Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Yep, still good. There are a few hiccups here and there, but still very enjoyable.

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There has been an awekening.... have you felt it?

I watched Lou on Netflix last night. It wasn't anything too special but I didn't regret the 1.5 hours invested in it. 6/10

The film follows the titular "super-pig", one of many that was genetically modified and bred with one goal in mind: to become shoulder blade, loin, spare rib, hock! That is Okja's fate, according to Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton) and the people at Mirando Corporation. But Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun), the young girl that has been taking care of Okja for ten years, sees beyond the superficial purpose of her "super-pig".

Like most of Bong's films, Okja walks a fine line between drama and humor. Most of the characters are larger-than-life caricatures, sometimes in both ends of the spectrum. From the emotionally detached corporate executives to the emotionally invested environmentalists. Most of these, work pretty well within the film. However, I think Jake Gyllenhaal's performance as a wacky zoologist and TV host was a bit too far. It's maybe the only character that felt out of place for me.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

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Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing gives us a microcosm of that in one little street. Set during a hot summer day in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn, the film is mostly focused on the interactions of Mookie (Lee), a pizza delivery boy, with the residents of this street personifying that microcosm. We have the Italian-owned pizzeria and the Korean-owned convenience store anchored in a predominantly black neighborhood, with some Puerto Ricans sprinkled around.

This is the second time I see this film, with the first time being probably more than 20-25 years ago. Needless to say, my appreciation and perception of the film now was way deeper than it was back then, when I was 17 or 18 years old. It is amazing the way that Lee challenges the audience through a carefully crafted script that is not designed for us to root for anyone, but rather to show us the way things are, and maybe make us wonder what can we do for things to change.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

The Watermelon Woman (1996)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

Super Mario Bros (2023)


If it weren't for the nostalgia, I would probably have this a little lower. As it stands, its pretty funny and enjoyable, but it feels a small step below what it could have been in terms of storyline.

Even taking into account the W/SJ/PC proclivities of the Academy, I was shocked when this flick won for Best Picture, let along all the awards it did win.

The viewer would benefit from having 6-8 cups of strong coffee, or perhaps some amphetamines to follow along with what would be stretching it to call a story. Half the time the picture was incoherent.

I suppose it did play into the fast switching, short attention span, scramble-headed nature of some of today's youth. But I think technical awards would have been enough for this film. Evidently this year Asians were "in".

I agree completely. We saw it in the theater when it came out in '58, and were genuinely scared. We couldn't figure out HOW that ooze could ever be stopped.

McQueen was great in the film. You could see how he would become a top actor.

As you say, along with Them! and The Thing From Another World, The Blob was right up there as one of the very best done "monster" movies of the 1950s.

To my taste, I was surprised that this picture got so much love. I'm wondering if it's because McDormand was at the time the unofficial Queen of Hollywood?..

Here is my commentary from 2018, if I've URL'd it right...
https://www.movieforums.com/communit...NG%2C+MISSOURI

By https://neonrated.com/films/allthebeauty, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72088798

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed - (2022)

Documentary which follows two subjects - the life and career of photographer and activist Nan Goldin, and the campaign by a group called P.A.I.N. to draw attention to and educate people about the opioid crisis. P.A.I.N. also focuses on the Sadler family, who grew rich while promoting the likes of OxyContin, which their family developed. Lies were told in the initial stages of bringing the drug to market, and people were told that they weren't addictive. Goldin herself is especially hopeful that the Sadler name will be stricken from the various galleries and museums which feature it. I hear about the opioid crisis, but I didn't know much about it until seeing this, and had never heard of Goldin before - so it did what a good documentary will do and educated me. It's a lengthy documentary, but there's a good selection of music and Goldin's photography work is used to great effect.

7/10


By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37698622

Evil Dead - (2013)

During the absolute deluge of horror remakes we endured during this time, Evil Dead was one of the few that wasn't absolutely terrible and immediately forgotten by me. The Evil Dead (1981) is one of my all-time favourite films, so this one was always set to disappoint, but despite not being as good as the original, it's turned out to be a film I've watched numerous times. One of the best horror entries of the 2010s. There's a misstep here and there, and the ending is a little anti-climactic, but it at least tries to match the original's anarchy and no-holds-barred over-the-top sensibilities. It has a pretty good score and cinematography, and kind of stands alone and forges it's own path - I respect that. Heroine Mia (Jane Levy) is fighting drug addiction and has a problematic relationship with brother David (Shiloh Fernandez), which also gives the film thematic weight. Doing that to an Evil Dead movie could have had me rolling my eyes, but it's done well enough to actually add to the film. After all this time, I still really like Evil Dead.

