Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Battle of Britain (1969)

Good sci fi isn't just about asking questions, you also need relatable characters to whom these questions are relevant. That way you show how the questions are relevant to us. Every good sci fi story has that: Book of the Long Sun, Blade Runner, 2001, Solaris, or even mixed sci-fi like Idiocracy or vidya like Deus Ex. You name it. When your characters are these unfeeling automatons with just one personality trait that's explained to you outright instead of shown through their actions, the questions will feel pointless. Symbolism of reflections and children's bodies falls flat too.


As for the imagery, I was referring to the bit where the MC tries to rip apart the spider tank (you know what I'm talking about). I really could've lived the rest of my life without seeing that.

There Will Be Blood. (2007)






Widely acclaimed as a masterpiece, it's hard to disagree. An intense character study and an exploration of America's two most powerful forces at their most unrestrained; Capitalism and Religion, greed and God. Forever bound together, grappling with each other, opposing and complimenting each other. Towering performance from Daniel Day-Lewis who dominates the film. Paul Dano is also excellent. Solid work from the whole cast actually. There's a stark beauty to the cinematography and the music compliments the film perfectly. This is only my second viewing but it is a film that demands a lot more to fully appreciate it.


Overall an exceptionally crafted motion picture. Intelligent, compelling and unsettling. Is it a masterpiece? Quite possibly.


4.5/5 Stars.

Gimme Danger (2016)

Documentary by Jim Jarmusch about The Stooges....proto-punk pioneers. Excellent interviews and footage that gave me an insight into a band I've been into since I was young. Its a docu so follows usual format on interviews/footage but the human side of some of the band members passing away is really well captured. Needless to say...bitchin' soundtrack!!!
maybe a bit biased

[
Widely acclaimed as a masterpiece, it's hard to disagree. An intense character study and an exploration of America's two most powerful forces at their most unrestrained; Capitalism and Religion, greed and God. Forever bound together, grappling with each other, opposing and complimenting each other. Towering performance from Daniel Day-Lewis who dominates the film. Paul Dano is also excellent. Solid work from the whole cast actually. There's a stark beauty to the cinematography and the music compliments the film perfectly. This is only my second viewing but it is a film that demands a lot more to fully appreciate it.


Overall an exceptionally crafted motion picture. Intelligent, compelling and unsettling. Is it a masterpiece? Quite possibly.


4.5/5 Stars. [/quote]

Agree with all you said Hollowman, would even nudge this up a couple of 0.1s...watched 3 times now and it is such a rich movie....story, acting, direction, cinematography.

Film: Rocky
Watched: 22nd August 2020
Year of release: 1976
Format: Blu-ray
Directed by: John G Avildsen
Run time: 2hrs
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith
Rating:

The best picture winner of 1977, Rocky is about a journeyman boxer from Philadelphia that gets a surprise shot at the heavyweight title.


Rocky is my favourite film of all time. It stands out a mile from the rest of the franchise. The other films are increasingly about the opposing fighter and overcoming adversity, but the first one is about so much more.
In this film - the result of the fight pales into insignificance compared to other things and this is beautifully captured in the final scene.



The story of Rocky is one of beauty, it's an underdog story with depth.
Rocky's career matches his life - he tries his best but doesn't seem to get beyond just getting by.
Rocky is a love story masquerading as a sports drama, and that could be argued about the whole franchise.

The characters are superbly crafted, and each has been shaped by the toughness of the Philadelphia streets, and this is shown brilliantly. Each shows the scars of their journey.
The acting is simply tremendous - Stallone is quality and convincing as the tough, simple and vulnerable Rocky, but for me Talia Shire is the standout in her role as Adrian, SHe captures the character perfectly and uses silence more effectively that words, it really is incredible.

The score is simply outrageous, and for me, 'Going the distance' is the greatest piece of music ever written for a film. Goosebumps every single time.

The cinematography of this film is equally as excellent too, and often overlooked, but it wonderfully mirrors the tough Philadelphia streets and the lives of the characters spectacularly.
.
.
A truly exceptional film
.
.
"All I wanna do is go the distance"

__________________
"I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me" (Frank Costello)

I won't argue that most of the characters were deeply developed. But I did like the character of the Puppet Master. For me, the mystery/thriller element of it was compelling enough.

Gotcha.

I just think that there's enough technical ability in the film paired with a decent (if well-worn) sci-fi premise to merit much more than a failing grade.

