Rate The Last Movie You Saw

1st Rewatch...The meticulous directorial eye of Steven Soderbergh is the anchor of this fact-based crime drama. Three criminal lowlifes are hired by a mid-level don to watch the family of an accountant while he retrieves a document and codebook from his company, that leads to an accidental death of one of the thugs and a criminal conspiracy that could have monumental circumstances for the automotive industry. Soderbegh's care for the look of the film and the maintenance of an overly complex screenplay make the film a little too long to kick into gear, but it delivers the goods once it does. Soderbegh has also assembled a solid cast in bringing the story to fruition including Don Cheadle, Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro, Kieran Cuklin, Matt Damon, David Harbour, and Oscar winner Brendon Frasier. A little patience is required but it pays off.

1st rewatch...This gut-wrenching melodrama still packs a punch upon rewatch. Novice director Lulu Wang scores with this story of a Chinese woman named Billi (Awkwafina) who flies to China when she learns her grandmother is dying of cancer, but is not happy that the family has lied to Grandma about her condition and they are using the wedding of Billi's cousin as a front to allow the entire family to return home to say goodbye to Grandma without knowing it, while she energetically plans for the wedding. Once again, this film had my stomach in knots as we watch Grandma excitedly organize this wedding while Billi struggles to remain silent about how all this work might affect Grandma's health. Awkwafina, who has provided solid comic support to films like Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean's 8, proves to be an actress of substance, whose work here earned her a Golden Globe nomination. If you've never seen this, have a box of kleenex handy.

Under the Silver Lake (2018, David Robert Mitchell)

Very interesting film, though it did leave me with mixed feelings. There were certain aspects that I absolutely loved (the visuals and the investigative element), but the further the plot went, the more it felt overwrought with ideas and strange characters, it was a bit frustrating. Not that it lacks substance—on the contrary, there's probably too much of it for its own good, with countless symbols, references, plot turns, characters that don't quite form a cohesive whole that makes sense. But then again, maybe that's the whole point: after all, this is the modern world we live in, inundated daily with astronomical amounts of information that leaves us confused, overwhelmed and often misled, inevitably creating fertile soil for conspiracy theories (some of which could very well be real and are only called that to ridicule those who question things and poke their noses where they don't belong). That also explains why we don't really get any resolution when the film ends, we don't even get to know what that damn parrot was saying all the time. As Jean Baudrillard said: "We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning."

I see your point but disagree. Freemasons and the likes have infiltrated almost all music & entertainment scenes, and use them as vessels to push their wicked perverted agenda. So I strongly dislike promiscuity, random sex and foul language in music, movies and literature.

I am laughing so hard right now

I thought it was common knowledge that the Freemasons were the ones working behind the scenes and pulling the strings vis-à-vis Tartarian design and architecture.

lolwut

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Nice review. It's certainly an unusual film. I rated it the same as did you. Here is some commentary:

The Kid With a Bike (2011) ‐

This is the fourth film I've seen from the Dardenne brothers and, while they're all somewhat on the same level of (high) quality for me, this film has dethroned La Promesse as my clear favorite. Like La Promesse, while a central character in both films certainly causes problems for other people (Roger in La Promesse and Cyril in The Kid With a Bike), the insecurities which engender their actions are able to complicate and mitigate their bad behavior enough that they don't quite reach unlikable status. With The Kid With a Bike, Cyril's betrayal by his father and his wish to be loved, albeit by the wrong people, got me to hold out a slight bit of sympathy for him, as challenging as he could be. He clearly felt isolated and lost with Samantha and the avenues he turned to as a last resort to get his life back on track were the culminations to his alienation. Since Samantha was a good person at heart though and genuinely had the best intentions for Cyril (contrary to the characters he turned to for comfort), retaining your sympathy for him can be quite the challenge. Ultimately, the final scene was a brilliant way to end the film. I don't know if the Dardenne's will be able to top this film, but I'll keep tabs on their filmography regardless.

What does your dislike of promiscuity have to do with what is necessary in a film? I dislike olives, but I wouldn't say they were unneccessary if someone ate one in a movie about olive production?


But I also should confess, being that my birthright is to one day inherit the Freemason throne passed down to me from my paternal lineage, it's possible all the hardcore boning in movies these days will eventually be exclusively my fault. So you're definitely talking to the right person if you want to file a complaint.

Stop supporting the pervert agenda with your complacency, Popcorn!

