Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Tools    





Last night it was The Devil all the Time, a Netflix original. If you EVER, EVER needed a reason to NOT live in a little, nowhere town in Appalachia in the 1950's and 1960's, you can find it here, in Knockemstiff. With all this murder, it's not hard to understand why the population doesn't increase.

It's one of those slow-burn movies with a lot of dialog and voiceover narration, not unlike Shawshank Redemption, but creepy and violent and not in New England.

Do you understand that I do NOT....now OR then, want to live in Knockemstiff? I was relieved when it was over, but not because it wasn't well done, but because I'd take the risks of the city any day over living in this place where I'd probably die anyway but only after my brain rots out from disuse and I become one of them. And....I'd have to learn the art of expressive spitting if I want to fit in, such as THAT is. It's low on budget and FX, but with an excellent cast and extremely high on cerebral dysfunction. Do you get that I don't want to live in Knockemstiff, even if I do have a pair of bib overalls with one button undone?






Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.


Man Hunt (Irving Cummings, 1933)
5/10
Playing Around (Mervyn LeRoy, 1930)
6/10
The Lost Okoroshi (Abba Makama, 2019)
- 5/10
Nana (Jean Renoir, 1926)
5.5/10

Courtesan Nana (Catherine Hessling) will sleep with as many men as she can as long as she gets the money.
Arena (Jonah Loop, 2011)
5/10
Loving Couples (Mai Zetterling, 1964)
6/10
The Beast of Hollow Mountain (Edward Nassour & Ismael Rodriguez, 1956)
5/10
The Elusive Corporal (Jean Renoir, 1962)
6.5/10

French WWII POWs [including Jean-Pierre Cassel on the right] repeatedly try to escape the Germans as the Allies approach Paris.
Residue (Merawi Gerima, 2020)
5/10
Don't Talk to Strange Men (Pat Jackson, 1962)
6/10
Turn Back the Clock (Edgar Selwyn, 1933)
- 6.5/10
The Devil All the Time (Antonio Campos, 2020)
6/10

Of all the violent, pathetic characters in this depiction of rural America, Tom Holland is certainly the closest to a hero.
The Paramedic (Carles Torras, 2020)
5.5/10
The Lighthouse AKA Mayak (Mariya Saakyan, 2006)
6/10
Repeat Performance (Alfred Werker, 1947)
- 6.5/10
Spiral (Kurtis David Harder, 2019)
6/10

Are a same-sex couple the victims of a conspiracy or are their new neighbors just weird?
Going Home (Herbert B. Leonard, 1971)
6/10
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (David Lynch, 1992)
5/10
10 to 11 (Pelin Esmer, 2009)
6/10
Wild at Heart (David Lynch, 1990)
- 5/10

Bobby Peru (Willem Dafoe) with head still intact.
__________________
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page




The Bit Player (2018)

A very nicely done documentary about the great Claude Shannon. Never heard of him? He was the father of "Information Theory", and "the bit"-- used in computing and communication. After viewing what Shannon accomplished and what his inventions spawned, it's not impossible to say the he was greater in importance than Newton, Marconi, or even Einstein!

Starting with publication of his ground breaking master's thesis while at MIT in 1937, he invented "digital design theory" by use of Boolean algebra (zeros and ones --0s and 1s), which could represent any numerical relationship.

The human side of Shannon was as compelling as his scientific curiosity side. He was quite the hambone, invented countless variations of unicycles, and was also an accomplished juggler.

This is a documentary/docudrama with very well done representation of key figures by actors. There was also a nice interview of Shannon's widow, who was 97!

Available on Amazon Prime and other streaming services.

Doc's rating: 8/10



The Prince of Tides (1991)

Great performance from Nick Nolte. Melodramatic in the right way. If you buy into Toms story it's a quest, I did. Can see how others may see the production as saccharine. Also during the healing, a few great laughing sequences. An emotional and uplifting film.




The Prince of Tides (1991)

Great performance from Nick Nolte. Melodramatic in the right way. If you buy into Toms story it's a quest, I did. Can see how others may see the production as saccharine. Also during the healing, a few great laughing sequences. An emotional and uplifting film.



Nice to see some love for this film, very little talk about it on this site, but I thought it was great and Nick Nolte was extraordinary.



King of New York (1990)



Oww, this was higher for me Fabulous.



Nice to see some love for this film, very little talk about it on this site, but I thought it was great and Nick Nolte was extraordinary.
Gideon, I think it's Nick Nolte's best ever performance...the humour through the pain is so realistic.





