Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Registered User

1 week ago

1st Rewatch...Was hoping this movie might improve upon a second viewing but it wasn't to be. Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell play a couple who want to attend a couples seminar that is located at a beautiful tropical island resort, but they can't afford it by themselves, so they invite three other couples to chip on the trip, making them believe it is just going to be a vacation. Other than absolutely gorgeous scenery, there's very little here to latch onto in this slightly smarmy sex comedy that gets more tiresome as it progresses. Jon Favreau and Jean Reno provide sporadic laughs, but this movie isn't much more than a very pretty picture postcard.

Gideon58

Registered User

1 week ago

1st Rewatch....From the "Been There Done That" school of filmmaking comes this formulaic road trip comedy that attempts originality by making the protagonists female. Four black BFF's who named themselves "the Flosse Posse" back in the day reunite after a couple of decades to attend the Essence Festival in New Orleans. Ryan (Regina Hall) is now an Oprah-type media mogul; Sasha (Queen Latifah) is a gossip blogger; Dina (Tiffany Haddish) is an unemployed party girl. and Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith) is a divorced single mom who has centered her entire life around her kids. This big budget comedy offers nothing we haven't seen before. Hall and the Queen manage to maintain their dignity, but Haddish's Dina is one of the most annoying movie characters I've seen in the last decade or so and Pinkett Smith is just miscast. Of course, all the male characters are properly objectified or complete morons, but it doesn't help disguise what a tedious movie this is.

Last edited by Gideon58; 1 week ago at 11:14 PM.

Gideon58

Registered User

1 week ago

Jeff

Silent film fanatic

1 week ago

What Happened to Jones -- 1926 -- 4/5 -- my 2nd Reginald Denny, while not as good imo as Skinner's Dress Suit it's still quite lovely.

Poker Faces -- 1926 -- 4/5 -- pretty neat, getting a better feel of the roaring 20's playing field. Watching while dad snores away.

PHOENIX74

I forgot the opening line.

1 week ago

By May be found at the following website: [1], film copyrighted., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46499698

Frackman - (2015)

Here's an issue which affects Australia and the United States in equal measure - mining gas from coal seams by use of fracking, along with other measures. Starts off with gas companies and politicians - both with money foremost on their minds, which makes them willing to destroy sensitive ecological areas and pristine land for a buck. Because of the power these companies wield, backed by the people who run your country, landowners had no choice but to allow gas mining on their land, which in short order would be completely destroyed. The drinking water becomes poison, gas leaks are everywhere, the wildlife is dead, the soil can't sustain any growth, the noise for residents is unbearable - basically the place is no longer habitable, and despite the owners of the land not having a choice or being at fault, the value of their property has suddenly dropped to $0. How unfair is that? Tens of thousands of oil wells have been sunk in Queensland alone, with plans for tens of thousands more - for they fail after a while, and a new well must be sunk. It's horrifying stuff, and the sheer destruction of precious habitats, including to the fishing industry on the shores where these gas companies export, is possibly the biggest scandal in history once we start reckoning with what's happened. We don't hear enough about this - our future is being sold and poisoned, and future generations are about to be granted a sickly, dead planet. We need renewable, non-gas dependent energy now.

7/10

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WHITBISSELL!

Registered User

1 week ago

Rewatched this and don't have much to add so I'll just quote my November 2021 review. The only thing I did take note of was that these people were egregiously dumb. They repeatedly did things that left you asking, "Why in God's name would you do that?" But hey, '50's scifi.

Originally Posted by WHITBISSELL!

It! The Terror from Beyond Space - Low budget 1958 B&W scifi/horror. It stars Marshall Thompson as Col. Edward Carruthers, the commander of Challenge 141, the first manned expedition to Mars. That ship crash landed and a second mission has been sent to look for survivors. Carruthers turns out to be the sole survivor of the 10 man crew. He tells his rescuers that an unidentified creature had killed the rest of his crew during a Martian sandstorm. They don't believe him of course and make plans to get him back to Earth to face a court martial and execution. One of the crew leaves a bay door open long enough while disposing of debris for an unwanted hitchhiker to make it's way aboard.

