Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Kouzelnice od Křídového potoka (1988) - 7/10

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Trolljegeren (2010) in Norway
or Troll Hunter in the U.S.A.

Fun movie about hunting trolls in the wilderness. Filmed like a documentary. Good story, good actors. The troll CGI was fine. Family friendly.

7.5/10

The Monitors (1969)

I made it to the end of this terrible movie! Not even good enough for TV. Worst soundtrack ever. Worst bad guys ever. The most notable thing about this movie is the cameraman doesn't muck up his shots. It isn't boring, its simply very bad. Somehow I got to the end and feel accomplished.

3/10

Yeah, this was just too funny not to write up. Shake Hands with Danger is a safety training short film for operators of heavy equipment and machinery in factories and similar workplaces. A couple of weeks ago, I went down this rabbit hole of safety precautions videos, real and parodies, and ended up stumbling within this one and it was too hard to resist.

The short is directed by Herk Harvey (director of 1962's Carnival of Souls) and presents different scenarios in which employees might get injured while working with heavy equipment and power tools. But the thing is that it does so in relatively gruesome ways, at least by the standards of your typical safety training videos, which I think sets it apart as some sort of interesting curiosity.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

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SF = Z



[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

Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7023924


Hannibal - (2001)

10 years after The Silence of the Lambs, the public had an appetite when it came to Dr. Hannibal Lecter - the gleefully wicked character had escaped at the end of that film, and we wondered what came next. Most who went to see Hannibal however, including me, felt very well let down. The first major blow was when Jodie Foster decided not to reprise her iconic, Oscar-winning role as Clarice Starling - instead, Julianne Moore would take over. I must say, the Clarice is so different in this film it's impossible for me to see this as a continuation. Regardless, the film as a whole doesn't have that thriller vibe anymore - instead opting for out-and-out horror. Nearly every character in it has a dark twist to them, and Hannibal Lecter is seen from an anti-hero perspective as the lesser of half a dozen evils. Gary Oldman came aboard as the ghoulish Mason Verger - an old victim hunting for the doctor and out for revenge. Ray Liotta features as Clarice's misogynistic, cynical boss - who lusts after her. Francesca Neri plays a corrupt, greedy Italian detective. Because Lecter only kills bad people, we're meant to cheer him on? The story, and movie, were too dark and too complex - worst of all, it doesn't compare with the brilliant Silence of the Lambs. It's a half-decent stand-alone horror movie at best. There should be a light shining somewhere lest a movie be too dark and depressing.

5/10



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Red Dragon - (2002)

Coming only a year after Hannibal, as if to make up for it, Red Dragon took an older Thomas Harris story which was much closer in spirit to The Silence of the Lambs adapting it anew - and the results are much better. The cast is absolutely first-rate - making this a fine ensemble piece in which a mincing Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins again) is just a part, instead of a silly super-villain-like whole. Edward Norton is aboard as detective Will Graham, who catches the famed Doctor and depends on him for information. Ralph Fiennes is superb as crazy serial killer Francis Dolarhyde. Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Mary-Louise Parker round things out. The horror serves the story instead of the opposite, and there's that interesting psychological element to it that was missing in Hannibal - we have to work out why the killer is doing what he's doing. I really enjoyed catching up with it again.

7/10


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The Golden Child - (1986)

A long, long time ago, all Eddie Murphy had to do is stand in a room doing nothing and my friends and I would start cracking up with laughter. Funnily enough, that's nearly what The Golden Child is - a fantasy film where Murphy riffs and improvises at times, but has no big funny moments, because it was never meant to be a comedy. Coming from two different places, the Big Trouble in Little China-like movie was awkwardly bent and squeezed into an Eddie Murphy vehicle. He still has oodles of charm and charisma - and I still grin when I watch him - but there are no big laughs in the film. It's not serious enough to be fantasy, and not funny enough to be included amongst the great films of Murphy's golden era. The Hollywood process at it's worst - the making of the film is a story unto itself - and I can see though it now, which takes a lot of the fun away. A product of ego, charming as it's star may be.

