Rate The Last Movie You Saw

I think one of the greatest strengths of CANDYMAN is also what makes it not work perfectly as a social commentary: a feeling of dreamlike logic behind the supernatural occurrences. Like a dream, it has the feeling of hitting larger ideas, bubbling beneath the surface, but only flirts with them in a visceral and upsetting way, rather than anything didactic.

This is what makes it such a masterpiece of Gothic horror.

However, I'd still say the subtext that is there is heavily indebted to the racial divide between the protagonist and her surroundings. Ultimately, the film is about pulling the rug of white privilege out from under her and having the spectre of racism upend her life. It's no longer something academic or on the other side of the tracks, it's her life.



That said, there's no reason why it took 3 sequels to finally get black leads of a Candyman. One can easily accuse the original of being blind to its own bias due to the lens it chose to frame its narrative around, but it did build that narrative as authentically and honestly as it could (the same cannot be said of it's sequels).

Unfortunately, the new Candyman IS fairly didactic and contradicts itself without the dream-like flow to defend itself. It's well directed and the best sequel, but does very little to step out of the shadow of the original and is probably even more blind to its bias...

Right. I think that there's a lot about the film that works. It is, hands-down, one of my favorite horror films of all time. I love it a lot.

However, it does feel as if it is a movie mainly aimed at a white audience. We spend a LOT of time understanding the white lead's work, her relationship with her husband, her feelings of betrayal, etc. The main sequences of menace involve her being attacked by Black men, both living and supernatural. I think that the portrayals of the citizens of Cabrini Green are mostly well-intentioned, but at the same time there's the limitation of, as you cite, the lens it has chosen for its narrative.

It's interesting that you say that at the end she

It's certainly aimed at a white audience. I can even see why people would find that problematic. However, I think what it is saying to that white audience is provacative, intelligent and powerful, if a bit nebulous and smeary in it's messaging.

I just don't see how you can tell that story (and I'm very glad it was told, as it's a favorite) without risking those issues arising. I think it's sort of the same family of Driving Mrs. Daisy and Green Book, where a white person learns to be less racist. The choice of that narrative carries baggage due more to the context in which they're made (fewer black central narratives are celebrated, redemption for racists, simplifying complex issues, etc), as I do think that kind of narrative has value and can be told well (usually isn't. But I'm talking possible!) I think what absolutely saves Candyman is that it's (fittingly) the dark mirror to that white savior narrative. It's mean, brutal and doesn't have an ending that makes people feel like these societal evils are solved.

On Golden Pond, 1981

Ethel (Katharine Hepburn) and Norman (Henry Fonda) are an older couple gearing up to spend several weeks at a cabin by Golden Pond, an isolated retreat. Their daughter, Chelsea (Jane Fonda) is set to go on vacation with her boyfriend, and they leave the boyfriend's son, Billy (Doug McKeon) with her parents.

This was, overall, a very charming and engaging film buoyed by great lead performances from Hepburn and Fonda.

The best parts of the film are just watching the interactions between Ethel and Norman, a wonderful realization of a couple that's been together for so long that they can have entire conversations with just a glance. In the second half of the film, the focus is almost entirely on Billy bonding with the couple, and especially Norman. Billy is resentful about having been "dumped" by his father and Chelsea. Norman and Ethel gently go about engaging Billy in fishing and other pastimes. (In one great sequence, Billy tries to shock them by using profanity. Ethel just shrugs it off while Norman says in a neutral voice that "It's a good word.").

There's something really nice about the way that the film is willing to move at a slow pace. For the most part it has the feeling of a slow summer day, and you find yourself surprisingly content to just watch Norman and Billy eat sandwiches while they fish.

I had one big and one small complaint about this film. The big complaint had to do with the melodrama, mainly in the form of Chelsea and her relationship with her father. In almost every scene with Chelsea she goes from zero to hysterical in a matter of seconds and it is exhausting. There's already enough drama there in the form of Norman starting to experience some possible dementia and physical fragility. The script is annoyingly non-specific in terms of just why Chelsea behaves the way that she does.

My smaller complaint---though it relates a bit to that complaint about Chelsea--is that I thought that the score was kind of shmaltzy and overbearing. Yes, I realize the score was Oscar nominated. I found it too much, and when Chelsea was being dramatic and all of a sudden a flock of violins kicked in I was like "MAKE IT STOP!!".

Worthy of its classic status, though I wish it had foregone some of the melodrama.

major fan of uncharted series also loved this movie but sucks they didnt show elena fisher and nadine ross but hopefully they will make nadine ross and chloe frazer spin off movie like the game uncharted lost legacy make sure to watch post credits scene also*

One of Connelly's best, for sure. It's funny, the L.A. basin is basically flat land, but they have a hill or two right in the middle of downtown, which promoted the rail incline.