This is low budget but not egregiously so. The so called "ship" is exclusively shown to be traveling in a vertical position (accompanied by wacky sound effects). That's probably due to how the set was built with each level separated by hatches. Plus I'm sure the budget didn't allow for weightlessness. This ties in directly to the plot though, with the survivors not only having to retreat to sequential levels but also adding to the claustrophobic feel.

It's a short one, clocking in at 69 minutes, but the story doesn't feel rushed. I didn't recognize any of the other cast outside of character actor Dabbs Greer. There are two female scientists on board, one a doctor and the other a geologist. Their first time onscreen however has them serving coffee to the male crew members like intergalactic waitresses. Outside of dated clunkers like that it does a reasonably good job with the thriller aspect of it's story. The remaining survivors throw everything they have at the creature which it mostly shrugs off. You, on the other hand, have to shrug off the fact that many of their attempts would have most assuredly led to hull integrity being compromised followed by catastrophic implosion. But then accuracy should never enter the equation when watching this kind of movie. It's actually not bad.

75/100

FilmBuff

Pass the popcorn!

1 week ago

The Beach Boys (IMAX showing)

For most of my life, it would have seemed unfathomable that there would have been intense rivalry between The Beach Boys and The Beatles. I had come to know about these bands long after their heyday, when their reputations were quite firm and the difference in their styles cemented for posterity.

But, as it turns out, not only was there a bitter rivalry between the two boy bands, they also inarguably influenced each other significantly, and this documentary lays out the case of how this happened.

It's a shame that the documentary wasn't directed by someone with more, well, experience as a documentarian, because the end result, for all of the immense access it evidently enjoyed, is a mixed bag.

There is noticeably a lack of balance between the "inner view" of what was going on inside the band and the "outside view", best represented by Janelle Mon�e, who explains how The Beach Boys influenced her musically. The documentary could have benefitted from more interviews like that one.

Also, there is a palpable desire to get quickly past all of the "uncomfortable" stuff - the family disputes, the sale of their catalog behind their backs by the Wilson brothers' father, and also the tangential connection with the Charles Manson murders. The stuff is not ignored, but it certainly isn't something that is explored extensively.

By the time "Kokomo" came out in the 80s, I barely knew a thing about who The Beach Boys were, or that they were making a comeback after a rather long time.

Now that I know more about them, the giddy cheerfulness of most of their better-known songs seems a lot more ironic.

Guaporense

Animation nerd

1 week ago

Princess Mononoke (1997)

It has been ten years since the last time I watched this masterpiece. However, rewatching it, I noticed that I still remembered its plot almost perfectly.

Almost every frame of this movie is bursting with beauty and earnest emotional power as it is clearly noticeable that Miyazaki was literally trying to make the best animated scene ever made for every 30 seconds of the movie.

Certainly its among Miazaki's best movies, it is clearly an all time favorite of mine. Indeed, it's a near-perfect action epic, easily one of the best anime movies ever made. In fact, it's one that is almost impossible to surpass in its passion and beauty: it's the animation equivalent of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel.

Jeff

Silent film fanatic

1 week ago

The Love of Jeanne Ney -- 1927 -- 4/5 -- didn't like the story too much, but the visuals were sumptuously depressing. I hope to see Joyless Street sometime on Blu-ray.

Fabulous

Jonsilfab

1 week ago

Factory Girl (2006)

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chawhee

Msg

Registered User

1 week ago

Christine (2016)

Someone on this site mentioned this one awhile back, and I made sure to try and eventually watch it. It certainly captured the era well, as it's hard to believe this movie was made in 2016. I was uncomfortable watching this one, as Christine is such a different person than I am, but its a compelling film. One of the themes certainly rings true today in terms of bad news sells more than good news (several parts of this even reminded me of Nightcrawler a bit)

Mr Minio

Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right

1 week ago

Originally Posted by Gideon58

@crumbsroom no rant this time?

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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.

crumbsroom

Registered User

1 week ago

Originally Posted by Mr Minio

@crumbsroom no rant this time?

Why would I care if someone likes a movies I don't?

Mr Minio

Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right

1 week ago

Originally Posted by crumbsroom

Why would I care if someone likes a movies I don't?

You were quite vocal about this film before. I thought you enjoyed discussing this stuff with people.