5/10


By May be found at the following website: MovieGoods.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34913407

Traffic - (2000)

Rewatch - On letterboxd : "Powerful drama about the drug trade, and the what, why, when, where about addicts, crooks, cops, politicians and couriers - I've always underrated this Steven Soderbergh film, and I don't know why. It's edited with finesse, finely performed by an impressive ensemble, and written by Stephen Gaghan - who is obviously a genius, and yet went on to pen that Robert Downey Jnr. film, Dolittle. How does that happen? Anyway, Traffic has grown as far as my esteem is concerned since I last watched it, and I can see just how finely crafted this piece of cinema is."

8/10


By Netflix - https://m.imdb.com/title/tt18968540/...f_=ext_shr_lnk, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71299720

Incantation - (2022)

Rewatch - I think I enjoyed it even more the second time around.

7/10

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The Creator (2023)


Are we done with John David Washington trying to act? He's been given his fair share of chances.

Thirteen Lives (2022)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

Doctor Strange (2016)

Re-watch, with my son. Next up, Black Panther and then, Infinity War

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

Repossesssed
6/10

Should be included in the Exorcist Cinematic Universe as well

It's fun and entertaining and it's dumb as hell. I enjoyed it.

3rd Rewatch...I still marvel at the endless rewatch appeal of the ultimate adventure of female empowerment. Robbed of a Best Picture nomination, Ridley Scott's meticulous Oscar-nominated direction and Callie Khouri's Oscar-winning screenplay are easy to overlook because of the thunderous performances by the stars. Louise is my favorite Sarandon performance. This is a performance that should be studied by acting students. Watch the scene where she rescues Louise or the scene where Louise discovers JD took off with their money or any moment Louise has onscreen with Jimmy. I can't discount Davis though, because Sarandon's performance wouldn't have worked without Davis. Watch her during the attempted rape and right afterwards or her phone call to her scummy husband Darryl. I also have to say that have always underestimated two absolutely brilliant supporting performances by Christopher McDonald as Darryl, Thelma's caveman husband and Michael Madsen as Jimmy. Madsen has never been so sensitive and endearing onscreen. And what else can be said about the electric-sex-on-legs performance by Brad Pitt, in his 7th feature film appearance, as JD that hasn't already been said? That scene where they put the truck driver in his place still cheer-worthy. And the finale still has me fighting tears. This film just gets better with each viewing.

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Ironweed - (1987)

Francis Phelan (Jack Nicholson) was drunk when he accidentally dropped his baby boy, killing him when he was only 13 days old. 22 years later, after abandoning his family because of the grief and shame, he wanders about town - a drunken bum, eating at soup kitchens, finding scraps of work here and there, and looking out for his companion, Helen Archer (Meryl Streep). Helen is sick, and lives a similar kind of life - but she was once a talented musician and singer. Ironweed sees these characters taking stock, remembering their former lives, and fending off ghosts and visions of a different reality. It really touched me - and I'm surprised to find that it's rarely talked about or seen today. Perhaps that's because it indeed is depressing - but seeing Francis walk about his old neighborhood remembering, and then visiting his family after being gone for so long, is so touching it makes up for the dour tone. Have these characters resorted to booze because their lives are so tough, or are their lives that tough because they've resorted to booze? It's a vicious cycle. Tom Waits proves that he's just an all-round talent in this as bum (what else?) Rudy. Nicholson and Streep - of course they're brilliant. They're two of the greatest. Looks like I've been missing out, not reading any of William Kennedy's novels - he adapted his own work here. Sad, and melancholy.

8/10


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A Time to Kill - (1996)

Pardon the expression, but A Time to Kill is like a courtroom drama on crack. Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) takes out the two misanthropes who raped his 10-year-old daughter with an automatic, permanently disabling Deputy Sheriff Dwayne Looney (Chris Cooper) in the process. Lawyer Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) takes the case - knowing that the prospect of a fair trial in Mississippi, for a black man killing two white men, is going to be a tall order. Enter Freddie Lee Cobb (Kiefer Sutherland), brother of one of the dead men, and the Ku Klux Klan. I tell you, in this movie everyone gets a terrible beating, everyone gets their house burned down, everyone gets kidnapped at some stage, and everyone gets shot at least once. The town descends into war, as Brigance takes on stuffy prosecutor Rufus Buckley (Kevin Spacey) with the help of progressive advocate Ellen Roark (Sandra Bullock) - suffering setback after setback, and leaving, as his last resort, his final summation. Donald Sutherland pokes his head in from time to time as Brigance's mentor, but shares no scenes with his son. A Time to Kill goes for two and a half hours, and gets so heavy-handed in it's noble desire to shoot down racism and inequality that I think it might backfire just a little. But boy oh boy, it sure isn't boring.

