Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Blair Witch
6/10



and on a related note.... LOL

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Boldly going.

Election (1999)

One of the movies I watch from time to time. Although it aged like milk, it does have a dry, comic tone. Witherspoon's chin never ceases to amaze me.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

The Marvels
6.5/10
I've seen better Marvel movies, but I've also seen worse.

Murder, My Sweet follows private eye Philip Marlowe (Dick Powell) as he finds himself ensnared in a complicated conspiracy of theft, kidnapping, deceit, and murder where he's never clear of where he's standing. Hired by multiple sides to perform different jobs, Marlowe realizes they're all playing a dangerous game that might leave him blindsided.

Powell is surrounded by a solid cast, specifically Anne Shirley and Claire Trevor as Ann and Helen Grayle; both potential love interests, both potential femme fatales. Like Marlowe, we're never sure which side anybody's on. Otto Kruger is also very good as one of the potential masterminds in this twisty scheme.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot and the Film Noir HoF IV.

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I know that posting this might make it seem like all I do is watch Folding Ideas videos (okay . . . . this is somewhat accurate), but he has a great video about the GameStop events and the culture of "amateur stock investor" culture that sprang up after it.

Formal write-up later, but I just watched and absolutely loved Chameleon Street. Funny and quirky and I was genuinely sad when it was over because I could have spent another two hours with Harris/Street.

I'm going to be mentally quoting this movie for days:

"All right, but it's going to cost you a lot of chips!"
"You wily Caucasians!"
"J'accuse jacuzzi"
"Why is this nurse breathing so hard? She's freaking me out."

By May be found at the following website: IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5818183

Saturday Night Fever - (1977)

The first time I watched Saturday Night Fever I was surprised at how dark and grim it could get - all we're ever exposed to about the film culturally speaking is the dancing. Yes - the dancing is great (and probably the best thing about the film), but the life of 19-year-old Tony Manero (John Travolta) features a lot of the frightening violence and misogyny that would have been common for a group of young adults in the 1970s going nowhere, and spending nights drinking, taking drugs and cruising. Manero though, is a really interesting character - the only one amongst his peers who has a real passion for something, and that's dancing. Time and time again you see this kid brush off the usual temptations to indulge in this obsession of his - and that's one of the things I like most about the film. His flaws mostly come from his inability to see much beyond this - he misses a chance late in the film to save a young lady he knows from a gang rape situation, and isn't mature enough to be a really good man. The music, from the Bee Gees and others, cemented the film as an all-time great - and I must admit to loving it. Before Thriller came along, the soundtrack to this film was the best-selling album of all time. It also has one of the best opening credits sequences I've ever seen.

As a portrait of misguided youth, I think it strikes an interesting balance between Tony and his friends. He falls for Stephanie Mangano (Karen Lynn Gorney) - but doesn't quite know how to take her. She likes dancing as much as he does, but she's too intellectually curious to fit in completely with someone who only ever thinks about one thing. Annette (Donna Pescow) he treats dismissively - and it's his lack of respect for her that hurts his character most in our eyes. His friends though - one of them, Bobby C. (Barry Miller) asks Tony's ex-priest brother if it might be possible to get the Pope's blessing for an abortion to be performed on his girlfriend - proving a child-like lack of real-world understanding. They're not only going nowhere - they're headed out to sea, and Tony is a part of what they are. His passion for dancing though, is what grounds him and provides an off-ramp if he's ever interested in becoming a real man, and living a life worth living. Overall I think it's status is deserved, but if it were made today I think it'd have one or two much stronger parts for women - to be more than objects of desire. Loved seeing Fran Drescher pop up out of nowhere though, looking no different than how she did in The Nanny!

8/10

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Hey, 12 minutes in and I get what short selling is now!

Edit - I'm understanding a lot more about Dumb Money as well.