7.5/10

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Secret Beyond the Door (1947) -

The mysterious elements of Mark, the possibilities of what his motives were, and the implications of his past were what resonated with me the most. And what's a better way of building tension for those elements than the macabre design of Mark's house? Whether you're referring to the decorative skulls, the various rooms which replicate notorious murders throughout history, or the mysterious room he keeps locked, his disquieting interest in death seems to exist all throughout it, and this motif does all the necessary legwork at building tension. While watching this film, I considered giving it an average rating, but by the time I finished it, I somewhat warmed up to it and a lot of this is owed to how well Lang maintains an atmosphere of dread. This helped me to (partly) overlook the film's similarities to Rebecca (I've also seen some people reference Spellbound, but I haven't watched it yet) and enjoy it for what it was. Its ending, aside from the aforementioned pastiche elements being the most glaringly noticeable throughout it, could also be criticized as being too pat, but though the final scene could've used some more breathing room, I found it more oblique than some others have presented due to the revelations about Mark in the penultimate scene and the uncertainty of the closing lines. In spite of all the craft, the film didn't get its hooks in me fully until the drama moved to Mark's estate, which isn't necessarily a bad thing per se. The unnerving swells of the soundtrack during the first act, however, didn't match up with what was being presented onscreen, as if the film was pretending to be more atmospheric than it actually was. Fortunately, the subtle air of suspense is enough to make up for these flaws and, though I'd rank it in the lower tier of what I've currently seen from Lang, it's still pretty good.

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IMDb
Letterboxd

Bullet Train -

Starting to think David Leitch might be one of the worst directors working today.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

Not sometimes, but always, utterly, disastrously drowned.
They're clearly the the-more-the-better kinda directors, which is not bad in itself but can turn sour really fast if you aren't super talented at making entertainment. And I don't see any talent there.

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

I bailed out the first time around. Returned to it this year & I enjoyed it very much.

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

A bit of a hot mess though the lead actress was very good. Strange weird movie.

One annoying thing (which I haven’t encountered before) is that the English translation on the screen was about a nanosecond behind the spoken French words. So someone in the movie would speak, but nothing immediately appears on the screen. Never realized how much we depend on simultaneous translation until we don’t have it.




Pleasantly surprised by how good this story is about a somewhat dysfunctional couple riding out the coronavirus pandemic in England. Only two actors + a few minor scenes with a child. Filmed in 10 days with a limited number of cuts.

Jim Thorpe -- All-American (1951)

Inside (2023)

Directed by Vasilis Katsoupis
Starring Willem Dafoe



Happy to reach this brand new movie.
What a delight is to watch high level cinema. A real art film in all dimensions.
Unique, well designed and toned one-man show, a memorable work of this new decade.
(87/100)

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"Population don't imitate art, population imitate bad television." W.A.
"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." M.T.

Louisiana Story (1948) -

The opening scenes paint an idyllic picture of nature as well as the relationship it shares with people. With vegetation reflected off the surfaces of ponds, animals roaming about, and the sounds of nature in the background, the bayou feels like a slice of heaven. Even the people who occupy this land don't disrupt the environment since they appear to be one with nature. This is until we're introduced to the threat of industrialization. It starts with the boy (he's referred to as Alexander in the opening, but he's credited as "The Boy" in the film) being knocked into the water due to the wake of a motorboat. We then see an oil tower poking through some trees in the background. The interference of industrialization keeps spiraling until we're introduced to an oil well. With smog being released from its exhaust pipes and the sounds of its machinery being audible throughout much of the bayou, it seems out of place and sacrilegious.

The more one watches the film though, it becomes readily apparent that we're watching a glorification of the oil industry since the film refuses to properly acknowledge the problems it causes to the bayou. You're clearly asked to support the oil well, but given the glaring issues it causes (in addition to the real-world negative effects oil drilling has on the environment), this puts the film at odds with itself. Coming mainly from the perspectives of the working man and those impacted by the oil well, the potential for a great critique on industrialization is there, but we're instead left with an incongruity between the depiction and the endorsement of the industry. Flaherty was commissioned by Standard Oil to make the film though, so it's no surprise that it's propaganda.

The best parts of the film concern the boy's trials within the bayou. As idyllically shot as the bayou is, we're constantly reminded of the danger some of the wildlife poses, specifically in regards to an alligator which recurs throughout the film. Its scenes are memorable, with the standout being a middle scene where the boy attempts to catch it. That scene is tense, but Flaherty was undoubtedly a madman when shooting it. Boudreaux's and the alligator's scenes weren't recorded separately or anything. Rather, they were in fairly close proximity to each other, thus putting Boudreaux in actual danger when that scene was shot. As a result, the suspense in that sequence concerns worrying about real-life harm coming to the actor. To be clear, I don't approve of this as it's clearly child endangerment, but on a gut level, it made for a certain kind of thrill which left a visceral impact on me.

Overall, it's fairly interesting and I enjoyed it in some respects, but the propagandistic elements made it feel like a missed opportunity.

First entry...

I admire reviewers who can write greatly and extensively. Me, I feel a nobody who tries to make a short blurb (which already takes me too long), more a mix of "notes to self" and some hints I hope can be useful to someone. I try to rate "the pro way" — my actual first reaction or gut feeling rating tends to be higher; maybe 1 point on average.

Kalinka (Au Nom de Ma Fille) (2016) [FR] [Vincent Garenq] 1h27

"Based on the story of André Bamberski, who fought to bring his daughter's presumed murderer to justice for 27 years."

Sad and fairly gripping account, thanks to the never-ending efforts of the obsessed father, magnificently played by Daniel Auteuil, schooling other actors how to do a credible emo scene. Also "too credible" is the main supporting cast. Luckily, its 1h20 felt a good deal longer, as I wished it would not end. If you feel the same, there's also a documentary I haven't yet watched: My Daughter's Killer (2022). Writing this blurb, I'm crying again… 7.6/10