Rate The Last Movie You Saw

The Estruscan Smile (2018)

Despite its cryptic title, which may have hurt its preconception, this is a very pleasant and attractive story of a Scotsman set in his ways who travels from his home in the Hebrides to visit his son and family in San Francisco with the aim of re-connecting, and also to get an overdue medical examination.

It's a simple story which provides humor and some heart warming. The veteran Brian Cox is probably the best elderly character actor on the planet to play the role of Rory MacNeil. It's such perfect casting that one is never in doubt as to who MacNeil is.

There were fine portrayals by Rosanna Arquette, Peter Coyote, Treat Williams, Thora Birch, and J.J. Feild (playing against type).

It's a mystery why this picture was assigned an R rating, as there was no sex, violence, or language. Although there are plenty of adult themes, IMO it should have received a PG-13 or even PG.

We are not often able to enjoy well made, well acted, simple films without all the razzmatazz. There is no mystery here, and the film's story is fairly well presented early on. But it's a movie that one can merely sit back and have some enjoyment of a very nice production.

Doc's rating: 6/10

__________________
“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!” ~ Rocky Balboa

The Alchemists Cookbook

+

__________________
Do you know what a roller pigeon is, Barney? They climb high and fast, then roll over and fall just as fast toward the earth. There are shallow rollers and deep rollers. You can’t breed two deep rollers, or their young will roll all the way down, hit, and die. Officer Starling is a deep roller, Barney. We should hope one of her parents was not.

The Sweet Hereafter (1997)

Chappie (2015)


Far superior to Elysium, this is next to District 9 as Neill Blomkamp's best movie. Very entertaining movie with interesting ideas on transhumanism on display. It reminds me a lot of District 9 but instead of focusing on social criticism this movie focuses more on science fiction concepts. 8/10

I enjoyed this New York movie. SJP was very good. Good little indie movie.

__________________
I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

Once Upon A Time in Hollywood (2019) - 6.8/10. I don't know what this movie was. Neither here, nor there. It's a fun watch, coz it has got the quintessential Tarantino charm. But great... No. It's just an average movie. I had high expectations after Hateful Eight. But this was a real let down. It has the Sharon Tate story as a backdrop, but could have been any non-famous woman really.

__________________
My Favorite Films

Forgot to mention Renée Zellweger’s APPALLING cameo. So bad.

My initial response to the film was almost the same. I rated it at about 3.5 out of 5. But after watching it a second and third time, I've come to discover its brilliance. It now earns a solid 4.5 from me. The chemistry between Dicaprio and Pitt is great. One of Tarantino's best films.

Desert Hearts (1985)

Kite Liberator (2008)



Its a 1 hour long OVA, has lots of violence and depiction of sexual harassment. Plotwise it pretty standard fare, a good example of an "average OVA". 6/10

Saga of Tanya the Evil: The Movie (2019)



Now we are talking, this is perhaps one of the best movies of 2019 despite being a spinoff of an anime show it is very good stuff: talks about the alternate history of the world wars where Tanya is both supremely gifted as a military commander and the reincarnation of a 21st-century person with knowledge of what could be done to minimize the chances that alternate-history version of Germany's self-destructs through global war. Of course, since its otaku anime, it depicts air battles with flying mages and the main character is a 10-year-old girl who happens to be the major. 8.5/10

Samsara (2011)






Country Music (2019)

__________________
Too weird to live, and too rare to die.

Love Ron Fricke's stuff. Mesmerizing beauty.

I, Tonya (2017)

Quite enjoyable biopic that isn't really concerned about the truth. Lots of good characters (pretty nutters but good), nice pacing and well used cinematic gimmickry. The acting was good too, especially Tonya and her mother (including young Tonya, McKenna Grace is one of my favorite child actors at the moment - perhaps because she does so many horror films).


--

Lord of the Flies (1963)

I don't think I've ever read the book completely (I know it was discussed either in junior high or high school but I don't remember actually reading it) so I can't compare it to the movie but I'm sure that the idea could be made into a much better film. Pacing is completely off here and civilization gives in way too fast. It also hints at multiple interpretations so it's kind of hard to say what the director wanted to say (fragility of civilization, civilization vs savagery, faults of democracy). Oh, and whoever's responsible for the soundtrack should have his/her eardrums punctured - that pounding and kyrie chant really got on my nerves.

__________________

Inherit the Viper (2020)

Making his feature film directorial debut, Swiss filmmaker Anthony Jerjen takes the helm of this drama about two siblings who are in the business of opioid dealings. Kit wants to get out of the game but soon learns his little brother Boots wants in on the family business, but when Boots' first deal goes sour, a series of events catapults Kit back in the world he wants to leave. Josh Hartnett, Margarita Levieva, and Owen Teague are great as the trio of siblings and despite a few small flaws here and there, it is a pretty good drama that makes good use of its locales and cast.

__________________
It's All About the Movies
http://www.worldfilmgeek.com

Ghost Stories (2017, Jeremy Dyson, Andy Nyman)

Meh... The scares weren't scary, bland and predictable through and through. There was a plot twist at the end but the problem is 1) the entire film that preceded it sucked; 2) it was so transparent from the start there was going to be some sort of 'gotcha' at the end, I started losing interest very early on.

On Golden Pond (1981)

2 1/2? Why such a low rating for this classic?

Titanic (1997)

When the ship docks, I'm getting off with you. This is it, oh god, oh god.

Attachments