Rate The Last Movie You Saw

And which of these were found by a fair number of critics to be sexist and exploitative of the subject they were depicting?

Are you taking the piss?

I'm pretty sure none of those films received the same kind of critical response that Blonde did, so no.

You've made yourslef look utterly stupid in this thead, fair play.

No, I think I made my point.

Had to catch these movies before they leave the Criterion Channel at the end of the month!
For The Devils, I absolutely refuse to rate a movie that is still not available in its fully uncensored, uncut version. I think the most complete version that exists is a very good rough draft of what the finished movie would have looked like, and that would have been a pretty good movie - though perhaps not for everyone. It's a shame this 100% uncensored version is still not widely available in any meaningful way.

As a big fan of musicals, particularly those from the Golden Age, I have to really admire some individual numbers in The Boy Friend but I don't think the movie works, as a whole, the way it intends to. Though seemingly not lacking in material resources, the film as a whole fails to inspire or to even have really memorable characters - they all seem to blend together into an utter array of show-biz stereotypes, without personality of their own.

Finally, Savage Messiah was a heady tour-de-force that does a fine job of capturing the essence of what drives an artist - and then it reminds you the subject of this movie died an untimely death at the age of 24. Hats off to everyone in the cast, particularly the very young Helen Mirren, who's just as uninhibited here as she's ever been, and makes an indelible impression.

Watching these 3 Ken Russell movies in a row is definitely... an experience...

The Mighty Quinn (1989)

Together with Glory (also released in 1989), it really made me a big fan of Denzel!

Hors Satan (2011)

Another of Bruno Dumont's meditations on modern life, in this case a very obtuse tale of a rural and unlikely romance. The capture of the birdsong and the swishing trees is truly a mesmeric background to this film. I felt that Dumont was on a run with this following
La vie de Jésus / The Life of Jesus (1997), Humanité / Humanity (1999), Twentynine Palms (2003), Flandres / Flanders (2006) and Hadewijch (2009) (with only "Palms" dropping into the "daft" category). Since this movie, I'm neither inclined towards or attracted to his subject matter anymore but theres no doubt his neo-realistic style is impressive.

As a big fan of musicals, particularly those from the Golden Age, I have to really admire some individual numbers in The Boy Friend but I don't think the movie works, as a whole, the way it intends to. Though seemingly not lacking in material resources, the film as a whole fails to inspire or to even have really memorable characters - they all seem to blend together into an utter array of show-biz stereotypes, without personality of their own.



I saw The Boyfriend for the first time a few years ago and loved it. Even worked on the stage musical it was based on when I was in high school.

I can't say I've seen the original stage version - and if I ever get a chance, I definitely would - however, I think it would be hard for *any* movie musical made around this time to really duplicate the unique quality that made screen musicals of the 30s, 40s and 50s so unique!

In any case, I'm glad to have seen it (I even own the blu-ray, despite having watched the version on the CC last night).

I love Twiggy. That’s all I want to say.

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

The Night Holds Terror (1955)

Pretty dramatic little noir about 3 desperadoes hoping to extort money from a family man after abducting him and a home invasion containing his white picket fence wife and nuclear kids. It has good passages but sags too much. Features a coiled John Cassavettes but the main "goodie" played by Jack Kelly is just a bit worthy and dull and that spills over into the whole production. It's just not bloody-minded/nasty enough to create real suspense.

By Impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13013824

Rendition - (2007)

Here we have a political thriller with a stacked cast - but nobody has to really stretch themselves performance-wise except for Omar Metwally, whose character is tortured throughout the film. It's a case of the U.S. picking up the wrong guy after a bomb goes off somewhere in a North African country, and sending him to Egypt to be continually tortured until he fesses up information he doesn't have. If you had a problem with the way the United States had started to behave in the mid 00s, then this is the movie you'd make in the most simplified terms possible. Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, Peter Sarsgaard, Alan Arkin and Meryl Streep feature - but the film still bombed (pun absolutely not intended), perhaps because of the reviews, even though Ebert gave it 4 out of 4 stars. As far as torture is concerned, I don't understand why the U.S. dabbled in it (do they still?) - the rewards were paltry, but the black stain lasts forever. It's a country that has stood for so long as a shining example to the rest of the world - and if not now, then who does the world turn to? Sweden? Botswana? I still hope that the U.S. can sort it's problems out and redefine itself as a beacon of justice and democracy that espouses equal rights, tolerance and moderation. Stop laughing. This too will pass.

6/10


Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8027216

Session 9 - (2001)

There's good in Session 9, sometimes great, but as a whole it didn't turn out to be the film I wanted it to be. It's hard to criticize a film for simply not conforming to your personal wishes, so I don't want to say too much. If I were to mix the best that Grave Encounters offered with the best Session 9 did, I might finally have the 'haunted insane asylum' movie I've always been longing for. As it is, this film seemed a little cheap and every time it had me a little creeped out by it's atmosphere and tension it would go and break it as characters either argued or did their renovation work. It kept on breaking that spell. I never got fully into it, and the ending left me with too many questions that actually did need answering. That said, I can see why someone might really like it - so my bad score should be regarded as a very "personal" one.

4/10


Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7467813

Beau Geste - (1939)

This is an adventure story that involves a bunch of brothers who join the Foreign Legion together to escape complicity in the theft of a jewel - it goes pretty much exactly the way you think it'll go. Full review here, in my watchlist thread.

6/10


By filmposters.it, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13055650

Minnie and Moskowitz - (1971)

Another brilliant and enchanting John Cassavetes/Gena Rowlands collaboration as filmmaker/star - original and spellbinding. Review here, in my watchlist thread.

9/10

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Saltburn (2023)

Poor Things - (2023)

Loved it. This is the second movie from Yorgos Lanthimos that I've watched, the other one being Dog Tooth. This is significantly better.

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

If you like this director, you might want to check out The Killing of a Sacred Deer.

2nd Rewatch...Peter Bogdanovich's goofy action comedy about three private detectives who work for the same agency who get a little too personally involved with their clients starts off as what appears to be three separate stories that do eventually come together but it takes way too long to happen as viewer attention does begin to wane before a zingy finale. Bogdanovich uses Manhattan as an effective canvas for the story and scores with a really interesting ensemble cast. Movie icons like Audrey Hepburn and Ben Gazzara make the most of their screentime, but if the truth be told, the film is effortlessly stolen by the late John Ritter as the klutzy Charles Rutledge. However, the true legacy of this film is that it marked the final appearance of murdered PLAYBOY playmate Dorothy Stratten, who was romantically involved with Bogdanovich at the time. The very first opening credit in the film announces that the film is dedicated to Ms. Stratten. If you liked Bogdanovich's film Noises Off, you'll probably enjoy this too.