Rate The Last Movie You Saw

The Lady Gambles 1949. Watched on blu ray. Stanwyck is very good in this and the story is fairly interesting. Definitely worth checking out.

Nightbeast (1982) Watched on blu ray. Fun movie. Performances aren't very good, but I liked the look of the alien. Some entertaining, cool moments.

Enter Rock in 5 4 3 2 1...

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Persuasion, newly released on Netflix. Dakota Johnson can be beguiling when throwing catty looks or verbal barbs at the camera. The diverse casting is interesting and refreshing. Still, it fails to make an impact. Richard Grant dives far too deep into caricature as Sir Walter, and Cosmo Jarvis just looks lost as Wentworth. Very near the bottom of any list of watchable Austin.

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Scarecrow: I haven't got a brain ... only straw. Dorothy: How can you talk if you haven't got a brain? Scarecrow: I don't know. But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they? Dorothy: Yes, I guess you're right.

The Education of Shelby Knox, 2005

This documentary takes place in Lubbock, Texas, a town with rampant teen pregnancy and STD issues, and a teen gonorrhea rate double the national average. Shelby Knox is a Christian high schooler involved in her local Youth Council. The film follows Shelby and the Council as they fight for a more comprehensive sex education curriculum. Things really heat up when a separate set of students are prohibited from starting a gay-straight alliance.

Shelby Knox mugs for the camera. When Shelby loses a council election to a boy she doesn't like very much, she says "I wish I were dead," and then turns around and plants a big fake smile on her face and congratulates him. Shelby cries A LOT. When Shelby's parents calmly try to talk to her about their concerns regarding her activism, the leaves dinner abruptly and goes to sob in her bedroom.

In other words, Shelby is one of the most true representations of teen girlhood I have ever seen on film, and the blunt depiction of her moods and flaws ultimately makes her a great and lovable film subject.

Because while Shelby might be a lot, she is also someone who seems to follow her heart and feelings to a places that most people won't go---Shelby is willing to question her own long-held personal and religious beliefs when her heart tells her that the treatment of her fellow students is not right.

Further, Shelby is able to do something that a lot of adults struggle with, namely she is able to distinguish what is best for her and how she chooses to live her life, from what is best for others and how they choose to live their lives. Early in the film, we watch as Shelby takes a purity pledge, vowing that the sex she has on her wedding night will be her first time. (Side note: Watching parents put a wedding ring on their own kid? GROSS! GROSS! WHY?!) And as the film goes on, it's really neat (I mean, sort of) to see that Shelby never wavers in her commitment to abstinence for herself, even as she fights for more detailed sex education.

The main voice in opposition to Shelby is her own pastor, a man named Ed Ainsworth who presents an abstinence-only program in school all around the country. (He impresses upon teens in one of his presentations that you can catch STDs by shaking the hand of someone who has masturbated, which, okay . . . .). We watch the two have some intense conversations, in which Ed frequently tells Shelby that she has to "choose"--presumably between her religion and her advocacy. When Shelby presses him on his anti-gay beliefs, she is clearly unimpressed by his answers. She says with a sigh, "Sometimes the Bible is too vague for me."

What's frustrating about the pushback against Shelby and her peers is just how nonsensical it is. Pastor Ainsworth emphasizes that condoms do not work 100% of the time, while seemingly ignoring that a ton of kids are having sex with or without them. In an absurd moment that sums up, for me, the futility of abstinence-only conversations with teens, Pastor Ainsworth talks to a young man in a parking lot. "You don't really believe that a condom is going to protect you, do you?" he asks. "Nah," says the teen boy. "I never use 'em." The answer that everyone offers as to the pregnancy and STD crisis is that people just need to be raised in good, Christian homes, totally ignoring that for a huge number of children in their community, kids either don't have home support or are having sex regardless. Pastor Ainsworth compares teaching kids about condoms to giving them a loaded gun which, wow. While some of his motives might seem to be in the right place, he never seems to address the fact that abstinence-only education is failing the teens of Lubbock left and right.

The film also takes a look at Shelby's parents, both very conservative, and their reaction to their daughter's work. They get especially worried when Shelby throws in with the gay-straight alliance crowd, and repeatedly warn her about the "fallout" that she will face. They, much more than Shelby, realize the dangers of being other in a small town and of being so visible and on-the-record in her political beliefs. Shelby repeatedly needs to be reassured by them that they will not be angry with her for her more liberal beliefs. The family is clearly a loving and supportive one, and we see several times that Shelby is torn by the way that her own beliefs are beginning to diverge from her parents.

