Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Some movies / performances just make you re-assess your opinion of certain actors and The Swimmer did that for me with Burt Lancaster. He was perfect as you say and I've been a fan ever since watching this despite not liking him much when I was younger. Same deal with Victor Mature in My Darling Clementine, a part he totally owned.

The Mitchells vs. the Machines presents us a family that's pretty much going through those struggles and insecurities. Nevermind the machine apocalypse, the core of the film is how this family has to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, external and internal, to save their lives, yes, but most importantly, their relationships and their bond. They might have "no idea what they're doing", but they're still pushing through.

The focus of the film is on the daughter, Katie (Abbi Jacobson), who frequently clashes with her "old school" father Rick (Danny McBride). Because of this, she's anxious to leave for film school in California. But after a particularly bitter argument, Rick decides to cancel her plane ticket and take the family in a cross-country trip from Michigan to California, in an attempt to have one final chance at bonding. Along for the ride are mother Linda (Maya Rudolph), little brother Aaron (Mike Rianda), and their pet dog, Monchi.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

27th Hall of Fame (REWATCH)

Jaws (1975) -

(SPOILER WARNING)

I didn't revisit this film before writing this review, but that's only because I've seen it several times (once a couple months ago, in fact), so the film is still really fresh in my memory. As great as it is though, it's not my favorite kind of film to review since its strengths (the shift from a comparably slower police procedural thriller in the first half to survival horror in the second half, the mayor's poor handling of the situation, Quint's USS Indianapolis monologue, several iconic shark scenes, the soundtrack), have already been analyzed to death, so when I discuss those aspects, I feel like I'm just repeating things that many other people have already said. Therefore, I'll instead talk about some other aspects I like about the film which aren't brought up as often.

Quint's aforementioned USS Indianapolis monologue is great and it could be argued that it's the origin of his rough outward personality, but I think his character is more complex than that. On the surface, his "tough guy" demeanor seems to represent masculinity or manliness, but the more you analyze his behavior, the more pathetic he appears as a character. He's an arrogant, obsession-fueled narcissist who's willing to put Brody and Hooper in danger to kill the shark (at one point, he even goes as far to prevent Brody from calling for help by smashing a radio). His view appears to be that acting like a dick to everyone around him gives him a sense of manliness. While Quint's USS Indianapolis monologue is an excellent scene though, none of the actions he mentions in that speech (which mainly consist of him floating in the water for several hours and hoping a shark doesn't pick him out of his fellow sailors to attack) seem braver than Hooper going underwater in a cage to try to kill the shark as a last resort or even Brody coping with his fears and setting out to hunt the shark (more on that later). Quint failed to kill the shark and got himself killed in the process, while Brody killed the shark instead. Compared to Brody and Hooper, Quint seemed significantly less manly and brave.

I also feel like Brody is an underpraised character. Most people I talk to generally say that Quint is the best character in the film but, while he's complex, too, I think there's also a lot to praise Brody for. Before the shark showed up, Brody was an outsider who left New York to get away from the violence and settle down into a more peaceful community. As the shark begins wreaking havoc on the town though, he has to put up with several things, like the mayor refusing to close the beach and the other townspeople having a somewhat unfavorable opinion of him (Alex Kintner's mother slapping Brody is a powerful scene since the mayor was much more at fault for getting Alex killed and deserved the slap instead). These are the people Brody has to save and he isn't happy about this. Ultimately though, while his concern for the town has somewhat of an effect on his decisions, Brody's concerns for his family's safety influence his decision to hunt the shark the most (simple scenes of Brody telling his kids not to play by the water or his reaction to one of his sons going into shock after an encounter with the shark give his decisions an extra layer of resonance). To briefly go back to my points on Quint, that Brody eventually overcomes his fears and kills the shark makes him the more courageous and manly of the two characters by a long shot. Really, Brody is a terrific character and his arc doesn't get nearly enough credit, in my opinion.

Overall, Jaws is an excellent film which gets better the more I rewatch it. That the quieter drama scenes prove to be just as, if not, more memorable than the shark scenes is truly something special that few horror films I've seen have been able to accomplish.

I don't know if you've read the novel but I think this is what Peter Benchley had in mind.

Ya know I actually didn't care for that spoilered part in the book. Seemed like it overcomplicated the narrative.

By http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cg...llusionist.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5751708

The Illusionist - (2006)

Films often come in pairs, probably because studios invest a lot in their scripts and when one enemy begins production on a film while another studio has a similar-themed project sitting there, a race begins to finish first. At least that's what I've heard. Anyway, The Illusionist came out the same year The Prestige did, and while The Illusionist did well, I wasn't really aware of it until now. It earned only slightly less than The Prestige did. I thought it was pretty good, without singling anything out that had me breathless (except for Crown Prince Leopold's threats to sue a magician for fraud - dude, that's what they do. That's what magic tricks are all about - tricking people.) I personally had Ed Norton's Eisenheim pegged as an outright mystic. With CGI the impossible is possible. But I won't go down any avenues that might give away this film's plot. It's a good looking film with plenty of spark - a high stakes game involving royalty and power. The only down point for me was the lack of chemistry between Norton and Jessica Biel, but it has been explained to me that Eisenheim is meant to be inscrutable and his not showing emotions is part of the character. So there. Complaint nullified. Paul Giamatti does most of the heavy lifting acting-wise.

7/10

I agree with you on both counts. Brody is the center of the movie for me, not Quint. Quint is great color for Brody. And Brody is, by far, the better man. Quint may have been tough but he turns out to be a loud-mouthed braggart who gets in over his head and whose ego is actually fragile enough that he cannot accept it to the degree that he puts his own life and the lives of others at risk. Really just a shitty person.
Brody is a hero, and Scheider's portrayal of him is just perfect and honestly is one of my favorite acting performances.

Tentacles (1977)

Considering that the film is technically somewhat proficient, it's truly amazing how boring it is. The body count is somewhat higher than Jaws, but nothing seems to happen. There's no tension, no characters, nothing. The only decent scene is the boat race (well, maybe a few of the octopus scenes are kinda amusing, too). I enjoyed Alien 2 more.

The Earrings of Madame De...

A perfectly constructed and executed period piece romantic drama. The long take photography is among the best I've ever seen and accentuates every emotion the characters are feeling. Just top notch stuff and I need to see more Ophuls immediately.

5/5

I've had this picture on my list for months, but haven't yet pulled the trigger. I think I've seen clips, but not the whole movie.

You're both talking about Tentacles, right?