Labyrinth
(1986)
4.5/5
I was talking to my daughter via text and we agree.. this is one of our favorite films!



Some quickies:



A Hard Day's Night, 1964

I don't think that I really "got" Beatlemania before, but now I get it. I'm not a "scream and cry through an entire concert" kind of person, but this film was the first time that I really understood why they were such a phenomenon outside of their music. The look of the movie is really fun, the irreverent tone hits the right mix of goofy comedy and sarcasm, and the whole thing has a lightness to it that's punctuated by the performance of several of their songs.





Come to Daddy, 2020

Okay, I love Elijah Wood, and I love it when he plays off-beat characters. He has a way of melding innocence and angst into his characters and it's fabulous. But, I'm sorry, this movie makes zero sense. And not in a fun way. It feels like a bunch of half-baked ideas, often strains to be "edgy", and several scenes just feel like something a writer wanted to put on screen, not something that flowed naturally from the narrative. Very disappointing, and a real shame because the central narrative itself is kind of interesting. Too bad it goes nowhere! I had even suitably lowered my expectations because of reading other negative reviews, and the film just ran its stupid face into that low, low bar.





Life, 2015

A slightly fictionalized account of a short period of time right before James Dean (Dane DeHaan) broke big and was covered in a photographic spread by Dennis Stock (Robert Pattinson). While the film dutifully captures the circumstances of some of Stock's famous photographs (like the one I'm sure you've seen of Dean walking through Times Square), it's mostly interested in examining why these two men bonded with each other and how they were both at tipping points in their careers. Both of them want to hold onto their individuality, and both feel the pressure to please the higher ups. Dean, in particular, at times almost seems like an animal that hasn't totally processed that it's being taken out of the wild and being domesticated--especially in a sequence when he stares at a suit that he's been ordered to wear to an event. Both men come across as sympathetic, though Stock isn't always the most likable character. Overall I really liked this movie, though it left me in a melancholic mood. Being reminded of Dean's potential, and a life cut so tragically short, adds a somber heft to the film.





The King, 2019

A film based on Shakespeare's Prince Hal/Henry series, the story follows Prince Hal (Timothee Chalamet) as he reluctantly takes the throne after the unexpected death of his brother and the death of his father. Once in that role, Hal is pushed into war with France, eventually bringing on his trusted friend Falstaff (Joel Edgerton, who also wrote the film) as his main advisor. Facing down a sociopathic French prince (Robert Pattinson), Hal must wrestle with his conscience as he tries to lead his army without frivolous loss of life.

I quite enjoyed this film, especially the middle third. The climactic battle sequence was both amazing and too much for me, and so I only half watched it. It's an interesting interpretation of the story. I enjoyed Edgerton's Falstaff, a man who is bombastic in the tavern, but much more somber and subdued when it comes to decisions that will put men's lives at risk. Also, I now get the buzz about Chalamet, who manages to be interesting (and maybe most interesting) when he is just sitting and thinking, but who also really delivers in the sequence where he must give a rallying speech to his troops about to rush into battle very outnumbered. The movie is full of great supporting actors (like Sean Harris and Ben Mendelsohn, or Thomasin McKenzie popping up for basically just one scene as Hal's sister). I read a review that accused the film of glorifying war and nationalism, but I felt like the whole point of the movie was basically the opposite.




All Things Must Pass: The Rise And Fall Of Tower Records (Colin Hanks, 2015)
+
Didn't really hit the right notes with me - felt like there was so much more that could have been told



matt72582's Avatar
Please Quote/Tag Or I'll Miss Your Responses
Last Few:

The Battle of Algiers 1966
Some of this looks more like actual footage than film, which gives the whole thing a documentary feel about it. The post-bomb footage and the riot scenes are especially well directed. Overall a very realistic portrayal of a tragic time in Algeria's history - with only one professional actor. A remarkable achievement in cinema.
]
One of the greats ever... The special features were on YouTube last time I checked!



Zombi Child (2019)

Occasionally interesting and beautiful drama with supernatural elements. The different parts don't always fit together, and it wrecks the pacing quite a bit. I don't like how the ending leaves everything open, like a pilot of a series. It made me want to listen to Argentum again, though.
__________________



Uwantme2killhim? (2013)

Film based on a true story that exposes how powerful social media can be to a young mind.

The performances were all spot on and a pertinent lesson for everyone.








Snooze factor = Zzzzz






Snooze factor = Z



[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