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Journey to the Center of the Earth - (1959)

I always thought the "Center of the Earth" talked about in the title of this novel/story/movie was just a figure of speech - but no, the characters in this actually, and very literally, go to the very center of the Earth. No problem - I can suspend my disbelief, especially when director Henry Levin keeps this story surging forward and these performers bright and enthusiastic. It's all about geologist Professor Sir Oliver Lindenbrook (James Mason) and his expedition, following in the footsteps of vague clues left by predecessors he leads student Alec McEwan (Pat Boone), the wife of his rival (it's a long story) Carla Göteborg (Arlene Dahl) and the muscle-bound, Icelandic Hans Bjelke (Olympian Peter Ronson) - who speaks no English. Oh, and of course the duck - Gertrude. Following is the evil Count Saknussemm (Thayer David). Everything but the kitchen sink in this adventure tale - whirlpools, giant lizards, Atlantis, subterranean oceans, conflict and giant mushrooms. It somehow makes a bunch of people walking around in caves for about an hour and a half interesting, and as such forces me to admit that James Mason had a certain kind of charisma making him the star he was. It's oh so very dated, but still fun as a kind of cultural artifact from both the 1800s and 1950s.

7/10


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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - (1947)

This was good, or would be were it not for the couple of times Danny Kaye sabotages his own movie to do his "minkledimpleskitchenmitchenslippin" schtick - in places where the narrative has to be contorted to explain why he's doing it. It's Kaye's thing, and I have to wonder if he insisted he get to do it a couple of times or else the producers insisted it be inserted a couple of times to please fans. Anyway - the daydreaming Mitty (Kaye) gets involved in a plot that includes murder and the Dutch crown jewels. It's funny, it's lively and it even has Boris Karloff. I liked it, except for those lengthy stretches where Kaye breaks out his whole routine (one we've seen countless times before) which stops the film in it's tracks.

6/10


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Le Chat - (1971)

A Jean Gabin and Simone Signoret tour de force as a couple who both love and hate each other with equal passion - and the cat upon whom both extremes are visited. Reviewed here, on my watchlist thread.

9/10

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Blonde (2022)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

"Mitchell uses homages to Hitchcock’s Vertigo in a car tailing scene"
Exactly. Also the scene where he's spying on his neighbors with binoculars is very reminiscent of Rear Window.

What would Schindler's List have been like if its director had had the British gift for understatement? The answer is: a lot like One Life, probably.
It may seem contradictory, but this film feels more real and more cathartic than Spielberg's movie did, perhaps in part because his gift for showy cinematic flair means it's very hard for him to keep it in check (though he certainly seems to have tried).
One Life tells the life story of Nicholas Winton, the British stockbroker who saved almost 700 Jewish children from the Nazis in the prelude to World War 2.
His story had been almost forgotten until it came to the attention of the BBC in the late 80s.
James Hawes does a very fine job with his directorial debut; the British director was previously known for his TV work - interestingly, he even directed 5 episodes of the rebooted Doctor Who in the 2000s.
While the movie's publicity plays up the fact that Anthony Hopkins plays the older Winton, it is his younger self, played by Johnny Flynn, who takes up most of the screen time - and he does an incredibly good job, without trying to imitate Hopkins.
If you stick around for the end credits, you might catch a small notice which warns us that the number of worldwide refugees is at its highest point since WW2. It is a stark reminder that this world still needs more people like Nicholas Winton and Oskar Schindler.

Babylon (2022)

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Manchester by the Sea - (2016)

I was reminded yesterday just why Manchester by the Sea stuck in my mind as a great movie after seeing it a few years ago. The screenplay by Kenneth Lonergan (who also did a sterling job directing) and performance by Casey Affleck were just outstanding - a true reflection of the darkest depths of the human soul. Both were Oscar-winning efforts. There's a complete lack of pretension, and the movie works as an upfront, unenhanced and poetic look at a person who has lost all hope and is in a fundamental way unreachable, and beyond saving. Like those depressed, how blows around like a leaf in the breeze - this is how he's beckoned back to his home town when his brother dies and his nephew suddenly needs him. It's also a great illustration of how important a person can be by just being there - Lee Chandler has nothing to give but his presence, but sometimes that's everything. Just an astounding movie - mainstream cinema doesn't often produce stuff as good as this. Just as great the second time around - the film losing nothing of it's power to move me.

9/10


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Urban Legend - (1998)

During the 1990s we got a whole load of college-age murderthon slasher films that featured teen-magazine stars who would go on to have very mediocre acting careers. Hard to believe that a movie as bad as Urban Legend was such a financial success - it's such a flat, uninspiring slog. The only praise I have for it regards the way so many famous urban legends are squeezed into the screenplay in various ways. I learned all about the "Love Rollercoaster" urban legend relating to Ohio Players' famous hit song and the scream in it. Google "Love Rollercoaster urban legend" if you haven't heard of it before. This movie though, it has featuring roles for Robert Englund, Loretta Devine, John Neville, and Brad Dourif - who can do nothing to save it - the vapid cast of characters invite bland disinterest.

4/10


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Human Capital - (2013)

The fallout from the global financial crisis of 2008/9 and the disastrous impact it had on Italy informs this "tale in 3 parts" story of greed and corruption. It's okay, but there's nothing too original or surprising to see here. Full review here, on my watchlist thread.

7/10