Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Registered User

05-26-22

Good Night and Good Luck, 2005

Set during the later period of the McCarthy hearings, this film follows CBS journalist Edward Murrow (David Strathairn) as he and his colleagues, especially Fred Friendly (George Clooney) start to take a more aggressive approach in reporting the nature and damage of the anti-Communist hearings.

I grew up in a house with an Edward R Murrow Award on the bookshelf, and so it was fun to watch a film about a man whose name I've known since I was four or five years old.

The film is relatively straight-ahead, recounting a short period of time and the different politics and dynamics---within CBS itself and withing the country as a whole---that informed the reporting done by Murrow and his co-workers. In this way, the film echoes the character of Murrow himself, who is unflinching in his sense of right and wrong.

The movie makes really great use of archive footage, usually in the form of Murrow and his team watching footage of the hearings, but also including a televised rebuttal that McCarthy gave after one of Murrow's reports. The use of the real archive footage--especially an extended sequence of the committee's interrogation of a woman named Annie Lee Moss---gives a flavor for the tone and nature of the hearings. Obviously this film is not a documentary, but I liked the amount of real footage.

The cast is loaded with great supporting performers, like Patricia Clarkson and Robert Downey Jr. as a married couple who must conceal their marriage because of a no-relationships policy at CBS. Ray Wise also makes an impression as another broadcaster who is much more emotionally sensitive to the criticisms they receive for their attacks on McCarthy.

A straightforward, interesting look at a key moment in the intersection of politics and journalism.

Wooley

Msg

Victim of The Night

05-26-22

Originally Posted by Death Proof

Doctor Strange and The Contrabulous Fabtraption of Professor Horatio Hufnagel

8/10

If I was on mushrooms when I saw it probably 9/10

Needed more sassy magic cloak, though.

Wow. Color me shocked.

Gideon58

Registered User

05-26-22

Originally Posted by Death Proof

Doctor Strange and The Contrabulous Fabtraption of Professor Horatio Hufnagel

8/10

If I was on mushrooms when I saw it probably 9/10

Needed more sassy magic cloak, though.

OK, you're just making that title up.

Gideon58

Registered User

05-26-22

Originally Posted by Takoma11

Good Night and Good Luck, 2005

I've started to watch this film on three separate occasions and have always turned it off about 20 minutes in. I promise to give it one more try...I started and turned off The Social Network and Gravity four times before I watched both of them from beginning to end on the 5th try.

Gideon58

Registered User

05-26-22

1st Rewatch...I had forgotten how amazing this movie is. Two years before winning his first Oscar for Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino put himself on the map with this bloody crime drama about a group of criminals who have never met before, who are brought together by a mob boss to rob a jewelry store, but the robbery goes terribly wrong. The story intrigues and frustrates because we never see the actual robbery, but we see the consequences of what happened and then we see how these people are brought together, resulting in us learning just about everything that went down during the robbery without actually seeing it. It's quite genius and mesmerizing from start to finish featuring unapologetic carnage and some spectacular performances. I liked Tim Roth, the legendary Lawrence Tierney, and especially Steve Buscemi. Also loved the incredible song score.

SpelingError

AKA Popcorn Reviews

05-26-22

5th Shorts Hall of Fame

Goodbye Mommy (2019) -

The animation style wasn't for me as it hurt my eyes as I watched it. I don't think I'll watch another animated film like this unless it's about as long or a bit shorter than this one. However, I still enjoyed my time with this short for a few reasons. In spite of how crazy the animation gets, that the world depicted in the short remains coherent from beginning to end is impressive. I also found the story compelling, particularly for its portrayal of the detective as a troubled man stuck in the wrong time and setting. While his character isn't always likable, you still feel sympathy for him both due to how he recognizes his past mistakes and his treatment from those who rule the city. Also, even though the animation style wasn't for me, I did enjoy a few touches to it such as some text boxes next to various characters (i.e. "Killer Speaks" and "Killer Listens") as, while these touches would feel jarring in most other films, they feel quite appropriate and coherent in this short. Also, while the tragic backstory clich� tends to bug me, I enjoyed the way the one in this short was presented. I think my only issue with the short's aesthetic, aside from the visuals hurting my eyes, was that the sound mixing of the dialogue wasn't that good since much of it ranged from too loud to near-unintelligible. Overall though, while I don't think I'll ever rewatch this short, I didn't mind checking it out.

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PHOENIX74

I forgot the opening line.