Quantum of Solace (2008)

The one Daniel Craig 007 movie that I somehow missed. Of those 5 movies this one seems the least impressive but there's nothing wrong with it. Plenty of eye candy and action, as usual. Near the end there looks like some obvious cutting and it jumps a few leaps, so maybe that was intentional or maybe a last minute decision thats why it looks a bit rough. I wonder what is missing there and perhaps it ties into the title somehow but the story isn't engrossing enough to make you want to look deeper. Better than most movies, sort of low end for a Bond film. Maybe that's why I missed it.

7/10

Battlefield Earth (2000)

I wanted to see this to know if it was as bad as they say it is. Ridiculous comedy, plenty of laughs. John Travolta and Forest Whitaker keep the bad script afloat. Visually I don't like the style but you can see a lot of money was put into it. To rate this I had to decide whether or not it was good as Santa Claus vs. the Martians, was it better than The Monitors? Somewhere in between.

4/10

Red rooms is a curious film. It’s extremely disturbing in parts as it deals with a fictional serial killer who has committed heinous crimes and filmed them for the dark web. The film begins with the accused’s court case and goes into fine detail about the nature of the crime – which is tremendously upsetting even if it is fictional. The film then delves into the life of Kelly-Anne (played by Juliette Gariépy), who is a model based in Montreal. She is a bit of a mathematics talent, enters online poker games and has a flare for technology and hacking. Kelly-Anne develops an obsession with the case and the killer and is determined to find out missing pieces of evidence in an attempt to feed her obsession. The set up is fanciful and raises an eyebrow or two.

That said, the director Pascal Plante has done a good job of structuring this film and certain parts of it are morbidly fascinating, even if there are aspects that really don’t seem to be based in reality. The result is a tight thriller that is very much worth watching if 1) You can forgive the more fanciful parts and 2) You can get over the bleakness of the crimes mentioned.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

OMG its was sooo amazing, i loved the music and its a prequel of Coriolanus Snow. Tom Blyth was so amazing as Coriolanus Snow he did a good job, Rachel Zegler OMG she was so amazing as Lucy Gray Baird and OMG she has an amazing singing voice she did a amazing job with her singing and acting

1st Rewatch...this charming romantic comedy did hold up on rewatch much better than I thought it would. Written by leading lady Nia Vardolos, this is the story of a 30 year old Greek woman trying to escape spinsterhood and being smothered by her family by working at a travel agency instead of the family restaurant and falling in love with a guy who isn't Greek (John Corbett). Tula's narration sounds more like a stand up comedy routine than a narration and there's something about the beginning of Tula and Ian's relationship that doesn't quite ring true. but it's a very funny movie with terrific performances by Michael Constantine and Laine Kazan as Tula's parents and Andrea Martin as Tula's aunt. There have been two sequels made since the release of this film and I have seen either because I'm scared they will scar my affection for this one. The story was told here.

1st Rewatch...This 1995 remake of the 1954 Audrey Hepburn classic has a lot going for it...extraordinary production values, polished direction by the late Sydney Pollack and a wonderful cast including Harrison Ford, Greg Kinnear, Nancy Marchand, John Wood, Richard Crenna, Angie Dickinson, Lauren Holly, Dana Ivey; unfortunately it is Julia Ormand's one-note performance inheriting the title role from Audrey Hepburn that keeps this film from standing next to the original.

2nd Rewatch...this movie is just as disturbing and mesmerizing as it was the first time. There are still moments in this film that make me jump out my chair and moments that break my heart. Joaquin Phoenix's Oscar winning performance is a textbook example of an actor disappearing into a character. And as I watched the really disturbing finale, I couldn't help but consider why the upcoming sequel might be necessary.

Your review has made me put this in Letterboxd so I can have another stab at it. I bailed out before.

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

Eleventh Rewatch...It's no Young Frankenstein or Blazing Saddles but it does provide a lot of laughs mostly from Brooks' screenplay and a scene stealing performance by Rick Moranis as Dark Helmet.

Licorice Pizza (2021)