_station54]

A bit cruel. 1917 was pretty awesome regardless of the single-shot gimmick.
the fake oner gimmick always sucks but i can't think of a worse place to put it than in a war movie. strips away everything compelling about the genre.

[Torgo]

The Last Wave - 4

This Australian movie succeeds at capturing how it feels to enter a totally different reality. Richard Chamberlain's lawyer, David, convinces as a family man who has never had reasons to question his Christian upbringing or the advice to start a family until he suddenly has plenty of reasons. It all starts when he charitably helps some aboriginals, one of whom, Chris, (Gulpilil) is accused of murder. Kicking off with a series of unprecedented hail and thunderstorms that persist throughout, David's reaction to the phenomena, which becomes more and more influenced by his clients, recalls and is just as affecting as Michael Shannon's in the similar Take Shelter. Is it simply strange weather or is something apocalyptic happening? Weir's direction enhances this ambiguity not only with his masterful dream sequences, but also by making you question where the dream ends and reality begins. I would say more about which sequences I enjoyed the most, but they are best experienced firsthand. As for the big case, those who also became aware of this movie because it could be labeled as a crime drama may be disappointed because the case becomes less important as the movie goes on. Even so, that is kind of the point. The trial scene, for instance, did not make me sit upright in anticipation of justice being done or at least getting some answers. Instead, I found myself laughing because it seems like a half-hearted attempt to bring order to chaos.

Mystical, foreboding and above all, strange (in a good way), this is a highlight of the first half of Weir's career. Also, like Where the Green Ants Dream, it effectively questions the value of colonialism, Australian or otherwise. Despite its similarities to that movie and Take Shelter, though, it is very much its own entity. From an exclusive New England prep school to uncharted Central America, Weir was a master of spinning tales about strangers in a variety of strange lands. This one proves he could also pull it off in lands on another plane of existence.

[Hotel Security]

>the fake oner gimmick always sucks

The "fake oner gimmick?" They're not trying to fake anything. Also, I fail to see why it's a "gimmick" or why it's so offensive when directors do all sorts of tricks with the camera. This feels like it's you were bringing baggage to the movie...if you hate this so much why would you even watch a movie with it? You're basically guaranteeing yourself a bad time.

[i]>but i can't think of a worse place to put it than in a war movie. strips away everything compelling about the genre.[i/]

I have no idea why the genre matters in the least. These are some somewhat arbitrary "rules of cinema" I've stumbled upon.