Thief

Master of None

1 week ago

BRAVE
(2012, Andrews and Chapman)

"Fate be changed, look inside. Mend the bond torn by pride."

Brave follows the defiant Princess Merida (Kelly Macdonald) as she is about to be betrothed to the son of one of her father's allies. Refusing to go on with the custom and confronted by her strict mother (Emma Thompson), Merida flees into the forest where a witch gives her a spell to "change" her mother. However, the resulting "change" ends up being more than she could bear, forcing her to "mend the bond" with the queen to save the kingdom, but more important, their family.

This is a film that has eluded me for some reason. However, a couple of months ago, I saw and enjoyed the Pixar short film The Legend of Mor'du not even knowing it was tied to this. When I found out I, decided to finally check it out and I was pleasantly surprised. Released a couple of years after Tangled, it seems to follow a similar template in terms of having a female lead, where the main conflict is more internal and emotional/psychological, and the "antagonist" is actually secondary to the overall story. Here, the main issue is in the strained relationship between Merida and Elinor.

Grade:

Full review on my Movie Loot

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Last edited by Thief; 1 week ago at 12:52 PM.

Gideon58

Registered User

1 week ago

1st Rewatch...Elizabeth Banks made her directorial debut with this unnecessary sequel that makes Cocaine Bear look like Gone with the Wind. Full disclosure, I had issues with the first film because, as someone who did a lot of acapella choral singing in high school, felt that the film oversimplified the art of acapella singing and if you watch either film, it's pretty clear that, technically, these singers are not really performing acapella. It's made even worse in this film which features a scene where two different choirs participate in a "battle", where the two choirs make up acapella arrangements on the spot, which is absolutely impossible. The only real laughs in the film come from Banks and John Michaels as the commentators/judges.

Gideon58

Registered User

1 week ago

4th Rewatch...This was my fourth and final watch of this film, which I have decided to classify, along with Forrester Gump, as a film that gets a little dumber with each rewatch. This is the story of a group of terrorists who manage to hijack the presidential airliner in order to get the President (Harrison Ford) to authorize the release of a dangerous political prisoner. First of all, as Vice President Katherine Bennett (Glenn Close) says when she first learns what happens, "It can't be that easy", referring to the murder of six foreign press corp members and fabricating fake passports, ID, fingerprints, etc. It makes me wonder exactly how safe our government is keeping us. Or how that rogue secret service agent (Xander Berkley) planned all of this without anyone catching onto what he was doing. I've always been troubled by the way Marshall hid in the bowels of the plane and listed over the intercom while poor Melanie Mitchell was murdered. How that plane stayed in the air after the entire tail was blown off, but conveniently crashed into the ocean, dissolving in a million pieces with Berkley aboard. Despite all of this, somehow Ford's earnest performance as the President and Gary Oldman's bone-chilling turn as the head terrorist do keep the viewer invested up to a point.

Last edited by Gideon58; 1 week ago at 01:06 AM.

Gideon58

Registered User

1 week ago

5th Rewatch...Lana Turner had one of her best roles and a box office smash with this melodrama that was a 1959 remake of a 1934 drama based on a novel by Fannie Hurst, that raised eyebrows due to its racial themes. Turner is a widowed mom who wants to be an actress who takes in a kind-hearted black woman, also a widowed mom, and allows the woman to be her maid while she doggedly pursues a career as a Broadway actress. As she finds the fame she has craved for so long, she puts her daughter on the back burner. Meanwhile, her maid's light-skinned daughter finds nothing but trouble as she attempts to pass for white. Producer Ross Hunter and director Douglas Sirk, the kings of 1950's melodrama, were in their element here and made most of this quite credible. There are some dated elements and some slightly over the top moments that still produce unintentional giggles from this reviewer, but this solid entertainment for the most part. Turner, draped in a stunning Edith Head wardrobe, commands the screen and Juanita Moore's enchanting performance as Annie, Turner's maid, earned her a supporting actress nomination. Susan Kohner also earned a supporting actress nomination for her performance as Annie's daughter, Sarah Jane, though I'm not sure why. Studio heads were reluctant to give Turner this role because it was right after her daughter went on trial for stabbing Turner's mobster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato. They reached an agreement when Turner agreed to a cut of her normal salary and take a share of the profits instead.

Thief