Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Tools    






FOUR CHRISTMASES
(2008)

First viewing. Vince Vaughn is hilarious. Reese Witherspoon is cute. It isn't a great film but I enjoyed their chemistry. Some scenes had me laughing out loud.

__________________
“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



Victim of The Night
But even from the beginning I think that there is a dawning awareness. For example, the first time she looks in the mirror she says something like "As long as I'm beautiful I'm alive", but there's an interesting flicker on her face as she says it.

I think that Cleo's goals for herself have been superficial, and everything gets recontextualized in the wake of such a serious life event. The musicians who used to be a lot of fun are suddenly less fun when they brush off the fact that she's dealing with a possible cancer diagnosis.

I see a lot of the preening in the film as a defense mechanism. I see Cleo's relationship with the mirrors as a reflection of how she feels about herself, not just a commentary on her self-involvement. And I think that her "mirror" toward the end of the film is [spoilers]the soldier. She needed a real human being to "reflect" her own circumstances back at her and give her support.
I took it a bit differently. It wasn't just the men that blew off her illness and said she was just being dramatic, it was also Angele, who we see in the film, is the person who is with her the most. It seemed to me that the film was establishing that, firmly, in the first cafe, in the hat shop, in the apartment until she sings the song, that this is who Cleo is, a spoiled, superficial, self-absorbed. It's in the things she says herself and her attitude, and it's in the way we see everyone act toward her. Angele, as much as or more than the musicians, seems to just humor her and even says, aside, that she's a drama-queen (don't remember the exact words that she used but that was definitely the meaning). And I think it's implied multiple times if not outright said by Angele, that Cleo isn't taken seriously because of her own behavior. That she basically built the prison she finds herself in. That's why I think her arc really is a transformation.
As for the look in the mirror, I took that as fear, she's trying to act like her usual self but the fear is causing a bit of a chink in the armor. As a defense mechanism, isn't that kind of behavior always a defense mechanism? People act like prima donnas because they are afraid of true introspection? Which makes the mirrors even more interesting, she spends almost all her time looking at herself in mirrors, talking about herself, listening to herself on the radio, but never truly looks at herself.




FOUR CHRISTMASES
(2008)

First viewing. Vince Vaughn is hilarious. Reese Witherspoon is cute. It isn't a great film but I enjoyed their chemistry. Some scenes had me laughing out loud.

Gosh if Christmas wasn't already over, I'd watch that! Well maybe next year.



Do you want to say more about it? I was fine with the look of it and the performances, but I just couldn't make myself care all that much about either of the characters.

I took it a bit differently. It wasn't just the men that blew off her illness and said she was just being dramatic, it was also Angele, who we see in the film, is the person who is with her the most. . . And I think it's implied multiple times if not outright said by Angele, that Cleo isn't taken seriously because of her own behavior. That she basically built the prison she finds herself in. That's why I think her arc really is a transformation.
This is kind of what I was saying. She has cultivated this persona and those relationships. But I think that they are already starting to crumble and be unsatisfying at the beginning of the film. We see her try to go on as usual, but she can't just hide behind smiles anymore and she's suddenly very aware of her lack of meaningful friendships.



My Darth Star is in for a service
Fantastic Beasts The Crimes Of Grindelwald



While a good film this lacked that extra bit of tension and excitement I was hoping for.
The CGI and the wardrobe department were excellent but the story for me was a little weak.
I felt it was trying to be more adult in nature, compared to the Harry Potter films and the first FB film, but was still trying to appeal to the younger audience too so watered down the action.
Confused as to whether it wants to be a serious fantasy action movie or a childrens film it ended up being neither.

6.5/10



CITIZEN KANE (1941)
A debut film



Decided to start my 2021 film-watching with the rewatch of a classic. Orson Welles' masterpiece follows the titular character (played by Welles) as we see him rise from a poor kid to a larger-than-life multimillionaire in search of something. The film is truly a masterpiece in pretty much every aspect. From the performances to the broken chronology, from the editing to the flawless direction. Really, the way Welles plays with lights and shadows, perspective and depth in his shots is something impressive. But beyond its technical merits, it really is a great, engaging film.

I've seen/heard a bunch of "making of" featurettes and commentaries, but I've never heard the Ebert one, so I'm gonna try to sneak that in tonight.

Grade:
__________________
Check out my podcast: The Movie Loot!



Run (2020)

Drama about an over-protective mother with a disabled daughter. They live a pretty idyllic life on their own but when the daughter looks like getting into Uni and leaving the mother starts acting cranky.

Run of the will with a few shocks but its all predictable stuff.





Germany Year Zero, 1948

I watched Rome, Open City about a week and a half ago, and this film is the third of that series of films.

In Ally-occupied Munich a boy named Edmund (Edmund Moeschke) lives in a multi-family apartment with his adult sister, his soldier brother, and his sick father. The city is in ruins, and the people within it are living desperate lives. In an attempt to support his family, Edmund gets mixed up with various sordid characters and schemes.