It'll be interesting to see what they do with the spinoff series, Bosch: Legacy. Reportedly Bosch retires and starts working as a P.I. for the attorney, Honey Chandler. They use some of the characters from the Amazon series, like his daughter.

As I recall in the actual book series, Bosch went to work for the Santa Clarita Sheriff's Dept. Don't know if I've read the latest or not.

(some mild SPOILERS?)

Cure follows Detective Takabe (Kōji Yakusho) as he investigates a series of murders where victims end up with an X carved on their necks and chests. The weird thing is that in each case, the murderer is found close to the victim, with no recollection of what happened and sometimes no clear remorse. "He was someone I didn't like... I couldn't stand it anymore", says one of them after killing his partner.

There really is no mystery as to who's causing these murders, since we find out fairly early that a mysterious man called Mamiya (Masato Hagiwara) is behind it all. The man, who seems to be suffering from severe memory loss while aimlessly wandering around, seems to have some sort of mental influence in people, forcing them to let their emotions and anger out.

So the film unfolds in two halves, the first of which plays in a more or less straightforward, procedural way, as we see Takabe and his psychologist partner Sakuma (Tsuyoshi Ujiki) play a cat-and-mouse game to find whoever's causing the murders. After Mamiya is captured halfway through the film, the cat-and-mouse game is transferred to their minds as we see Takabe become increasingly more frustrated with the man, which leads him to often let his emotions and anger out.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot and the HOF27

__________________

I... For Icarus - 7.5/10
If you like mystery/thriller (I usually don't), then this is for you. Especially if you're familiar with the JFK assassination. This movie to me is like F.I.S.T to Jimmy Hoffa (in accuracy) then the movies specifically about Hoffa (which both stink, although I must say "The Irishman" is not only all incorrect, but it's probably the 3rd worst movie I have ever seen), and the movie "JFK" stinks, too. The same asset who brought you "The Doors" - and another character assassination.

__________________
https://www.youtube.com/c/LoyalOpposition

This short follows the "Boss Baby" as he tries to fend off three villains set out to get rid of him one way or the other. This is one of Netflix Interactive programs where, much like those "Choose Your Own Adventure" series, you choose which paths to follow until the ending.

I used to be a fan of those "Choose Your Own Adventure" series, so I've always kinda liked the interactive aspect of these shorts, and so does my kids (they really love one that Bear Grylls does, You vs. Wild, and see it often). But still, my youngest one didn't seem to be that invested into this one (we only did two runs of it), and neither did I.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

First Man was excellent...here's a link to my review:

https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/...first-man.html

Mean Streets (1973)

Don't overlook his debut film Guy And Madeleine On A Park Bench. Like the first films many great directors, it's essentially just an expanded version of his film school thesis, but it's a very ambitious flick that clearly sets the stage for what's to come.

He attempts to blend the Nouvelle Vague style with a musical on a nothing budget and for the most part, pulls it off.

Foreign Correspondent (1940) ++ Alfred Hitchcock's action-packed tale of espionage on the eve of WWII is a beautiful blend of Hitchcockian drama with his penchant for moments of whimsy.

In sheer British charisma and polished charm, the acting highlights are George Saunders and Herbert Marshall, whose suave gambits almost. I do mean, almost negate American Correspondent's presence, played by the always earnest and pleasantly sarcastic portrayal by Joel McCrea. He stumbles into the very heart of it all, along with a wonderfully strong-willed Laraine Day.

The slow-building opening introduces and endears us to the initial players; Hitchcock tightens up the action and the depth of intrigue in various locations from the streets of London to the windmills of Holland, and in a rather impressive climax, the crashing of a plane in the ocean.


A slightly lesser-known than his usual iconic films, it is well-deserving of its high regard by those who have experienced and enjoyed it, and I'm thrilled to have finally joined that crowd.

__________________
What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes

~Mr Minio

Boyfriends and Girlfriends (1987, Éric Rohmer)

Again, not my top favorite Rohmer, but still lovely. There are some standout scenes for me, like that scene in the wood, and the 'misunderstanding' scene at the end is pretty sweet.

The last few has him teaming up with LAPD Detective Renée Ballard. She a really great character in her own right. I think they're some of the best in the series.

TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2022)

Take Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills, blend em with Evil Dead (2013), bop it once in the head with a hammer, and you've got this film.

It's a lean, mean, silly 75 min slasher flick full of schlocky thrills and gory kills.

3.5/5

Is there less speechifying than Halloween Kills? That was my big problem with that movie.

The Princess and The Warrior (2000)

I've never heard of that movie.

Practically none. Not that when the characters speak, that it's much higher brow. But no "Evil dies tonight!!!"