Rate The Last Movie You Saw

SF = Z

Viewed: Blu ray





[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

A simple but effective tale, and such a gentle, tender film - I wish they had extras on the disc, but watching the movie again was as special as it was the first time (in the theater). Perfectly cast, with an emotional final scene - and I love hearing the Irish language.

Scannán álainn

Death of a Unicorn (2025) This was fun. Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd are good together and the unicorns also turn in fine performances. I would rank this as the best film of 2025 (so far).

Nightmare (1956) - New Orleans musician Stan Grayson (Kevin McCarthy) wakes up from a vivid nightmare in which he fights with and kills a man inside a strange mirrored room. He dreams that he pulled a button from the dead man's jacket during the fight, stuffed his body in a closet and locked the door. Grayson can't shake the images from his mind or the strange melody that was playing in the background. He notices blood on his wrist and when he goes through his pockets he finds a man's coat button and a key. Obsessing over this conundrum he begs off coming in to work as a member of a jazz quartet so that he can scour the city and track down the source of the snippet of music that keeps playing in his head.

Director Maxwell Shane certainly leans heavily into the noir aspects of it with moody lighting and a jazzy score. But what really cemented my opinion was the eventual appearance of Edward G. Robinson as Grayson's brother-in-law, New Orleans homicide detective Rene Bressard. As far as I'm concerned Robinson could elevate anything he was in and he immediately turned this from passable to watchable. The third act shifts gears and introduces a character with little to no back story but by that time you're already more or less invested in the goings on. McCarthy does sweaty and disheveled pretty well (the end of Invasion of the Body Snatchers springs immediately to mind) and Virginia Christine as Rene's wife and Stan's sister Sue and Connie Maxwell as Gina, Stan's torch singer girlfriend do well in supporting roles. But I think it's Robinson who ultimately makes the movie. I thought it turned out to be a pretty decent noir.

80/100

Stop-Loss (2008)

This 2008 war drama tells the story of Brandon King, an American soldier who returns home from Iraq and is supposed to be discharged from the military but is instead ordered to redeploy to Iraq for another tour through the Army’s “stop-loss” program. Though flawed, Stop-Loss is a decent film and does a good job of showing the terrible costs that war can exact upon servicemembers and their families. The cast is okay. Ryan Phillippe, who plays the soldier who attempts to avoid being stop-lossed, isn’t one of my favorite actors, but he’s enjoyable to watch. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who was terrific in Snowden, is good as Tommy, King’s soldier-friend who wants to stay in the Army but gets kicked out for alcoholism. Channing Tatum, a largely forgettable actor, is barely passable as Brandon’s best friend and comrade-in-arms. There’s one (unintentionally) funny scene where Brandon learns about his redeployment order and justifies his opposition to being stop-lossed by saying the policy only applies in times of war and President George W. Bush said the war in Iraq was over (“Mission Accomplished”). Apparently, it didn’t dawn on Staff Sgt. King that Bush might be a bit of a liar.

The Electric State (2025) The robots are the best part of this. Millie Bobby Brown is not a good actor and her performance is flat and more robotic than any of the robots. She doesn't look right for the role and feels miscast. Chris Pratt is mediocre here and the rest of the cast are underused. The writing is weak and the story is poorly developed. There are some cool shots though and some nice effects. This is too long and badly flawed, but the robots make it worth watching.

I agree with everything except the robots making it worth watching. Awful movie. I gave it only 1/5.

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1st Rewatch...This is a stylish and warm coming of age drama that calls to memory the John Hughes teen dramas of the 80's except instead of Molly Ringwald, the lead character is a male. The film stars Logan Lerman as Charlie, a 15 year old struggle though his freshman year of high school with the aid of a small circle of friends, most of whom are upper classmen. The film features an intelligent screenplay and winning performances, with a scene stealing turn from Hollywood badboy Ezra Miller as Charlie's gay friend, Patrick.

5th Rewatch...I don't know what else can be said about this movie that hasn't already been said. Still not sure if this or Goodfellas is Scorsese's masterpiece but this is the film that put him and Robert De Niro on the map. De Niro was incredibly denied an Oscar nomination for his Travis Bickle, an insomniac cab driver obsessed with killing a political candidate and saving a 12 year old prostitute from the streets. Beatrice Straight stole the Oscar that Jodie Foster should have won for her 12 year prostie, Iris. Just as dazzling as it was 40 years ago and I love Bernard Hermann’s music.