The film begins on a down note that persists for the whole film: Edmund has tried to get work digging graves, but when it's discovered that he is underage he is kicked off of the work site and returns home with no pay. But Edmund's helplessness, which at first seems mostly a result of his age, extends to the rest of his family. His father is too sick to work. His brother cannot work because he is not registered with the authorities out of fear of what they would do if they found out that he fought until the very end of the war. His sister is clearly disturbed by multiple people encouraging her into prostitution.

This is a film full of desperation and misery, and Rossellini gives us a true spectrum of characters, some of whom are more innocent, and others of whom still cling to the evils of the Nazi ideology.

Something that I need to think over more was the way that the situation itself (the poverty, the fear, the frustration) seems like it is prime to push people into extremism. But at the same time, this is a culture just coming to the end of a decade of pursuing a political agenda that is extreme. At one point the father, who talks about his service in WW1, says something to the effect of "We just need to admit our mistakes." On the other side is Edmund's former schoolteacher, Henning, a slimy character who constantly gropes Edmund in what to me looked like an overtly sexual way and who still believes in Hitler and his ideas. Edmund also falls in with a gang of teenage (or early 20s?) boys who scam and steal from other citizens. One of them refers to the only girl in the group as "a mattress who sometimes dispenses cigarettes". For every small kindness that Edmund encounters, there is a flood of misery, anxiety, and cruelty.

It is interesting to see the way the the evils of the Nazi behavior and philosophy are so inextricably intertwined with the suffering of all of the characters. For example, there is a pregnant woman whose boyfriend/husband is currently in a POW camp. Edmund's brother, Karl-Heinz, is clearly dealing with some serious trauma from his military service in Russia. There is an interesting push-pull in the film where I both felt bad and did not feel bad for certain characters because of their larger involvement in the Nazi regime.

Much like Rome, Open City, this is not an easy watch. Edmund's child-like understanding of the world mixes with Henning's influence in the worst possible way. An early sequence in which starved citizens surround a dead horse like scavengers pretty much sets the tone. A bleak watch, and an interesting film to compare to Rome, Open City.




I actually just watched GYZ yesterday and completed the trilogy in so many days. GYZ was the smallest, bleakest and briefest of them. It certainly leaves an indelible impression of misery that, while present in Paisan and Rome, Open City, felt overpowering to the point that it's the defining characteristic.

I wouldn't call any of them particularly optimistic, with all three complimenting each other on the effects and abuses of war and fascism on Italy/Germany, but the others had more moments of hope, humanity and integrity that made them feel less cynical in the face of such devastation.

My favorite of them was Paisan, with it's grandiose scope made intimate by the sheet diversity of it's six chapters. It captures the Tower of Babel element of the war in way I really haven't seen captured on cinema in any other way. Usually anthologies have weaker chapters but every single one felt perfectly constructed and built towards a different kind of confrontation with the cost of war.

Beautiful stuff and deservedly iconic, influential and important.



I actually just watched GYZ yesterday and completed the trilogy in so many days. GYZ was the smallest, bleakest and briefest of them. It certainly leaves an indelible impression of misery that, while present in Paisan and Rome, Open City, felt overpowering to the point that it's the defining characteristic.
And I think that seeing that misery pervade to the point that the characters can't help each other was kind of the point.

My favorite of them was Paisan, with it's grandiose scope made intimate by the sheet diversity of it's six chapters. It captures the Tower of Babel element of the war in way I really haven't seen captured on cinema in any other way. Usually anthologies have weaker chapters but every single one felt perfectly constructed and built towards a different kind of confrontation with the cost of war.

Beautiful stuff and deservedly iconic, influential and important.
I'm really looking forward to Paisan.



I actually just watched GYZ yesterday and completed the trilogy in so many days. GYZ was the smallest, bleakest and briefest of them. It certainly leaves an indelible impression of misery that, while present in Paisan and Rome, Open City, felt overpowering to the point that it's the defining characteristic.

I wouldn't call any of them particularly optimistic, with all three complimenting each other on the effects and abuses of war and fascism on Italy/Germany, but the others had more moments of hope, humanity and integrity that made them feel less cynical in the face of such devastation.

My favorite of them was Paisan, with it's grandiose scope made intimate by the sheet diversity of it's six chapters. It captures the Tower of Babel element of the war in way I really haven't seen captured on cinema in any other way. Usually anthologies have weaker chapters but every single one felt perfectly constructed and built towards a different kind of confrontation with the cost of war.

Beautiful stuff and deservedly iconic, influential and important.
I'll have to check out Paisan and GYZ. I watched Rome, Open City last year and liked it quite a lot.
__________________
IMDb
Letterboxd



And I think that seeing that misery pervade to the point that the characters can't help each other was kind of the point.



I'm really looking forward to Paisan.
It was absolutely the point but I felt it was a less interesting point to me than what he's done with the other two, especially Paisan.

I really look forward to reading your thoughts on it too!



I'll have to check out Paisan and GYZ. I watched Rome, Open City last year and liked it quite a lot.
Part of me thinks watching them each a day apart wasn't enough time to let them breathe and settle on their own. As a thematic trilogy, it's a potent and towering achievement, clearly, but I feel like I probably would've spaced them out to ruminate on each so they didn't muddy each other up in my mind.