Hitchcock (2012)

Not sure how accurate this is but it's an entertaining look at the run up to the making of and production of "Psycho"..I really enjoyed it with the Studio battles and star casting backwards and forwards. The performances all ring true especially Helen Mirren as Alma Reville who contributed so much to her husbands success. Scarlett Johansson is also ultra-lovable as Janet Leigh.

Tesla (2020)

Should have bundled these all together in same post like some of our more learned MOFOS

Steady film about the Serbian-American visionary Nikola Tesla. I knew about the tussles with Edison and the patent issues he had. Basically Edison had the press and Tesla did not. Portrayed here by Ethan Hawke (a great choice) it puts together the efforts of Tesla to bring his vision to the masses whilst being rooted in innovation not advertisement. Liked it, could have been a few hours longer to delve into the entire tale (Elactrical Engineer myself )

I don't like to give the highest rating lightly but I can see myself giving it the full 5/5 after another viewing. It's been lingering in my mind ever since I watched it, which is usually the sign of a truly great film.

Film: Rocky
Watched: 22nd August 2020
Year of release: 1976
Format: Blu-ray
Directed by: John G Avildsen
Run time: 2hrs
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith
Rating:

The best picture winner of 1977, Rocky is about a journeyman boxer from Philadelphia that gets a surprise shot at the heavyweight title.


Rocky is my favourite film of all time. It stands out a mile from the rest of the franchise. The other films are increasingly about the opposing fighter and overcoming adversity, but the first one is about so much more.
In this film - the result of the fight pales into insignificance compared to other things and this is beautifully captured in the final scene.



The story of Rocky is one of beauty, it's an underdog story with depth.
Rocky's career matches his life - he tries his best but doesn't seem to get beyond just getting by.
Rocky is a love story masquerading as a sports drama, and that could be argued about the whole franchise.

The characters are superbly crafted, and each has been shaped by the toughness of the Philadelphia streets, and this is shown brilliantly. Each shows the scars of their journey.
The acting is simply tremendous - Stallone is quality and convincing as the tough, simple and vulnerable Rocky, but for me Talia Shire is the standout in her role as Adrian, SHe captures the character perfectly and uses silence more effectively that words, it really is incredible.

The score is simply outrageous, and for me, 'Going the distance' is the greatest piece of music ever written for a film. Goosebumps every single time.

The cinematography of this film is equally as excellent too, and often overlooked, but it wonderfully mirrors the tough Philadelphia streets and the lives of the characters spectacularly.
.
.
A truly exceptional film
.
.
"All I wanna do is go the distance"[/quote]

A great film, the apartment scene with Rocky and Mickey gets me everytime.

Out Of The Blue (Robert Sarkies, 2006) +
Not much will come as a surprise tbh but still a decent no-frills telling of a reality-based tragedy

The Levelling (2016)

Low key and interesting British drama. A trainee vet comes home to her dads farm after a family tragedy to realise that things are worse than she had imagined. About respective responsibilities. A bit of a something in the woodshed idea and the performances are strong enough to pull you to the conclusion. Better than average.

Johnny Guitar, 1954

Loved it.

Vienna (Joan Crawford) owns a saloon in a small town in the West. An old flame of hers, the titular Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden), arrives at her behest. Vienna faces a lot of hostility from the locals, in particular a man who owns a ton of land and a woman named Emma (Mercedes McCambridge) who is jealous because her crush--the Dancing Kid--has a thing for Vienna. When the Dancing Kid and his little gang make trouble, the town jumps on the chance to make Vienna guilty by association.

How did I love this movie? Let me count the ways:

1) I am a total sucker for a "pacifist" western. Something like Destry Rides Again where avoiding violence is seen as being more desirable than just shooting anything that moves. In this film, both Vienna and Johnny have this element to their characters. Vienna prefers to talk her way out of trouble and make peace (without backing down). Johnny doesn't even carry a gun. Vienna is repeatedly clear about not wanting to initiate violence/killing, and Johnny himself does his best to avoid it. In fact, one of the most important things that Johnny does doesn't even involve a single punch.

2) Related to the above, the film does a great job of skewering the stereotype of what it means to be a man, and the idea of violence being "manly". One of the main ways that the film signals a character being immature or a villain is that they quickly jump to violence. Bart, a hotheaded member of the Kid's gang, is quick on the draw. And the youngest member of the gang, Turkey, tries to show that he's "a man" by drawing his gun and shooting things.