2nd Rewatch...Third and weakest of the three comedies that DOris Day, Rock Hudson, and Tony Randall made together. Hudson plays George Kimball, a hypochondriac who is convinced that he is dying and decides before he goes, that he has to find a suitable replacement for his wife Judy (Day). The reason this is the weakest of the three Day/Hudson collaborations is because in Pillow Talk and Lover Come Back, Rock played the sleazeball chasing Doris, but in this film, they are already married and the thrill of the chase is gone, which is what made the other two films so great.

By The poster art can or could be obtained from A24, Focus Features, Universal Pictures., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78169139

The Brutalist - (2024)

I made it. Sometimes I really have to steel myself when confronted with a movie that eclipses the 200-minute mark, and even though I gave myself plenty of time last night interruptions still meant a late night (made all the more relaxing by a severe thunderstorm when I finally went to bed.) Still, perhaps a thunderstorm was an appropriate coda to The Brutalist - a powerful comment on the immigrant experience, art, socioeconomic beliefs and power itself. Architect László Tóth (Adrien Brody) is a dream character for any actor to get to play - deeply layered and complex, with his adultery and drug addiction added to a megalomania tempered by the trauma of surviving the Holocaust. For László getting to America is a dream come true, but he frequently ends up confronted by the nation's dark side, ably represented by industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) - a man who turns out to be both benefactor and tormentor. While both men are working toward the same ends, their differing view of the world makes for a relationship that is slowly poisoning the visionary builder of modern masterpieces. Despite his talent (or perhaps because of it), László and his family aren't welcome in white Christian America - at least, not unless they stay quiet and keep to their place, but his exhausting struggle still takes into account the general beauty and cruelty to be found the world over. The only thing this artist can do is express all of this in his architectural designs - the determining factor of his journey the man's persistence, stubbornness, resolve and strength of character. He's far from perfect, but we want him to succeed - if only in the hope that it might alleviate what we sense as a deep well of sadness. This is a brilliant movie, and if Brady Corbet and co believed that there was nothing more that could be cut from the film to make it shorter than okay - I accept that.

9/10

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Soy Cuba (1964) - Mikhail Kalatozov: 6/10

Death Proof is notable for being released alongside Robert Rodriguez' Planet Terror as a double-bill called Grindhouse. A sort of homage to low budget exploitation films released in so-called "grindhouse" theaters, the film gives a ton of nods to that trend in the way it is written and shot. The first half of the film is intentionally shot in a grainy, old film style, which then morphs into a more conventional style in the second half.

Up until now, this was the only Tarantino film I hadn't seen. My regret for missing the "Grindhouse" release in theaters made me avoid the film for a while, and then mixed reviews here and there sorta kept me away from it. However, although it is far from perfect, I'm quite happy I finally watched it.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot

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Melancholia (2011, Von Trier) - A+
Beauty and the Beast (1946, Cocteau) - B+

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There was plenty of stuff that could have been cut from this movie. It took me three days to watch the whole thing. It's still a great movie.

Death Proof is a turning point in Tarantino's career and it shows his writing and directing have a bit more maturity and allows for things to settle-in with a lot of patience. At the point Death Proof came out Jackie Brown was my favorite Tarantino film. Pulp Fiction is great fun and cleverly constructed and just a joyous film for me, but it's not a great or groundbreaking film in my eyes. Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill 1 and 2, I have little use for. They aren't bad films by any means, they just don't do much for me. So the whole Kill Bill years was a HUGE misstep after Jackie Brown, but it wasn't until Death Proof that I really started to see something singular and unique about Tarantino which of course a couple films latter led up to what I consider to be his magnum opus and one of the best films of all time , certainly of the last 10-15 years or so which is The Hateful Eight. But I DO love Death Proof and how it was such a slow burn for the first 45 minutes or so.

Umpteenth Rewatch...Blake Edwards scorching black comedy about a suicidal director (Richard Mulligan) whose latest film starring his actress wife, Sally Miles (Julie Andrews) bombed so bad that the man lost his mind. He has now decided to save the film by re-shooting the film as a porno extravaganza with his wife baring her breasts. The script is near brilliant and features an amazing all-star cast including William Holden (in his final film role), Robert Vaughn, Robert Preston, Robert Webber, Larry Hagman, Shelley Winters, Rosanna Arquette, Loretta Swit, Marisa Berensen, Stuart Margolin, Robert Loggia, and Craig Stevens. A movie I never tire of re-watching.

Saved! (2004)

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

I go with fellas personally; Taxi Driver's great, but there are still some stretches of it that are more inert than they should've been that keep it from being a full 10 for me.