It's interesting to see how things shift when Shelby starts working with the gay-straight alliance. It is (as far as we know) not an issues that pertains to her personally, but she chafes at the injustice being done to her fellow classmates. She is empathetic and horrified to hear about the homophobic attacks and threats experienced by some of her gay classmates. But many members of the Youth Council, who push for sex ed, are not willing to extend that position to support gay and lesbian people. One young woman says that it's not a "healthy" lifestyle, and then seriously reports that "most homosexuals die by the age of 40".

I really enjoyed this documentary. Shelby is very extra, but I had to keep reminding myself that she's a teenage girl with every little failure of gaffe being filmed. I was enough of a mess at times in my teenage years over far less contentious things, so I couldn't judge her extreme emotions that harshly. I think that most of us would probably cringe at the idea of thousands of people seeing footage of our teenage selves, much less our teenage selves talking about sex and politics. I admire the bravery of all the kids who appeared in this film, even those whose beliefs might have seemed wrong or biased to me. Even Shelby's rival, Cody, who doesn't get as favorable a treatment, seems to be doing his best.

A very human look at a young person enmeshed in a debate that (inexplicably, to me!) continues to rage on in this country.

I've spent time in Lubbock.

LOL.

For many reasons it seems like a rough place to be a teen. Doubly so if you're not a straight Christian type.

Raining on the Mountain is good because it's King Hu, but it's probably my least favourite thing I've seen from him. I think the heavier action content in his other movies lets him use his unique sense of movement in a way he doesn't get to do that much here.


Been a while since I've seen Stay Hungry, but no movie with Jeff Bridges, Sally Field and Arnie can be all bad. I think I saw it on Tubi, so perhaps a rewatch is in order in the near future.

The fight in the weight room near the end between Bridges and R.G. Armstrong is awesome.

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The Hall of Infamy

R.O.T.O.R. (1987) -

In spite of this film's reputation, it still managed to underwhelm me. Reading some reviews, I heard a few people describe it as a so-bad-it's-good ripoff of Terminator and RoboCop and, if that was the case, I might've enjoyed it more. Alas, while it's certainly a ripoff and has some cheesy lines here and there, it felt somewhat joyless and too dull for me to enjoy my time with it. The lengthy chase throughout the middle section was overlong and humdrum, the fighting was pretty unexciting to watch (not including the final fight), and it took too long for the film to get going. The runtime didn't feel earned. Also, as some others have noted, it has some weird racial caricatures thrown into the mix with Shoeboogie. Note that I said the film was only somewhat joyless though. In spite of it being a chore to get through, a few characters saved it from being a complete abomination. Dr. Houghtaling and Willard the Robot are a genuinely charming pair who deliver some of the funnier lines in the film. Their inability to properly maintain R.O.T.O.R. is rather humorous to watch. Also, you got to love Willard's police cap as, come on, that's just cute. Also, the depiction of Dr. Steele as a strong female character made for a nice contrast to the aforementioned weird portrayal of Shoeboogie. I wish those characters were in the film more. It's still a bad film though and I don't think I'll watch it again.

Lightyear (2022)


This was good, and I can't put my finger on why it wasn't great. The story was fine though a bit ordinary, and the humor was pretty well-rounded. The runtime is standard at 1hr40 minutes, but I feel like this could have been some kind of 1 hour special feature and been just as good. My daughter probably felt the same way as she seemed bored for moments at a time.

I'll admit its a bit absurd how some conservative groups went berserk about the "gay" elements of a single character in the film, given that it only represents about 2 minutes of screen time...

By http://www.impawards.com/2022/posters/hustle_xxlg.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70751623

Hustle - (2022)

Jeremiah Zagar utilizes Adam Sandler's burgeoning dramatic acting skill to the hilt in Hustle, and this time you'll find an abundance of love at the core, although it still highlights the cutthroat and high-pressure atmosphere that competition in the NBA brings. I rather admired this for not only highlighting wannabe coach and talented talent scout Stanley Sugerman's family life, but also the father/son kind of mentorship he develops with Bo Cruz (Juancho Hernangómez) - a young man he discovers in Spain who has enormous raw talent, but little experience of high-stakes, professional basketball. Mistakes from both their pasts becomes a bridge between them when there's a bad falling out, and you really feel the pressure of the frantic attempts Sugarman (Sandler) makes to get his protégé noticed and taken seriously before he heads back to Spain discouraged. Obviously, being a producer on this, Sandler decided he wanted to make a film with all the basketball greats he admires - but it's an enjoyable enough movie, and Sandler's acting is again way above par, so he can have his cake and eat it too with Hustle.