05-27-22

By Bill Gold - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049730/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/inde...curid=25720458

The Searchers - (1956)

Finally seen this - I've been meaning to for a couple of years now. I'm a big fan of just about everything I've seen of John Ford's work, from Stagecoach to The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. This fits in well, and includes all of the elements that make his films great, and his partnership with cinematographer Winton C. Hoch makes this a film I'd love to watch in a cinema, in it's proper ratio. The Searchers is epic in scope, and has one of John Wayne's better performances - he's an actor who has been criticized by many for not really being a great actor, instead being a celebrity with a certain stature which automatically translates into the rough hero figure so prevalent in Westerns. Here it's not always so straightforward, and he acquits himself well. Great score, and an overall beautiful film which deals with race without completely avoiding some casual racism - attributable to being made in a different time. I was very impressed, and those first and last shots are iconic for a reason - they may have been the greatest opening and closing shots in cinematic history at the time. I could watch them over and over again.

9/10

Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/inde...curid=25720458

Love It Was Not - (2020)

When they make a movie about this, it'll win Oscars. This doc deals with the real life story of Helena Citron, a prisoner in Auschwitz and a young SS officer called Franz Wunsch. Wunsch falls in love Helena, and that love carries over into those she works with, sorting the luggage of those who are being taken off the trains and gassed. He helps protect her, and then one day her sister arrives with her newborn child and young daughter. He saves the sister, but can do nothing for her two small children, who are immediately killed. When the war ends, he tries to contact her, but Helena has moved to Israel, and Wunsch is told in no uncertain terms that he's a murderer, and to stay away. Then, one day, Wunsch is tried for war crimes, and reaches out for help...The doc uses photographic dioramas to illustrate the story, which is clever and relates to a habit Wunsch had after the war - there's a lot of other techniques, but of course 'talking heads' prevail. Very interesting though.

7/10

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Latest Review : Before the Rain (1994)

Deschain

Msg

Registered User

05-27-22

Browsing HBO Max I found suspense thriller Ricochet from 1991 starring Denzel Washington. I never heard of it but it’s got a 74% on Rotty T’s so I gave it a spin. Well-shot and paced with John Lithgow hamming it up as a psycho out for a convoluted form of revenge. Alan Silvestri copy/pasted pervious scores of his so the whole thing sounds like Predator. And Mary Ellen Trainor reprises her role of news reporter Gail Wallens which officially ties this world in with Die Hard for some reason. It is a cheesy, entertaining, baffling movie.

WHITBISSELL!

Registered User

05-27-22

No one would dare to trash any movie where John Lithgow gets a bunch of phone books duct taped to his body so he can swordfight Jesse "The Body" Ventura.

Stirchley

Registered User

05-27-22

Originally Posted by Gideon58

I�ve seen this movie more times than I can remember.

The very first scenes hook you in the diner & the slo-mo scene when they leave the diner is captivating.

Still by far my fave QT movie.

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Takoma11

Registered User

05-27-22

Nebraska, 2013

Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) is an older man living in Billings, Montana, who one day receives a marketing letter that uses the ploy of a "You could already be a millionaire!" as a hook. Taking the letter at face value, Woody is determined to drive to Lincoln, Nebraska to personally claim his prize. Woody's son, David (Will Forte), reluctantly takes the weekend off to drive his father to Nebraska, which includes an illuminating trip through his father's hometown.

At its heart, this is a potent, often funny look at family dynamics and how to make peace with family who might never totally be on your same wavelength.

Performance wise, the film is very solid. Dern is absolutely perfect as a character who is equal parts sympathetic and frustrating. Forte shows off some decent dramatic chops as a man who begins to see his father in a new light as the two of them continue their journey. Also making a strong impression is June Squibb as Woody's foul-mouthed and plain-speaking (to a fault!) wife. Bob Odenkirk plays the couple's older son, a newscaster, while Stacy Keach plays an old friend of Woody's who shows more and more contempt as their visit goes on.

Make no mistake, I don't think that I would want to be part of this family. Both Woody and Kate, his wife, have a habit of speaking bluntly in a way that may be truthful, but often lands as hurtful, as when Kate talks derisively about Woody's dead family member as they are literally standing over the graves of the Grant family. Woody is apparently a lifelong alcoholic. At the same time, we get several moments that show us why David is coming to have a new appreciation for his parents. In one sequence Kate, who until this point has seemed to have only contempt for Woody, viciously stands up for him against greedy relatives. Similarly, a moment of humor between Woody and David shows where the latter got his sense of humor.

The film is shot in an appealing black and white, and the way that long shots and camera angles are used at times transforms Woody's hometown into something even more distant and borderline alien.

I liked the film's simple message about finding the joy in pursuing something with another person, even if it's not what you want to do. As David softens into indulging his father, he is able to find deeper understanding of them both. I thought that the ending was very sweet.

PHOENIX74

I forgot the opening line.