3) Related, again, to both points above, the film does something really cool and progressive: namely, it espouses universal values that aren't connected to being a man or a woman. It's not like "Men should be rugged and brave and women should be comforting and patient and loving." Instead it admires bravery, intelligence, loyalty, and toughness in male and female characters; and on the flip side it condemns selfishness, violence, greed, and jealousy in both male and female characters.

4) I loved the character of Vienna, and I loved the way that the film helps us to understand that she is the main protagonist. Early in the film, Johnny gets in a brawl with Bart outside of Vienna's saloon. You expect the action to stay with Johnny--the swaggering cowboy who just rode into town--but instead the camera goes back inside for a long conversation between Vienna and the Kid. We see the result of the brawl, but the message has been sent: Johnny is a supporting character and Vienna is the main show. Vienna is just a boss character. She's not without her flaws--namely not wanting help unless it's on her own terms. But she is smart and loyal--when she is threatened she closes out her bank account to give her employees enough money to survive on for half a year and sends them away to safety. I also love that she refuses to be shamed about her past work (presumably as a prostitute) that allowed her to earn the money to build the saloon. She has a great speech about how a man can do all sorts of things, including killing, and move past it, while a woman can sin once and forever be a "tramp". At this time, how else could a woman earn enough money to own her own business? I loved that Vienna would not be shamed about her actions or treat it like a dirty secret. And I also loved that Vienna's past never was presented as something that should come between her and Johnny--with the exception of one scene where he "doesn't want to know" how she earned her money and she's like "Well you are going to listen!". Vienna also hangs out almost exclusively in male clothing and it does nothing to diminish her attractiveness. The one time that she does put on a really girly dress, it ends with her catching fire. In a fabulous little touch, Johnny helps her rip her clothes off . . . so that she can put on a shirt and some pants.

5) The villains are really good. Emma makes for an excellent villain. While the whole love triangle element is a bit cliched, it's clear that Emma hates Vienna in part because she resents her success. Emma has played by the rules. She's been a lady. So you can understand why seeing a woman who broke the rules (working as a sex worker) being successful makes her angry. And instead of being mad at the stupid system, Emma turns her anger on Vienna. Both women have short haircuts and wear outfits that either are male clothing or evoke it. How many Westerns are clearly leading up to a shootout between two women? It was a really thrilling dynamic to see two women actually duke it out true Western style--gathering a posse, burning things down, guns, hangings, etc. What's more--there almost at times seemed to be an implication that Emma might be attracted to Vienna herself. Maybe that's too subversive of a reading, but there's a LOT of staring between the two women and I think only a single scene that involves Emma and the Kid. Ernest Borgnine is perfectly hateable as the weaselly Bart. And the third villain, in my opinion, was the town full of mostly weak-willed men (interestingly, I believe that Vienna and Emma are the only women we see in the film) who allow themselves to be bossed around and manipulated by the land baron and Emma.

6) There are several plots going on: the town hating Vienna, the Kid's gang planning a heist, Johnny and Vienna's unrequited love. The movie interweaves them beautifully, and for every action you can see how it might play out in the different subplots.

Overall I was kind of blown away by this film. Westerns, honestly, can be some of the worst offenders of sexist portrayals of female characters and almost never puts women at the center of a narrative--and I can't think of another pre-1990s Western movie where there was a female lead and her main story wasn't about romance (I'm sure someone can probably name a few, but none are coming to mind for me). It was really cool to see a film so masterfully subvert Western convention while at the same time telling a really compelling story that includes many Western tropes (the bank robbery, the lynch mob, the saloon scenes, the shootout, etc). And like I alluded to earlier, the film empowers its female lead without that power coming at the expense of the male characters. In fact, Johnny's acceptance of (and even attraction to) Vienna's character speaks to his own strength--he doesn't feel threatened by her and he gets his own chances to show his bravery and intelligence.

Yeah, pretty great. Maybe wish there was more of a denouement, but what you gonna do?

Maybe thats what was missing from Symptoms! I'll check out Vampyres. Cheers Mark

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Too weird to live, and too rare to die.

Carmen Jones (1954) -
Missing Link (2019) -
The Bling Ring (2013) -
S Is for Stanley (2015) -
Diego Maradonna (2019) -
The Report (2019) -
Mindhorn (2016) -

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Roger Waters: Us + Them

This was awesome.

My favorite English movie...

I started to watch this about a year ago and got interrupted and never got back to it...thanks for the reminder that I need to get back to it.