7/10

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2001
Interstellar
Forbidden Planet
Star Wars
Star Trek
Alien
The Lego Movie

etc etc etc


Lots of references to other better films. I thought the movie was fine and good intro but it wasn't original

Joy (2015) with Jennifer Lawrence. I give it a solid 4 out of 5, or 8.5 out of 10

The two movies that I saw today:
Belle De Jour - So I watched this one because I wanted to watch a Luis Bunuel movie and to see Catherine Deneuve. I found her character interesting, as she took a job as a prostitute at a brothel to kill time during the day. I might have been tired, but I really was confused and confounded by this movie. It also had a scene like Pulp Fiction where a fat man shows a box, but we do not know the contents of it. I kind of liked the part with the criminal who shoots the husband. I liked the main character's relationship with her husband, their friend who finds out about the job, and the other prostitutes. I also quite enjoyed the fantasies she has during the film and how they die out through experience. I liked the themes of the movie which included sexual desire, domination, fetishes, and also fantasies. However, I was quite tired while watching it and felt lukewarm after the viewing.
Django Unchained - I enjoyed the 60s feeling to the movie. I liked the use of the theme song and the older Columbia Pictures logo at the beginning. Django was also a neat character to follow throughout the movie. The parts with Django taking on the slave owners were neat to see. This was one of these movies that has a good beginning and ending, but a slog of a middle part. I disliked Leonardo Dicaprio here and wanted to be done with him(luckily Schulz shoots him). That dinner scene was just a snooze fest to get through(everyone just talking for so long of a time). I know what they were talking about, but it could have been shorter. Tarantino's dialogue scenes can be too long and a bore which sort of reminds me of when a virtuosic jazz musician takes too long of a solo and puts the audience to bed. The ending is with Django taking on the henchmen and saving his wife. I have a like-hate relationship with Quentin Tarantino: I love the violent scenes and the music, but hate how boring the movies can be and how he must overuse the n-word. He also seems to have a tendency of repeating himself to the point that it is too Tarrytinny. I am sorry I am a bit harsh, but do I like him and this movie? Yes. I have seen half of the man's movies including this one, but just can not see how this guy is a genius(The movies are a bit derivative and feel like wet dreams).

I will probably watch Reservoir Dogs and Inglorious Basterds(Probably might feel it as much as Django) to see what I truly think of Tarantino. My favorites of his are the Kill Bill movies. I like all of his other movies, but do not love them. I prefer the Dollars Trilogy over Django. I can go all day as to why I think Quentin Tarantino is overrated.

As for Belle De Jour, I already said I liked those two Jacques Demy musicals with Deneuve in it(Umbrellas and Young Girls). I might see Viridiana and Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie in order to give Bunuel another chance.

Movies I probably plan to watch: Double Life of Veronique, Donkey Skin, One Sings The Other Doesn't, Singing in the Rain, The Wild Child, Spirit of the Beehive, La Dolce Vita, Solaris.

is it more scarier or just average? i be seeing it on friday with my support worker. we excited to see it especially when it stars with ethan hawke from moon knight one of our favorite marvel shows

Interesting movie. It's another one by the HP Lovecraft Historical Society, a black and white movie with no "movie stars" that you ever heard about. It's the Lovecraft story The Whisperer in Darkness, an adaptation.

The story - "For the first two acts, the plot largely follows the short story. The third act consists of entirely new material in which the Mi-Go are revealed to worship Shub-Niggurath, and the protagonist, Wilmarth, uncovers an attempt by cultists to open a gateway between Yuggoth and Earth. He foils the plot with the help of Hannah, the child of one of the collaborators. His escape is unsuccessful and at the end of the film the audience discovers that Wilmarth has been narrating from a machine attached to the cylinder in which his brain now resides. This differs from the original story in which Wilmarth flees in the middle of the night and safely returns to Arkham."

It's pretty good. Lovecraft is well known for being difficult to comprehend but this is a good try. I like the part about how Wilmarth is narrating from a machine.

I know what it's called, and I also know that such an anticlimax felt quite out of place for The Searchers, considering that the entire movie had been