6/10


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2 Guns - (2013)

Denzel Washington does his patented schtick, and Mark Wahlberg does his patented schtick in buddy action movie 2 Guns - a film where they were obviously told to just do their thing. Denzel goes, in a cool manner, "Yeah, yeah, that's right, that's right" while nodding and shaking his head, while Mark goes "Do you want me to open the case? What do I do if I open the case and then you decide you really didn't want me to? Do you want me to? I can't do both you know. I can't keep it closed and open it. Do you really want me to?" in a really fast manner. You know - they've developed an original character that shows up in many films, much like Ryan Reynolds has. There's $43.125 million, the C.I.A. (we miss you Bill Paxton), a Mexican drug lord, the DEA and the U.S. Navy. Special Agent Bobby Trench (Washington) and U.S. Navy SEAL Michael Stigman rob a bank together without knowing that they're partnered with an official of some kind - and wind up with the Agency's money, which all the players in this movie want. Why did they rob the bank? It's complicated - and untwisting it all might mean I no longer buy this movie's central premise. Denzel and Wahlberg are fun to watch though, and this movie is slick enough to pass as entertainment.

6/10

SF = Z


Trailer:





[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

My last two were Safety Not Guaranteed and 71 Into the Fire. The former is an entertaining film with some neat set pieces and a clever idea. I really enjoyed Safety Not Guaranteed, my favorite performance being Aubrey Plaza as Darius. Great stuff.

Now, 71 Into the Fire is a Korean-made war film about the Korean War. It's also one of my most favorite movies ever. It's intense and harrowing, with bravery, courage, and determination during a trying time in world history. The movie takes place in the beginning of the Korean War, and is about 71 student soldiers from South Korea taking on a whole North Korean company. I purchased it on Apple TV, in case you were wondering how I saw it. I didn't pay for a subscription; I spent $10 to buy a digital copy. I don't like streaming services.

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The Wicker Man
9/10

One of the most anti religion movies i ever seen. In the end, the religion or the believe system of the majority wins by force and your god and your belief system won't save you because...wait for it (*drum roll*)...it's all made up. Next time, bring the guns, Commando style.

I watched Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter to commemorate Friday.

To my surprise, it was actually, by a fair margin, my favorite of the series so far in my re-watch. I have been revisiting them so I could log my reviews and, after the first three, I took like three years off from that marathon, haha. I enjoyed the fourth enough that I watched Friday the 13th: A new Beginning yesterday, ... and, uh, that one returned things to the status quo of mediocrity.

Up the Junction (1968)

A bit kitchen sink and a bit swinging 60's, a bit late for both I think. Likeable characters. Polly decides to take up a manual job and gets enamoured by her workmates and Pete. Pete's a cockney diamond (very well played by Dennis Waterman) but the fact that Polly has *chosen* rather than has to basically exist causes troubles. Music and eye shadow are quite annoying but it's still a nice portrait of late 60s attitudes towards the class system.

I watched Beetlejuice, and it actually may have been for the first time. I know I had seen a ton of scenes over the years and, chances are, I most likely watched it from start to finish as a kid and forgot about it, but I found that when I watched it this time I realized what I vaguely thought the film was about, it largely wasn't.

Good film. It does kind of, sort of run out of steam by the end, but the first half and then some was very good. It's always easy to forget what a fun, innovative filmmaker Tim Burton was.

Strays (2023)


I had a feeling this would be awful, but not this bad. The trailer looked kinda funny, but this was the worst, most immature movie I've seen in years. I laughed once or twice, but shit and dick jokes can only work for so long. Definitely deserving of the poor box office showing it had.