Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Ending the Comer doubleheader with

The Last Duel - 2021

I can't think of a better example of what happens when you emphasize message over entertainment. The number one goal should be to entertain....always. The movie is a mixed bag because the messaging is so thick the entertainment trails. It's infecting everyone in Hollywood. It's a shame because most of the performances, cinematography and ending were great. Once you get over the fact it's set in medieval France and everyone speaks English I found the performances pretty good. Comer was spectacular, especially towards the end. It's just the subject matter this movie is tackling is dark but the messaging was so thick I legitimately laughed and I shouldn't be. Especially going into the third act and it freezes onto one phrase I laughed pretty hard. I can almost feel the actors patting themselves on the back for this movie. I have a nickname for this movie but saying it would be spoiling the subject matter of the movie. Which I was not expecting it to be about which in hindsight it doesn't surprise me in this climate.

All that is not to say what they attempted to say isn't worthy of exploration I just don't think it's entertaining in a feature film. I think they did a pretty decent job putting you in someone's shows after such an event. However a good chunk of this movie is a pretty hard dull bore to get through. The end is great and has a lot of weight to it mainly thanks to Comer's performance it's just the journey is rough to get there. Ridley should have took Gladiator in this direction . Anyways it was ok at best with a great ending.

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I came here to do two things, drink some beer and kick some ass, looks like we are almost outta beer - Dazed and Confused

101 Favorite Movies (2019)

Rating Free Guy higher than The Last Duel hurts my head, heart and soul.

Julien Donkey-Boy (1999) - rewatch.

Dunno what I expected to get out of watching this disturbing and hilarious film again, but it sure hits the spot. Utterly mental depicting mental deficiencies (Werner Hertzog is fabulous) that can just creep into a family structure. Wish Korine had stayed on this track rather than punt out the *controv* pish that only satisfies the chattering classes....opportunity missed by him I think.

City Slickers -

I enjoyed it. It's a fairly typical comedy of it's time, and some jokes didn't always land for me, but it was still a good watch.

City Lights -

There were more gags I picked up on in this re-watch, I think. Probably my 2nd favorite Chaplin film, and for good reason.

I just recently watched this for the first time and absolutely loved it. Kept telling my friends how this silent film was funnier and better than a lot of comedies they think of. They all just humored me.

City Lights is one of my top 3 Chaplin (alongside Modern Times and Limelight). If you want him to bring the funny, the Circus is mandatory and under appreciated.

SF = Zzz


[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

Agreed.

I think that the whole idea of reality and subjectivity is perfectly summed up in the not-insignificant subplot about Hae-Mi's story about falling into the empty well. Did it really happen? Did she make it up? Did she imagine it so viscerally that she believes it happened?

And much like the well story, whatever is the reality between Hae-Mi, Jung-Su, and Ben, it's upsetting and maybe even horrifying.

Encanto follows the Madrigal, a Colombian family led by matriarch Alma (María Cecilia Botero) and settled in the rural titular town. What sets them apart is that at some point in their lives, each member of the family receives a magical gift in a ritual led by Alma; except for Mirabel. This creates disillusionment and resentment in Alma and low self-esteem in Mirabel, because why shouldn't he receive a gift?

Just like with the Madrigal family, there are a lot of strengths and a lot of weakening flaws in it. The main flaw is that the story is a bit of a mess, and the way everything unfolds, sending Mirabel into a quest to find the problem with the house and the family just doesn't make a lot of sense. But at least it's set to some banging music.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

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Midnight Cowboy follows Buck's journey as he struggles to make ends meet. We don't get a lot of background on him and why he decided to follow this path, but coming from a rural town, you get the idea that he probably was a "big fish in a small pond". However, moving to the biggest city in the US certainly puts him in a much bigger pond; one that he has trouble navigating in.

At some point, he meets "Ratso" (Dustin Hoffman), a street con man, and despite a shaky start, they quickly become friends as they both struggle to survive in the harsh environment of the Big Apple. Buck is naïve and perhaps not that clever, while Ratso's health is quickly deteriorating, and both performances successfully convey the sadness beneath their exterior surfaces.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot and the HOF27.

Ben-Hur 10/10 Can't believe it took me so long to watch this masterpiece

Death Wish 6/10

Wall Street 8/10

By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60895278

Blinded by the Light - (2019)

Originality isn't one of Blinded by the Light's best qualities, but if you're a fan of these films you'll no doubt enjoy it - and if you're a fan of Bruce Springsteen you'll absolutely love it. Javed (Viveik Kalra) is a teenager of Pakistani descent living in the English town of Luton - the year is 1987. Javed is a somewhat shy and sensitive boy who yearns to become a writer and leave home to be free of his demanding father, who wants him to earn money and support the family - when an acquaintance at school introduces him to the music of Bruce Springsteen. The lyrics and meaning of the music become an almost-obsessive source of inspiration and hope. Through this he connects with a girl for the first time, but his passion for writing, love life and music are diametrically opposed to the direction his family insist he take. What we get is a lot of Bruce Springsteen music - making this a kind of quasi-musical in the way dancing, action and movement follow - with a look at how a Pakistani kid and Pakistanis in general were treated in Thatcher's Britain and all of the growing pains we've become accustomed to in these kinds of movies. Based on a true story, it's a clever, inspirational and very lively film. I'm not a huge fan of the genre or Springsteen, but I can recognize that this is a very genuine coming of age story with a lot of heart - and very recommended for those looking for a pick-me-up.

6.5/10

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Just Mercy (2019)

I watched Old Henry. Helluva picture.

MIDNIGHT COWBOY
(1969, Schlessinger)




Seen it a million times. A masterpiece of American Cinema.

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I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

It's among my favorites of the 60's.

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27th Hall of Fame

True Romance (1993) -

This film was a mixed bag for me. For one, I don't know what it was going for with the characters. Clarence and Alabama's flaws are left out in the open, it seems like you're meant to root for the two of them, and that connection just wasn't there for me. Like, Clarence's Elvis Presley hallucination in the first act screamed "This guy needs serious help!" and I kept that impression all throughout the film. Alabama didn't prove much better in this regard as the way she shrugged Clarence's violence off (the line "I think what you did is so romantic" made me cringe so hard) also annoyed me. As per Tarantino style, the action is highly stylized, but I found very little of it exciting. Those scenes really could've used some tightening up in terms of editing and cinematography. Even the final shootout, though interesting on paper, suffered from this to a degree. With that being said, I liked a few aspects about this film. Tarantino's writing style isn't for everyone, and while a couple scenes like the n word conversation are cringe inducing, I enjoyed most of the dialogue and felt it brought enough style to the film to keep it entertaining from beginning to end. Tarantino has a talent for writing catchy and witty scripts and this film was no exception to that. The film also lives up to another of Tarantino's strengths as it has a strong ensemble cast. Slater, Hopper, Walken, Rubinek, Rapaport, and even Arquette, though her acting occasionally annoyed me, ranged from good to great. Finally, while the story didn't interest me much, I did enjoy a few smaller scenes within the larger story, like Elliot being pulled over by a cop. Issues aside, I enjoyed my time with this film and, while I doubt I'll ever end up loving it, I might watch it again if I'm in the right mood.

In Tarantino’s script…

Yeah, that would've resolved most of my issues had that been in the film. I get why some people wouldn't be bothered by the ending, but I found it to be really unfitting for the characters.