05-27-22

By IMDb, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57071079

Dogfight - (1991)

Had another great time last night picking Dogfight to watch, a love story that's very sweet but also very complex and interesting - there's a lot going on, and as such it keeps you interested, and even on edge. Four teenage U.S. Marines in 1963 play a cruel game in San Francisco - find the ugliest girl possible and bring her to a party where the guy with the worst looking wins prize money. Eddie Birdlace (River Phoenix) finds Rose (Lili Taylor) working in her mother's coffee shop. Rose seems unattractive at first, but much to Eddie's consternation he soon realises she's nice and after preparing to go with him even quite handsome and good looking in her way - after trying to make her look worse than she is he gives up, and Rose eventually finds out why she's been invited to go out with him and unloads her fury and leaves. Eddie can't shake her from his head, and heads back to the coffee shop she lives at to apologize - the two end up spending a memorable night together. River Phoenix and Lili Taylor really light this film up with their soul-deep portrayals of characters who feel lived-in and multi-faceted - Birdlace doesn't turn into Prince Charming, and Rose doesn't turn into Poison Ivy - they're both young and unformed, but also full of confused ideals. Their one night story feels really genuine and down to earth - and reminded me very much of when I was their age. The ending doesn't really take us to a place that sits very easily with me, but it made for a great film and one I enjoyed watching very much. I recommend this film.

8/10

Last edited by PHOENIX74; 05-27-22 at 11:40 PM.

SpelingError

AKA Popcorn Reviews

05-28-22

28th Hall of Fame

The Painted Bird (2019) -

I couldn't get into this one. Comparing this to other films about kids experiencing the horrors of war, it can't help but pale to Come and See, but every war film I've seen does, so I won't hold that against this film. What I will hold against it though is how cold I was left throughout it. In spite of how much misery the boy experiences and witnesses in the film (physical abuse, rape, suicide, animal cruelty, pedophilia, bestiality, antisemitism, etc.), the impact it had on him remained too vague for those scenes to stick with me in any lasting way. A lot of this falls on Kotl�r since neither his acting nor his physical appearance make any changes throughout the film. Rather, he just keeps the same blank expression on his face and looks the same at the end of the film as he does in the opening. Even the retaliation angle in the second half of the film, while it's one of the more promising elements of the film, didn't click with me as well as it could've due to the reasons listed above. Technically speaking though, the movie is pretty good. Some of the larger-scale gunfights looked cool and, in spite of what I said up above, a couple of the disturbing scenes left a decent impact on me (that's to be expected with a movie like this though). Also, while fair criticisms could be made that the black and white photography looks too pretty and doesn't pair well the disturbing content shown in the film, I enjoyed how it created a contrast between the two. Finally, it was also cool to see Aleksei Kravchenko (star of the aforementioned Come and See) in this film, perhaps as a nod to the film. Overall though, the film sort of just came and went and was pretty forgettable.

Fabulous

Jonsilfab

05-28-22

Our Souls at Night (2017)

Takoma11

Registered User

05-28-22

Originally Posted by Gideon58

It is a very low-key film, with lots of murmured conversations. I could see how it might not grip someone.

Takoma11

Registered User

05-28-22

Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same, 2011

Stationary store worker Jane (Lisa Haas) has always felt out of place, and has had no luck on the romance front. One day she meets Zoinx (Susan Ziegler), an alien who has relocated from a planet where strong emotions are destroying their ozone layer. Despite Zoinx's strange behavior, the two begin a tentative relationship.

This is a film that can best be described as mild. It's a gentle sci-fi/comedy/romance. One of those films where nothing is offensively bad, and the humor only really lands sporadically, but it has enough goofy charm to pull you through its 76 minute runtime.

One benefit of low-budget casting is that we end up with a lead actress who looks like a real human. Lisa Haas is adorable, and she, you know, looks like a lot of the gay women I have known in my life. She really nails the vibe of someone who is nice, but clearly doesn't click with the people--or the world--around her.

The alien characters themselves are more of a mixed bag. The joke, of course, is that they are classic 50s-style aliens, speaking in stilted voices and not understanding those wacky Earth ways. This does land as funny a few times, (such as Zoinx telling a date, "Holly is such a lovely name. I could say it a million times . . . . Holly, Holly, Holly, Holly, Holly, Holly . . ." or when Zoinx answers the phone while in a laundromat and tells the caller that she's just "taking her scarf for a ride"). But the downside of this style for the character is that it throws up a huge barrier to actually investing in them emotionally.

There's also a subplot about two "men in black" types who are spying on the aliens. I think that the joke is that one of the men is also an alien, but from a planet that only understands male-male romances. What helps this section of the film is that the actors (Dennis Davis and Alex Karpovsky) have a good, off-kilter rapport. There is one really strange but fun sequence where the two have a conversation about donuts that seems like it might also be doubling as a conversation about sex, but at the same time doesn't quite go all the way there.

The movie goes for an intentionally "bad" look with some of the effects. For example, an alien's headset which is just openly two plastic cups taped to a band of some sort, or the spaceship which is clearly cardboard.

I also give this movie a high five for use of the song "Sexy Bee".

Takoma11