GYZ felt slight and simplistic beside Paisan but would it have felt that way if I hadn't just finished the former?

I'm curious to how they'll land for you with the given time to process.



Victim of The Night
This is kind of what I was saying. She has cultivated this persona and those relationships. But I think that they are already starting to crumble and be unsatisfying at the beginning of the film. We see her try to go on as usual, but she can't just hide behind smiles anymore and she's suddenly very aware of her lack of meaningful friendships.
Well, but the movie opens with her finding out the news (as far as she's concerned) so really it doesn't seem like she's changing at all without that turning point. Like if she didn't have this scare she would just go on being the spoiled brat she is in the first third of the movie.



Part of me thinks watching them each a day apart wasn't enough time to let them breathe and settle on their own. As a thematic trilogy, it's a potent and towering achievement, clearly, but I feel like I probably would've spaced them out to ruminate on each so they didn't muddy each other up in my mind.

GYZ felt slight and simplistic beside Paisan but would it have felt that way if I hadn't just finished the former?

I'm curious to how they'll land for you with the given time to process.
I'll have to check them out then. Thanks for the recs.



Fallen (1998) **6.9/10**

Unbelievable cast: Denzel of course, Donald Sutherland (who was the weakest of the bunch), John Goodman and the great but under appreciated James Gandolfini. The performances and casting are great but the narrative was not. Gandolfini as Lou sort of playing the foil to partners Hobbes and Jonesy worked brilliantly, really strong narrative with that base could have been fantastic. However the constantly tilted camera shots which is one of my pet hates happened to often and although the third act improved things slightly and the ending was at least unique, overall a completely forgettable plot. When Hobbes/Denzel started talking in demon Latin or whatever language it was I lost all interest. Should be viewed simply for the performances given by the actors.


Alan Smithee: burn Hollywood burn (1997) **4.4/10**

The lowest score I’ve given since adhering to this rating system 2 years ago having watched many many poor movies along the way. I watched a trailer for this when I was about 8 years old and it always looked appealing, finally found the movie having forgot it’s name, wish I never now. Completely unfunny although it tried so hard to be, annoyingly so to the point where I’m not sure whether it was purposely trying to come across this way. I think that’s giving this undue praise this was horrible on all fronts.

The cameos were bad but I enjoyed one of the greatest ironies ever. The main plot line of this movie is the director wanting to take his name off of a feature as it’s so bad, this is exactly what Arthur Hillier proposed having directed this trash. One positive is that Richard Jeni was okay and I loved him as Stanley Ipkiss’s right hand man in the mask, he was annoying but at least semi watchable.


The bridge on the river Kwai (1957) **9.2/10**

From one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen to one of the best. The first act sets the scene fast showing exactly what the situation is with these British prisoners of war and autocratic type leader Saito in control. One of my only gripes with the film is how easily Saito is turned but other wise faultless writing.

Yes Alec Guinness as usual was great but William Holden stole the show as major Sheaths, I guess it was the journey his character went on and the twists and turns he encountered, acted beautifully by him regardless so he deserves high praise. When Sheaths escapes it is an escape for the viewer too seeing the lush greenery and rivers on offer in Japan. Exactly what was needed for the visuals and plot at that precise time, In other words the pacing was spot on. I loved the early long shots, even crane shots you could call them, as we see many of the prisoners from a distance really setting the scene. David Lean at his absolute best, in this classy movie, masterful movie making from cast and crew.



It was absolutely the point but I felt it was a less interesting point to me than what he's done with the other two, especially Paisan.

I really look forward to reading your thoughts on it too!
I agree that it is less interesting than what he did in Rome, Open City, with its slow slide from something more light-hearted and thriller-like to something almost too painful to look at.

I did think that its complexity was a little more "hidden"--namely that there is something interesting about watching people in this state of transition between a starkly different past and future and how they psychologically cope with that.

Well, but the movie opens with her finding out the news (as far as she's concerned) so really it doesn't seem like she's changing at all without that turning point. Like if she didn't have this scare she would just go on being the spoiled brat she is in the first third of the movie.
I agree that without the cancer diagnosis she probably wouldn't change. But I think it's significant that we don't see her before she gets her diagnosis. In other words, I think that some of her "brattiness" is due to her trying to lean into her old way of life as part of her coping process. In behavior management we call this an "extinction burst"---it's when someone knows they are being forced to change and they actually act worse than they did before. I think that the first third of the film is her flirting with a kind of denial, but finding that she can't do it and she's really put off when others are flippant in much the same way she probably has been in the past. I think that in running to her old habits for comfort, she discovers how shallow they are.



[The Vast of Night] Indeed it is! I was absolutely gobsmacked by it. Actually the more I think about this film, the higher the rating I want to give it.
Yeah, that was a phenomenal shot. I have no idea how they did that.

As I recall the film got a little disrespect when it came out, but I thought it was very well done: a nice small town feel almost in the mode of Shadow of a Doubt. A simple sci-fi film with absorbing insinuations.