Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Tools    





DEAD & BURIED (1981)



Well, well, well. This was quite a surprise. The film follows a sheriff investigating a series of murders in his small town. I thought it was a nice spin in the "creepy small town" subgenre, slasher subgenre, and even a bit of the "zombie" subgenre. Kills were pretty good, scares were effective, special effects (by Stan Winston, nonetheless) were excellent, and the story managed to surprise me several times. Performances were pretty good too. I'm actually surprised that this film doesn't come up more often on "horror film" discussions.

__________________
Check out my podcast: The Movie Loot!



Just Watch keeps LYING to me about this film being on Amazon Prime, when it's actually a filmed version of the stage play with different actors. This one's been on my watchlist for quite a while.



I've been searching for a print of this movie for YEARS and finally found it today! Couldn't believe it and trust me, the film did not disappoint...as she always did, Davis rules!



DEAD & BURIED (1981)



Well, well, well. This was quite a surprise. The film follows a sheriff investigating a series of murders in his small town. I thought it was a nice spin in the "creepy small town" subgenre, slasher subgenre, and even a bit of the "zombie" subgenre. Kills were pretty good, scares were effective, special effects (by Stan Winston, nonetheless) were excellent, and the story managed to surprise me several times. Performances were pretty good too. I'm actually surprised that this film doesn't come up more often on "horror film" discussions.

I really like this as well. I agree with the idea that the movie is a rebuke on Republicans always wanting to take America back to the way it was in the 1950's. I can see people like Jeff Sessions and Steve King watching this movie and rooting for the bad guys. It must not have been appreciated in its time because it was Siskel and Ebert's "Dog of the Week" when it came out. Go figure.








Durante La Tormenta (Mirage) (2018) - 6/10. Its a good film. Dont know how to rate it. Watched it with too many distractions. Direction could have been a bit tighter. There is an element of "suspension of disbelief" to the movie. There are a lot of characters thrown in the mix but at least I didn't get lost. Its overall.... good!
__________________
My Favorite Films










Veronica (2017) - 5.8/10. It is not your average ouija board knick-knack. The story is good. It seems to be a true story, from how the directors portrayed the film. It is scary in places. But nothing that will give you a sleepless night. Watchable for sure.



Lowlife (Ryan Prows, 2017)
+
Has its moments but at least one attempt to build suspense is completely pointless due to the nature of the storytelling



Raven73's Avatar
Boldly going.
Psycho (1960)
8/10.
I noticed a lot of background imagery this time that I hadn't noticed previously, like the shadow of the Cupid statue by the staircase in the Bate's house.
A true classic.
__________________
Boldly going.



Nighthawks (1981)

The story here is extremely silly (it's almost like the writers thought that terrorists are one unified faction). There are some nice 80s scenes, a good soundtrack and, of course, Rutger Hauer that keep this barely above bad.
__________________






Wasn't bad. Wasn't great either. A happily married couple (wee bit 'o sarcasm) goes camping and does everything wrong, offending the animals who get their revenge. The nice thing about this is you can't like either of the characters, they're both a-holes who do nothing but destroy everything around them and argue, so whatever happens you're okay with it. It's not so much a when animals attack flick, although that does happen a little, as much as it's just watching the deterioration of their marriage and I enjoyed watching these two miserable people meltdown.



Doomsday (2008)

Watched this yesterday but forgot to write about it. I remember not liking this when it came out, so I was pleasantly surprised at how good it felt this time. Brutally violent, over the top and hilariously bonkers. Neil Marshall has a really solid top end on his resume.






Wasn't bad. Wasn't great either. A happily married couple (wee bit 'o sarcasm) goes camping and does everything wrong, offending the animals who get their revenge. The nice thing about this is you can't like either of the characters, they're both a-holes who do nothing but destroy everything around them and argue, so whatever happens you're okay with it. It's not so much a when animals attack flick, although that does happen a little, as much as it's just watching the deterioration of their marriage and I enjoyed watching these two miserable people meltdown.
I was a huge fan of the mysterious
WARNING: spoilers below
manatee looking thing that seemed to be dead and yet followed them around and kept popping up. I thought it added an otherworldly element to the film.



The Angels' Share. (2012)

I enjoyed this, social issues are always at the front of Ken Loach's work, he doesn't get far from that here either. It concerns young offenders who, under the tutelage of a case worker Harry, learn a little bit more of a view of history...and Whisky! This direction has really nice touches (the violence scenes are very threatening as they were in "My name is Joe") but there is a light-hearted and compassionate counterpoise that made me smile. Acting is passable, as we know Mr Loach loves working with raw talent (and improv) but it really works and is a great group effort all around.





THE TRIAL OF
THE CHICAGO 7
(2020)

First viewing. Instant American classic. A historical account of the Vietnam War protest in Grant Park, Chicago during the Democratic Convention in 1968 that led to the arrest and trial of 7 of the most revered anti-war activists of the time that is excellently written and directed by Aaron Sorkin with brilliant performances by the entire cast that includes Eddie Redmayne, Mark Rylance, Sacha Baron Cohen, Michael Keaton, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Frank Langella. I expect many Oscar nominations, including a Best Picture nod, as well as one for Sorkin as director and screenwriter each, and Baron Cohen for his scene-stealing portrayal of Abbie Hoffman.

__________________
“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



Warlock (1959) 8/10

Solid western, found this from the 100 list on site. Definitely want to check out some others on there.



House of Games (1987)

Tight neo-noir with typical David Mamet themes. Show and tell and Pinter-esque dialogue.

Very watchable but a bit creaky round the edges.




I agree with all that. It's got that Mamet feel and it's quite enjoyable, but it's just missing that little bit of polish. This analogy has some issues, but I think of it in relation to later Mamet films the same way I think of Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs compared to Pulp Fiction. A sort of warning shot about how good things were going to get when the same vibe and style became a bit more refined.