Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Tools    





Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
I was mainly trying to justify 6.5 rather than 6, but I really don't care. It's too long too but I had to pick a rating, and I can live with it as the one to pass along.
__________________
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page





Dark Waters (2019) - 7.2/10. Good movie. Recommended because it impacts all of us. And it's a fairly recent case as well. Not like something that happened 50-60 years ago. Wonderfully acted. Would have loved to see Tim Robbins with a little bit more screen time. That would be my only complaint.
__________________
My Favorite Films



Tell Me Who I Am (2019)

Still on the documentary kick and still trying to weave my way through and see what kind of format I like best. Watched one earlier today that was only 30 minutes and then this one which is a bit over an hour.

This was an incredibly gripping story, and it makes you think about how you would handle the situation if you were either twin. Did we really deserve to know the story in this much detail? Maybe not, but I'm glad it's been told.




THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON
(2019)

__________________
“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





Richard Jewell (2019) - 7.2/10. In so many ways this is a return to form for Clint Eastwood. Wonderfully acted. How in the hell Hauser did not get a best actor nomination for this I don't know. The field is packed this year, but, Di Caprio could easily be dropped from the list this year. Some good ol' fashioned Academy snobbery I guess. Heart warming, friendship, family and another US government's many F up all packed into one. Loved it when Rockwell ripped the journalist in her office!



Le Mans '66 Ford v Ferrari 2019 Directed by James Mangold

(don't know why it's called le mans over here probably the metric system)

The film was much better than I expected, great casting job/acting and story build up, accompanied by high level sound and beautiful cinematography, impressive film making all the way.
+






Little Women (2019) - 7/10. Watched it last week. Loved it. The direction, the story, the performances. I don't know, Laura Dern should have been nominated for this rather than Marriage Story. It's Jane Austen with an American setting basically. But delightful.


Florence Pugh looks a lot like Chloe Grace Moretz I thought. And Greta Gerwig is proving to be a fine director!



Women... They just can't seem to make up their mind!!



Liverleaf (2018)

Japanese film based on a manga about a girl who's moved to a small town and gets bullied at school. As expected from a manga adaptation things escalate to somewhat absurd levels. On one hand, I like the cinematography (it looks really good especially after the snow has fallen) but all the gore effects are distractingly bad (not Schnaas bad but the fact that I was reminded by his "classics" is alarming enough). It's a proper tragedy but there's too many stupid twists and oddities just for the sake of it. I still kind of liked it but with some refrain, it could have been much better.

__________________



Dark Waters (2019) - 7.2/10. Good movie. Recommended because it impacts all of us. And it's a fairly recent case as well. Not like something that happened 50-60 years ago. Wonderfully acted. Would have loved to see Tim Robbins with a little bit more screen time. That would be my only complaint.
I had intended to put up a review of this picture, but I wasn't overly enthused about the project, so with your permission, I'll just add a few comments to your thread.

First off, Mark Ruffalo's Robert Bilott (the atty who dogged after the chemical companies until he got sufficient settlements) was the most impressive acting I've ever seen of his. His nuance and range was impressive and, in my view, Oscar worthy. I don't know if he put on weight for the role; or perhaps it was his hairstyle, but I wouldn't have recognized him had I not known of the cast.

The rest of the cast (including Anne Hathaway as Mrs. Bilott) was first rate, and the directing was high caliber. It was enjoyable to see a nice performance by Tim Robbins.

My only misgiving was the intense feeling of familiarity with the story. There have been a large handful of film dramas which have featured the oppressed little guy who goes up against large corporations with the aid of a determined altruistic attorney. One knows all along what the outcome will likely be, which of course harms the suspense.

It was also nice for a change that the producers/writers rightly fixed some culpability for the travesty on the government, rather than the hackneyed: all corporations bad, all government good meme.

But aside from the deja vu feel of the film, this was a highly well done and absorbing production. My rating is similar to yours: 7/10.

~Doc



Apollo 11 (2019)

Another incredible documentary, and I would love to watch this beside First Man with Gosling. Timeless story that never gets old or loses amazement



I had intended to put up a review of this picture, but I wasn't overly enthused about the project, so with your permission, I'll just add a few comments to your thread.

First off, Mark Ruffalo's Robert Bilott (the atty who dogged after the chemical companies until he got sufficient settlements) was the most impressive acting I've ever seen of his. His nuance and range was impressive and, in my view, Oscar worthy. I don't know if he put on weight for the role; or perhaps it was his hairstyle, but I wouldn't have recognized him had I not known of the cast.

The rest of the cast (including Anne Hathaway as Mrs. Bilott) was first rate, and the directing was high caliber. It was enjoyable to see a nice performance by Tim Robbins.

My only misgiving was the intense feeling of familiarity with the story. There have been a large handful of film dramas which have featured the oppressed little guy who goes up against large corporations with the aid of a determined altruistic attorney. One knows all along what the outcome will likely be, which of course harms the suspense.

It was also nice for a change that the producers/writers rightly fixed some culpability for the travesty on the government, rather than the hackneyed: all corporations bad, all government good meme.

But aside from the deja vu feel of the film, this was a highly well done and absorbing production. My rating is similar to yours: 7/10.

~Doc



True indeed. The field being so tight this year, might scuppered the chances for Ruffalo this year. Otherwise he should have at least got a nomination.To be honest, haven't seen much of other than Hulk recently. This was a refreshing change.



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.

To the Ends of the World (Guillaume Nicloux, 2018)
6/10
A Fall from Grace (Tyler Perry, 2020)
5/10
The Cavern (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1964)
6/10
1917 (Sam Mendes, 2019)
- 7.5/10

Probably the most fateful sequence in the adventures of Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Schofield (George MacKay).
It's Alive (Larry Cohen, 1974)
6/10
Night Spot (Christy Cabanne, 1938)
+ 5/10
The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (Larry Cohen, 1977)
6/10
Dark Waters (Todd Haynes, 2019)
- 7/10

Doubtful those same lawyers will be clapping for Robert Bilott (Mark Ruffalo) when he prosecutes Dupont for poor West Virginians.
Order No. 027 (Ki Mo Jung & Eung Suk Kim, 1986)
5/10 Go Commies!
The Captive City (Robert Wise, 1952)
6/10
Stolen by My Mother: The Kamiyah Mobley Story (Jeffrey Byrd, 2020)
+ 5/10
Richard Jewell (Clint Eastwood, 2019)
6.5/10

Security guard Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) plays right into the FBI's hands by recreating the 1996 Olympic bonber's phonecall.
Feast of Friends (Paul Ferrara, 1970)
6.5/10
Born to Kill (Robert Wise, 1947)
6/10
The Doors: The Doors Are Open (John Sheppard, 1968)
6.5
A Hidden Life (Terrence Malick, 2019)
6/10

WAY overlong but beautiful story of the love and loss of Fani (Valerie Pachner) and Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl) who refused to fight for the Nazis during WWII.
Lonesome Luke, Messenger (Hal Roach, 1917)
6/10
Tammy and the T-Rex (Stewart Raffill, 1994)
.5/10
Bumping Into Broadway (Hal Roach, 1919)
6.5/10
Color Out of Space (Richard Stanley 2019)
+ 6/10

All-out cult film is pretty good by all involved [including Nic Cage] but maybe goes overboard.



The Man Who Wasn’t There 2001 Directed by Joel Coen

+


Marriage Story 2019 Directed by Noah Baumbach

Ten times better than Baumbach's The Squid and the Whale. Johansson, Driver, Dern and Liotta all gave great performances. Overall I thought the movie was very good / above the average divorce drama-comedy level, but it can't hang with the other best picture nominations.